Never Let Me Go (Derek Hale Fanfiction Book #3)

Chapter Nine: Preoccupations

                          Three days. Three days Derek and I had been down in his room, barely leaving the bed as we made love, watched TV, talked, ate, drank, slept...anything we desired. My mind was so serene and bursting with joy that the attack from the vampires last Friday seemed like a vague memory, not able to be real when I had someone like Derek in my life. Nothing can go wrong when I’m with Derek. Not a thing. I didn’t worry, I didn’t stress, I didn’t even give Beacon Hills a second thought for three whole days.

But then everything changed.

                    “Chris, we seriously need to talk,” Aiden said to me in a low voice as I reached for the carton of orange juice in the fridge. Scowling, I shut the door with a little bit more force than I usually would have, and followed Aiden outside, where the cool warmth blew a breeze across my bare legs.

“What is it?” I squinted at Aiden with the sunlight shooting daggers into my eyes, my body already beginning to grow anxious to be with Derek again.

“We can’t stay here forever, you know. It’s been a week since we left, and Ethan called me; the wedding happened yesterday, and he thinks the vamps will be gone by Saturday night.”

“Saturday?” 

“Yeah.”

“But that’s tomorrow!” I protested, my mouth parted in shock and indignation. I can’t leave. I can’t leave Derek just yet. No.

“Chris, you’ve already been gone for a week. You’ve missed six days of school, and what do you think your mom is going to say when she gets a call from the school saying you’ve been absent all week? She’s going to panic. I’m sorry, but it’s time for us to go back,” Aiden explained, and even though everything he said was true, I still hated him for it. I can’t go back.

“I’m not leaving, Aiden,” I argued, crossing my arms over my chest and tightening my glare at him.

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not!” I screamed, stamping my feet like an eight-year-old and surprising even myself by bursting into tears. Standing there, crying, my muscles suddenly relaxed when I felt a warm body press against mine and a strong arm wrap around my shoulders.

“Shh, it’s okay baby. It’s okay,” Derek soothed me, rubbing a hand up and down my arm and holding me tightly against him. My hands latched onto his t-shirt, and I turned to press my face into his chest. Derek shielded me from the pain, from the denial, from everything.

                        Peeling my face off of his chest, I brought my tear-stained face up to Derek’s and kissed him tenderly. His hands cradled my cheeks, his soft lips making more tears stream out of my eyes as I realized he was saying goodbye. 

“I don’t want to leave, Derek,” I whispered, not even bothering to try and hide the pain in my eyes. It broke my heart to think about leaving Derek again, and as he looked at me with a resigned sadness, I knew it hurt him too. Maybe even more than it hurts me.

“I know, Chris. And I don’t want you to go. But you can’t stay here forever.”

“But-”

“I’ll be home sooner than you think, okay?” Derek comforted me, kissing me on the forehead as he pulled me in close and hugged me tightly, laying his head on top of mine. I breathed in his familiar, spicy scent as I held onto him with every fiber of my being, my shoulders shaking with the uncontrollable sobs wracking my body.

“We both took a vacation from our duties, but now it’s time to buckle up and face the fire. I love you, Chris, and I know you can do this. You’re strong enough to get in that car and go home, to study and get good grades and take care of yourself and your friends until I get back. And when I do, I know you’re strong enough to take care of me as well. You’re strong enough to handle anything, Christina Laymen,” Derek whispered my name as he pressed his forehead against mine and held me in his arms for one moment more before he let me go.