Athena's POV
"How's he doing doctor?" Heather asked
"We managed to remove the bullet. Although, he did lose a lot of blood, so he'll have to stay here a little longer for observation. Other than that, he'll be back on his feet in no time"
"Oh thank God" Heather said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Can we see him now?" she asked gesturing to his room
The doctor nodded in agreement as he walked away.
We went into his room, with Heather leading the way and Jayden following after. I entered the room and saw him lying there. I felt so bad knowing that I was the reason why he got hurt, but more than that, I was so hurt knowing that I had pushed Daniel so far away from me.
I stood at the door, lent against the wall, lost in thought.
"Won't you come closer?" Brady said
"Hm"
"No, I was just.... How are you feeling?" I asked, walking towards him.
"I'm glad that this happened" he said
"What?! You got shot and you're happy!" Heather scolded
"Yes, at least now, we know what that man is really capable of, and you saw it for yourself" he said the last part holding my wrist
"Never say stuff like that. We were all worried about you. I'm just glad you're out of danger" I said, stroking his hair and giving him a kiss on his forehead
"I'm glad that that psychopath is out of our lives. Finally! We can go back to our normal lives again" Brady said cheerfully
I wasn't as happy as they were, in fact, I wasn't happy at all.
"Hey, are you alright?" Jayden asked
"Mm hm" I tried my best to put on a smile, but it was so hard. I never wanted Daniel to leave like that. His words never left my mind.
He had come to let me go. He let me go.
It was late in the afternoon and I had stepped out to clear my head.
"Athena!" I heard someone call
I turned to see who it was
"Jayden, do you need anything?" I asked
"No no, I was just wondering if... You, needed something. Someone to talk to maybe?" he asked with his hands in his pockets as we walked
"I'm fine Jayden, thanks for the concern"
"Athena listen" he said holding my hand, stopping me, "It doesn't take a genius to see that you're hurting, and it's not because of Brady"
"Jayden, I'm fine, really" I said, pulling his hand from mine, and continued to walk away
"Do you love him?" he asked, halting me
"Pardon?" I said turning to face him
"Do you love him, Daniel?"
I knew the answer to that question all too well.
"Why would you ask me that?" I spat out
"Just curious. Your reaction seems to say a lot"
"Listen Jayden, we just met okay, and you have no idea what I've been through, neither do you know me. So, please, don't butt into my personal life"
"I'm sorry about that" he said, "I should probably get going now" he said, walking away
I was so on edge and it was rubbing off on other people. I didn't know what was happening to me.
I ran after him
"Jayden!" I shouted, causing him to stop and look back
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you that way after you helped me more than once and even put your life in danger, for me"
"It's fine Athena" he said giving me a soft smile.
"Let me make it up to you. Dinner, my treat" I said, walking to the passenger side, "You can't say no cowboy!"
He laughed and hopped into the car. We went for dinner and had an amazing time. It was nice to let loose after a hectic day. Jayden was a nice guy and that night, I did get to know him more.
Later that evening, Jayden dropped me off at Heather's after dinner. We would all be staying there to look after Brady. After the incident that happened, we wanted things to cool down a bit.
"Thanks for dinner Gracy" he said
"Mm, 'Gracy' now" I said chuckling, "what ever happened to 'pretty lady'?"
"Well, you can be pretty Gracy if you'd like" he said winking, making me blush
"You're crazy, get out of here.... Oh and Jayden...."
"Yeah!"
I leaned in and gave him a hug. "Thank you for tonight" I whispered softly
"You're welcome Athena" he whispered into my ear, "And if you need a getaway driver, feel free to give me a call"
"Ha ha! Okay cowboy. Drive safe!"
We said our goodbyes and I went in to Heather and Brady standing near the door.
"What?" I asked, locking the door
"'Cowboy'?" she commented
"I'm not doing this. No!" I said, raising my hand
"Athena" Brady called softly, "I hope you don't jump into this again. You've had a rough couple of months. Just, give yourself some time and be careful" he said concerned
"Thanks Brady" I said, giving him a hug and retired to my room.
I was trying to get some sleep when I heard Heather from the hall
"FROM MOBSTER TO COWBOY BABY! Ha ha! YEEHAA!" she shouted at the top of her voice. "You're on a role my friend! You are on a role!" She laughed ever so devilishly.
"SHUT UP HEATHER!" I shouted
Things were slowly going back to normal, but why did I feel so empty? I wanted my life back, my friends, and I had that now, but felt so incomplete. This is not how I had imagined things would turn out. I never wanted this. Not like this.
A part of me missed Daniel. His scent, his touch.... his kisses. I missed him. I missed our simple conversations, even if I did most of the talking. I had so many things I wanted to tell him. My feelings for him as one. I wished I had told him how much I loved him. He had never hurt me, but I stabbed him right through the heart. He had never raised a hand at me, but I shattered him to pieces with just my words. He never once felt ashamed of telling me how he truly felt about me, but I always deprived him of hearing it. I wasn't only lying to myself at this point, but also to everyone around me. I was putting up with their hurtful insults directed to him, and still had the guts to say I loved him.
Did I really? This I know, when you love someone, you won't hurt them, but protect them, which is all Daniel ever did. He got hurt countless times, put his life on the line for me, and if he wanted to, he would have easily given me to his family, but he didn't.
From day one, he did nothing but help me and try to get close to me, but what did I do? Blinded with hatred and fear for him, all I did was insult him, but he never did stop loving me.
He had finally opened up to me, and I knew him, he let me in, but all I did was throw his feelings down the drain, with no care at all.
And now, he was done trying. I'd never see him again. He was gone. I took him for granted more times than I could bare to acknowledge. Was 'love' really what I could call what I felt for Daniel?
YOU ARE READING
Respect
RomanceAthena Grace O'Mara is just but a simple girl who has already been through so much at a young age. She tries to look for peace and happiness after losing her father, and before she has the time to recover, she is faced with yet another heartbreaking...
