FULL CIRCLE - CHAPTER 15 - PEACH
CHAPTER 14 - ENTER SANDMAN
Main Author’s Note : HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REBLOGS, LIKES, OR EVEN JUST READS!!! ITS WHY I KEEP GOING!!! As always, positive feedback, constructive criticism, and reblogging are always welcome. I own nothing except the storyline of my MC. Everything else belongs to Pixelberry.
SECOND AUTHOR’S NOTE : GUYS!!! I have missed you all so much!!! I’m so so so sorry it’s taken so long to get this chapter out, but I hope it was worth the wait!!! Thanks so much for sticking with me! It’s legit been a crazy year!!!
Special thanks to @ao719 for putting up with me and beta-reading and being the inspiration for Aria!!! You’re the best!
Tag List: @likethetailofacomet @carabeth @rhymesmenagerie @speedyoperarascalparty @butindeed @wannabemc2 @client-327 @jovialyouthmusic @be-still-my-aching-heart @riseandshinelittleblossom @lodberg @drakesensworld @alj4890 @rainbowsinthestorm @ao719 @andy-loves-corgis @drakewalkerisreal @whenyourheartskipsabeat @furiousherringoperatortoad @silentcoyotesong @choicesmacmakes @ladyangel70 @lady-alex-keith @notoriouscs @lynne1993 @qammh-blog @gnatbrain @sirbeepsalot @crookedslimecreatorpasta @moneyfordiamonds @annekebbphotography @desiree-0816 @emichelle @addictedtodrakefanfic @kingliam2019 @burnsoslow @twinkle-320 @bascmve01 @mom2000aggie
He stood silent as Liam spoke; his arms tight across his chest and the darkness of the corner he was in casting an eerie shadow over his already angry face.
“… But this is the part I just can’t understand: You know the men she has in her life; you know her brothers, you know me. But most importantly, you know Drake. We’d all step up for her; do whatever was needed, no questions asked, but Drake?… There is nothing he wouldn’t do to protect her from anything or anyone he deems a threat. So, tell me. What could have possibly been so important that you’d, in a sense, risk your life simply by knocking on her door?”
The silence urged Liam to continue. “What were you doing there, Tariq?” He let out a frustrated sigh as he tapped his fingers on the table, taking in Tariq’s neutral expression. “The only way you are going to help yourself here, is by telling us exactly what happened.”
Drake couldn’t contain his scoff. “What he means, asshole, is that, at this point, a jail cell is the only thing that could possibly save you from me. The sooner you’re charged and locked up, the safer you’ll most likely be.”
“No, Liam!” He stepped forward, slowly making his way towards them, addressing Liam first. “This wasn’t some random person he attacked; this was Remington! Our- MY Remington!” He said, pounding his fist to his chest as he stopped at Liam’s side. “You wanna take your time and ‘shoot the shit with him about what he was doing there’, that’s on you, but I don’t have time for it.” Lowering his hands to the table, he leaned menacingly towards Tariq. “You forced yourself into my girlfriend’s room… You put your hands on her, multiple times and hard enough that she’s now reminded of that night every time she looks at herself; and then, you tried to take her life?! Hell, Tariq, with the anger I’m feeling, a jail cell probably won’t save you at this point! Now SPEAK!”
Tariq jumped in his chair at Drake’s shout and his response was so quiet, no one in the room was sure if they’d even heard it. “I don’t remember…”
“What the hell did you just say?”
“I don’t remember, ok?! I don’t remember attacking her; I don’t even remember going to her room! I’ve done my best to steer clear of her since her return so I don’t know what possessed me to go see her that night-”
“You lying bastard!” Before anyone could stop him, Drake rushed forward, wrapping his hand around Tariq’s neck and slamming him face first into the table. “I’m gonna kill you!”
When the shock of Drake’s attack wore off, Bastien was the first to act. He struggled to separate them before calling for help from the 2 guards standing watch just outside the door, knowing Drake’s rage was too much for him alone to handle. As they pried him off Tariq and fought to drag him out of the room, Drake made sure he got the last words. “You hear me, you fuck?! I’ll kill you if you go near her again!”
“Put him back in his cell! He’s not allowed any visitors while I’m gone!” Liam yelled back as he stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him before turning to face a pacing Drake. “Listen, I know you’re upset; rightfully so. But you can’t-”
“Upset? Upset?! This goes so far past being upset!” He stopped, pointing a finger over Liam’s shoulder as he yelled. “As long as he’s still breathing, he’s a threat to her and you know it!”
