I love you, Ian Somerhalder

Fifty Six

Right so I know that you guys didn't complete the challenge. But that's ok because at least now I know who really supports me and who is just here for the sake of the story. And in honor of those who really support me, I thought it was only fair to upload this chapter for them. Enjoy!

Amy was driving me home after a great day at the cinema and then to pizza hut for dinner. On the way home she was extremely giddy, excited to see Joseph later that evening. 

"Good luck with Joseph," I said, opening the door to get out of the car.

"Thanks," she replied. "You have fun tonight as well." Amy winked at me. 

Rolling my eyes, I stood up and waved as she headed down the street. When I got to the door, it was unlocked. 

"I swear I locked it," I muttered to myself as I opened the door cautiously, in case anyone was inside. I sneaked along the hallway and poked my head into the living room. What I saw wasn't scary at all. What I saw filled my body with happiness.

"Ian?"

He turned his head, confirming that it was, in fact, Ian sat on my sofa.

My lips curled into a huge smile as I ran over to him and jumped into his arms.

I hugged him for a minute, pulled away and whispered, "I missed you." 

However, his expression didn't match mine. 

I was smiling while he was frowning.

I was hugging while he was just sitting. 

I was happy while he was.....angry. 

"Ian, what's wrong?"

He shook his head, turning away from me. 

I grabbed his head in my hands and forced him to look at me.

"Ian, what's wrong?" I repeated the question. 

"What's that?" he demanded, pointing to my computer. 

I was confused, but then I remembered. 

The book. Amy changed the name. Dammit!

"No, Ian, you don't understand." I said quietly.

"What don't I understand? Huh? That you were using me for a stupid book? That I was an experiment to see if you could 'get me' in those five days? I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING, NATALIE! I THOUGHT YOU CARED!"

He was shouting. His face was close to mine. I flinched at every word he yelled into my ear. 

"No! Ian! You don't get it. We do have something. I swear. Amy changed the name of the file as a joke! It was meant to be a gift for you, the book-"

"Stop making excuses," he simply said, standing up and walking away. 

"Please, don't leave," I whispered, hanging my head low in guilt.

"No, this whole thing was a mistake. I have to go."

I didn't stop him. I knew my attempts would fail. 

And so I let him go. I let the man that brought so much happiness and so much light into my life walk out of the door as if I was nothing to him. I didn't know if he actually wanted to end things there and then, but quite frankly, I didn't care. All I knew was that whatever made him happy was what made me happy, so I only cared about whether what he was doing was what the man really wanted. I didn't care if he went off with some other girl and got married and had beautiful children. I didn't care if he pushed the memory of Natalie Shipman to the back of his brain forever. I only cared that he knew he made the right choice. And if being with me wasn't making him happy, then I would step out of his life; no matter how much it hurt me inside or how long it took for my heart to heal, I would do it. I would do anything for him because I realized that, in that moment, I loved him.