Until You (A Theo James Fanfic)

Chapter 5

Aaliyah~

The drive is silent. It's between an awkward silence and a comfortable one. He doesn't ask any questions, he just drives, and occasionally looks over at me. Probably to make sure I don't have a break down.

All I can think about is Tyler's slimy hands on me. What if Theo wasn't there to save me? What if things got out of hand? What if I just gave in?

What if, what if, what if.

But it didn't. Nothing bad happened because Theo was there to save me. So why do I keep playing the worst scenarios in my mind over and over again?

I'm supposed to be able to forgive and forget. At least that's what everyone says. That if you do, an enormous weight will be lifted off of your shoulders and you'll feel like you can breathe again. But actually doing it is a lot harder than it sounds.

But what if it's worth it? Forgiveness might be my only way to feel better again. But I can't. Nothing in me is willing to, and I'm not going to try and fight it.

"Thank you." I finally say. He looks over and nods.

"It's nothing. If you ever nee-"

"No. It's fine. That'll be the only time I bother you." I say, honestly. There's no way this is happening again. Absolutely no way.

"You didn't bother me. I really didn't mind." He sympathetically smiles at me, and I suddenly feel warm. Maybe he really doesn't mind, and he isn't just trying to be nice.

I finally settle down in the seat, feeling comfortable around him now.

He pulls up to my house. And I look at it, mourning walking inside, looking like an emotional wreck. I suppose that's what I am. An emotional wreck. I get out of the car, and as I'm about to shut the door, I open it and sit back down. I look over at him, an overwhelming feeling of panic on my features.

"Can we go somewhere else? I'm sorry to be asking you to waste time and gas and stuff on me.. But I just can't walk in there." He doesn't hesitate to answer, pulling off the curb.

"Of course." I nod and he looks back to the road. I pull out my phone and dial Lola's number. It rings a couple of times before she picks up.

"Hello? Aaliyah?" A soft, happy voice rings in my ear. Usually the sound of her voice cheers me up. But this time, I don't think anything can.

"Hey Lola. I'm so sorry to ask this of you, but I promise I'll pay extra. I have somewhere to be, and I was hoping you could stay and watch Riley?"

"Of course, anything you need. You don't have to pay extra, Riley's so fun to be around, it won't be a problem."I sigh and smile a bit, feeling a little weight rise off of my shoulders. I don't understand how she stays so positive all the time. Maybe one day she'll actually tell me no.

"Thank you so much. You're a life saver." We say a few more words and hang up. Theo briefly looks over at me, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally speaking.

"I hope you don't mind me asking" he says,"but what exactly.. Happened? I mean," he seems frantic,"if you don't want to you don't have to, I don't want to offend you." I know I can trust him, at least with the basics.

"Its okay. You deserve to know. I mean, you were there to stop that guy from whatever it is he would've done if you weren't there, right?" I awkwardly laugh and clear my throats before speaking. "Uh.. Well, that guy, his name is Tyler. He's.. Riley's dad. He left me when I told him I was pregnant. A few nights ago, he came and asked for a second chance to be a good father. And obviously, I said no. And that didn't make him too happy, I guess.." My voice trails off and I twiddle my thumbs.

"Well he's an idiot for leaving you and Riley. You deserve better." He stops and looks over at me. And in that moment, I thought he would lean in and I would turn my head away, ending in another awkward drive. But he doesn't. And I don't. And it's not.

After a while of driving, I end up at a huge house, a brown house with windows and a beautiful, wooden door.

"This is my house, but if you want to go somewhere else, that's absolutely fine." I shake my head, in awe of the structure.

"This is.. it's perfect." He smiles at me and gets out of the car, running around to the side, and opens the door for me. He takes my hand and I blush, looking down at my feet.

We walk to the door together. He digs his hands in his pockets and I glance over at him, a smile tugging at my lips. We walk up the steps, and he opens the door for me. His aroma of cologne hits me in the face. The basic colors of the house are shades of brown, with some red here and there.

"Wow." I say under my breath. He grins widely, looking around at the beautiful home with a light in his eyes.

"Yeah. It's pretty nice isn't it?" He says. He isn't cocky about it, more like it still takes his breath away. Like he's never seen the house before, though the scent that lingers here indicates otherwise,"It was my grandparents house. They gave it to me before they passed. They were good people." He smiles once again, but it doesn't reach his eyes. I tilt my head in his direction only to see tears in his wide eyes.

"It's okay not to be okay." His eyes immediately flicker to mine and he shakes his head, the corner of his mouth upturned.

"You're something else, Aaliyah Carter."