Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)

II. Chapter 3 | Part 1 - Aubree

How can I love him when I am still in love with another?

Aubree's mind swirled with incomprehensible thoughts as her emotions wreaked havoc on her heart. She had strong feelings for Stone, yes, but tearing herself away from Dan in his hospital bed proved as strenuous as it had been for her to tear herself away from Stone earlier that morning.

Traitorous heart. A pox on thee!

She rubbed her face as she stared out the window of the car as they made their way to her and Dan's apartment.

She didn't know where the Shakespeare came from, but her situation had to be something right out of a play. If not, Shakespeare would have had a field day, whipping up some kind of masterpiece that would have left the audience on their knees in tears. Or, maybe it was all in her head since she was the one caught in the middle of it all and didn't trust her own heart with her feelings anymore?

It shouldn't be this hard.

The tension was back, thick and heavy again. She could almost feel the invisible wisps of it curling around her shoulders and tightening around her.

She was afraid to even look at Stone. She wasn't blind to his wrinkled nose when she climbed into the car after spending a few hours with Dan. At first, she thought that she had offended him by taking so long, but when Stone asked Gwen to spritz her as best as she could in the car, she realized it was because she smelled like Dan. Did Dan's scent repulse him that much? She'd always liked Dan's smell.

If the spritz was supposed to break the ice between them, it failed miserably.

She could see Stone's jaw locked in place as he drove. He didn't even reach for her hand like he had on the drive up. Obviously, he wasn't happy with her. What did he expect? That she'd only spend a few minutes with Dan? Impossible. He had to be more flexible than that, whether he liked it or not.

The tension began to grate on her nerves. What was his deal?

So what if she smelled like Dan? She was still technically engaged to him. She was still going to live with him these next few days or weeks until she broke up with him. What did he expect from her?

They stopped to grab some pizza before resuming their trip home. Gwen ran into the pizza parlor to place the order and pick it up, leaving Aubree and Stone alone in the car.

It was awkward. Stone wouldn't even look at her. Instead, he closed his eyes and leaned his head on his hand, his elbow propped up on the open window.

A mildly warm evening breeze blew in, the smell of pizza in the air.

By then, she wasn't even in the mood to talk or deal with whatever pissy thoughts were running through his head. He could sit and stew in his own juices for all she cared.

Luckily, he didn't say anything to her either. At one point, he looked like he would bring something up. He caught her gaze for a moment, only to mash his lips together and look away again.

Gwen huffed when she got back in the car with four large pizzas and called them both "incorrigible." She added nothing after that for the remainder of the ride and instead stuffed her face full of pizza.

She had already downed one entire pizza by herself by the time they pulled up to the apartment building. Aubree gaped at her as she threw out the empty box on their way in.

Gwen tilted her head in question at her as she held open the door for Aubree to enter the building. "What? We have big appetites. Wait until you see the guys eat when they're starving. Ravenous wolves."

Stone merely grunted as he followed Aubree in.

A few minutes later, they made it to the fifteenth floor and were walking down the hallway. Gwen was already stifling a yawn and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.