“He’s not getting out any time soon and even if he was, he won’t come near her again. She’s safe, Drake. She’s safe and she’s okay-”
“SHE’S NOT OKAY! She’s-’ Drake took a deep breath, trying to contain his rage as he continued, ‘It’s been nearly a week and she’s barely talking to anyone, including me! That ‘Lockwood’ chick she’s friends with from New York? With the exception of when I got into the accident, they were talking every day since she’s been home, and now? I don’t think she’s answered a phone call or responded to a message since. And God forbid someone even tries to bring up that night, she completely shuts down! It’s like she refuses to acknowledge that anything happened to her. I can feel her slipping away from me… She blames me for what happened, I know she does, and she has every right to! This whole thing is my fault and if I don’t do something, I’m gonna lose her. For good this time… She’s not okay, Liam.”
“I know… She won’t return my calls or texts either but Drake, this was not your fault.” At seeing Drake shake his head, clearly disagreeing, Liam continued. “Did you send him to her room?”
“No, of course not, but if-”
“If you’d known what he was going to do, would you still have left her that night?”
Drake let out a resigned sigh. “No…”
“Then stop! Stop blaming yourself! Remi doesn’t blame you because it wasn’t your fault and until he tells us what really happened, I’m going to assume he was waiting until she was alone!… Now, listen, I have to go to New York for a few days for an emergency UN meeting. Can I trust that I’ll still have a prisoner when I return?”
“I’m not making any promises… But before you go, I think I have an idea of how to help her… And I’m gonna need your help to pull it off!”
“Remi? Babe, are you in here?” Drake called out as he entered her bedroom, the sounds of the shower running the only response he got. As he stepped further into the room and began to strip, a text chime sounded and he couldn’t help himself as he glanced down at Remi’s phone on the nightstand.
He sighed as he took in the other unopened messages and unanswered calls, knowing then that the decision he was about to make was definitely the right one. After checking to make sure the water was still running, he picked up her phone and swiped across the screen to unlock it. He pulled up the contact list, quickly finding what he was looking for and typed the information into his own phone before putting hers back on the nightstand. He sent a brief message to the phone number he took, smiling to himself when he got the reply he wanted and after confirming with Liam, he finished stripping down and made his way to the bathroom. But the sight in front of him was enough to stop him in the doorway. Remi sat on the floor of the shower, her head low, her arms wrapped around her legs as her shoulders shook. He slowly stepped in and crouched down, putting his arms around her and silently cursing Tariq when she tensed in his hold. “Shhh… It’s okay, baby. It’s just me.”
She turned, unable to speak as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. He held her tightly, stroking her hair as the water cascaded down around them and, after a few minutes, he spoke up. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Remi, so talk to me. Tell me what you need me to do to fix this for you.”
She was quiet for a moment, leaving Drake to wonder if she was going to respond until finally, “… Make me forget, Drake.” He pulled back, his gaze questioning her. “Make it so I forget the all bad and only remember our good, even if it’s just for a little bit… Please?”
She stared up at him, the desperation on her face heart-wrenching, and without hesitating, he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. She opened her mouth, allowing their tongues to stroke in sync as he pulled her up from the floor and lifted her leg. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, slowly wrapping her hand around him, stroking him before positioning him at her entrance. “I need you, Love.”
She gasped against his mouth as he slid inside of her, his grip on her thigh tight, his movements deliberate as he caught his rhythm. She moaned loudly as he hit that spot over and over.
“Oh my God! Right there!”
“That’s it, baby… It’s me and you. Just like it’s always been and just like it always will be. Let go, Remi; Come with me.” She shuddered against him, feeling the weight on her chest lift as she climaxed and at the same time, feeling his release fill her. He leaned forward, resting his cheek against hers as they both worked to catch their breath and he smiled to himself as she whispered, “I love you, Drake.”
“Seriously, what is taking so long?! I could’ve been halfway home by now!” Liam sighed dramatically as he checked his watch for what felt like the millionth time. It had been a rough couple of days and now all he wanted was to go home and relax, but because of Drake’s plan, he was being forced to sit and wait on the tarmac. He stood up and paced a little before walking towards the door and yelling out to Bastien.
“Yes, sir. Angelo just called me. They’re on their way now.” No sooner had the words left his mouth that a black SUV pulled up next to the staircase of the jet. Liam headed down the stairs as Angelo slid out of the passenger seat and opened the rear door, holding out his hand.
“You’re late, Ang-” Liam’s mouth dropped slightly as the tiny woman stepped out. “Damn…” He whispered to himself as he took her in for the first time. Even dressed in a simple tee that knotted at the bottom, ankle jeans, and canvas tennis shoes, Aria Lockwood was stunning. She stood no more than 5 feet tall, with gorgeous blue eyes and a messy bun of blonde hair piled on top of her head. Liam knew without a doubt that he was in big trouble… And then she opened her mouth.
“Thanks, Jeeves, but I can take it from here!” She said as she brushed off Angelo’s hand and bent down to tie her shoe. Bastien did his best to hide his grin as he watched Liam stare in awe, before she bounced back to her feet. She thrust her hand out towards him, flashing a bright smile. “Hi, I’m Aria but no one calls me that You can call me Ari which is not that big of a difference I don’t know why I introduced myself like it was Are you just gonna leave my hand hanging mid-air?” She’d barely taken a breath by the time she finished and she raised her eyebrows, waiting for Liam to acknowledge her before clearing her throat and lowering her hand. “OoooKay then… Guess so…” He shook his head as he finally snapped out of his daze and quickly grabbed her hand, smiling back at her, both taking careful note of the spark as they touched.
