NEGLECTED

Chapter Thirty Four

KEATON ADLER

There she is. 

I thanked her poor excuse of a mother for writing her own address on the wedding invitation in regards to the dinner they were supposed to be having tonight. And I thanked Mason for arriving a little late because now I could intercept Ffion before her, and her brother. 

"Thank you" I tell the taxi driver, quickly pressing my card to the little machine against the dash, before opening the door and hopping out. Ffion hops out before leaning back into the car, grabbing something. A plate. She closes the door, turns around and when her eyes land on me she looks like she's seen a ghost. A big, angry ghost. 

"Keaton" My gaze snaps to Mason and I have to mask my feelings towards Ffion in this moment. I step across the street, offering Mason a tiny smile, nothing compared to the large one he's giving me. He pulls me into a handshake the second I get to his car, glancing between me and Ffion with some unreadable look on his face. Whatever it is, he deserves a prize for hiding his emotions so well. 

"I'm glad you could make it" He states smiling before finally letting go of my hand. 

"Thanks for inviting me" I reply as Mason steps out of the way, gaze continuing to bounce between me and Ffion as I slowly walk up to her. She looks a mix between scared, nervous but also relieved. Why scared? A tiny gasp escapes her mouth as I bend down and pull her into a hug that she hesitantly returns. God I missed her scent, and the way her body felt against mine. I missed the warmth she radiated and her tiny exhales against my neck. I fucking missed her. 

"I've got a thousand things I need to say to you but they can wait" I whisper in her ear. 

"I'm not waiting another week for you, Keaton. I've got better things to do and I respect myself too much to wait around for someone that want's nothing to do with me" I smiled slightly to myself, proud of the way Ffion was sticking up for herself. Go fucking her. I push her hair behind her ear and around onto her other shoulder so I can lean in and press a small kiss to her neck. 

"I want everything to do with you, sweetheart. I'll explain after, I promise."

"Do you promise to let me explain too? Or are you going to kick me out of my own parent's house before I can even get a word in?" I cringe at the memory. I was an asshole I know that, and I turned into the worst boyfriend the second I went back to grab those flowers to kick her out with. The flowers, something that giving them to me meant so much to her and I shoved them back in her face like they were nothing. 

They were fucking everything. 

"I promise."

"We'll see. No more touching until we talk" Ffion states, pulling out and away from my grip. I look back down at her and smile, at the fact she's giving me a chance to redeem myself as the best boyfriend she's ever had, at the fact she's actually standing right in front of me, but manly because of the horribly decorated biscuits on the plate she's holding. She follows my gaze, a smile crawling up onto her lips as she looks down at the plate. 

"I got the kids at school to help make and decorate them. They had a lot of fun" I grin, pointing at the biscuit that looked more icing than anything. 

"I can tell" The sight of them alone was enough to give me a tooth ache, but lord did I know they probably tasted fucking good. Ffion nudges me forward. 

"Come on. Mason left us alone, so he's already inside" Over the last so many months my perception towards Mason has been all over the fucking place. At first I thought the weird over protective smiley guy was in love with Ffion, which in it self was fucking weird and gross, but then the way she talks with and about him, and then even the way he just interacted with me leads me down different paths. Was he actually in love with her? I have no fucking clue but I hope not.