“Uh, Liam. It’s really nice to meet you, Aria.”
“Wait… Are you THE Liam? Liam Liam?! Remi’s Liam?… Huh…”
“Remi’s Li-? Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“What’s what supposed to mean?”
“You said ‘Huh’… Like you were expecting something else… What did you-”
“Oh, nothing never mind it’s not important… So, CorDOEN… YAH… Never heard of it. It must be pret-ty tiny!”
Bastien couldn’t contain his laugh, instead trying cover it with a cough.
Liam sent a quick glare in his direction before turning back to Aria. “Oh-kay… Well, we’re actually running behind schedule so do you have everything you need? Are you ready to go?”
“We’re late because Mr. ‘Kill someone with one punch’ over here,” she threw a thumb over her shoulder at Angelo, “Couldn’t prove that he was who he said he was-”
Angelo stared at her in disbelief that she’d thrown him under the bus. “Ahem, you demanded I show you 3 pieces of identification.”
But she continued on as if he hadn’t interrupted her. “-And then he got a little handsy so I had to nut-check him.”
Liam immediately shifted his glare to Angelo, taking note of his wince as he tried to discreetly adjust himself. “I didn’t, I swear! It was for security, Sir. I just did a pat down.”
“Well, a little warning woulda been nice. Now you’ll know for next time!”
She headed up the stairs, leaving Liam and Bastien unable to do anything but stare. Finally turning to Liam, Bastien chuckled. “She’s definitely a friend of Lady Remington’s!”
Liam stared at the papers in front of him, occasionally peeking over them to sneak a glance at her as she stared out the window in awe. When he realized he’d been reading the same line for the last 5 minutes, he put the papers down, picking his scotch glass up instead.
“Is this your first time on a plane?” He put the glass to his mouth to take a drink.
“Yeah! It’s amazing! The only complaint I have is that I’ve had to pee for the last 2 hours but I’m scared because I don’t want my butt to get sucked into the toilet!”
Not expecting that answer, Liam spit his drink over the table in front of him. “Do you have any kind of filter at all?”
“No… My mama used to tell me if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all, so one time I went like 3 months and didn’t say a word to anyone… Tell me about this teeny tiny place we’re going and how my bestie ended up there herself.”
“What do you mean? She didn’t tell you why she was leaving?”
“Remi’s not very open about her life. Getting her to talk about herself is like pullin’ teeth. All I got was a text the morning she left that said she was going out of town for a few days and the next thing I know, she dating some weirdo from this itty bitty country and isn’t planning on coming back for a while and then said weirdo decides to literally ship me to her because she’s a little homesick.”
“Well, let me start off by clearing up that ‘Drake’ isn’t a weirdo. He’s been best friends with myself and Remington’s brother pretty much our whole lives which means he’s known Remington her whole life because she grew up in this ‘itty bitty’ country, as you seem to like to continuously point out. He asked you to come because he loves her and would do anything to make her happy, even more so after everything she’s been through! And another thing, ‘Cordonia’ may be small and not very well known to a country as big as yours but we have a lot to offer and a lot to be proud of!” He crossed his arms, finishing his rant in a huff.
“You don’t have to be so touchy about it, geez… You’d think you owned it or something…”
“I don’t own it, I run it! I’m the Crowned Prince of ‘said itty bitty country’!” He said, his voice high as he mocked her earlier words.
She snorted, which turned into hysterical laughter for a few minutes before she was finally able to speak. “Yeah right! ‘PFFFT’ And I’m the Queen of England! Come on, what do you take me for?! I mean seriously, don’t let the blonde hair and big boobs fool ya! I’m not an idiot!”
“I’ve met the Queen of England… Several times and trust me you are not her! You don’t believe me?” He looked around, seeing their surroundings. “This is my jet!”
“Yeah, so? I could tell the minute we met, that you had money. Rich people fly around in fancy jets all the time, doesn’t mean they’re royalty.”
Liam rolled his eyes, his attention catching on his signet ring with the Cordonian crest. He stuck his hand out, practically putting it right in her face. “Ha!”
“I have a fancy one too” She said, bored, as she stuck her own hand out, showing him her class ring.
His frustration began to show as he mumbled under his breath, desperately searching for anything else he could use as proof. “This is ridiculous! I can’t believe- Yes! Here!” He shouted as he pulled out his ID out of his coat pocket. “See? It says right here, ‘His Royal Highness, Prince Liam’!”
She stared at him, condescendingly. “Seriously?! Do you know how many fake ID’s I made in college? I once got into a bar with an ID that said ‘Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock’ courtesy of Phoebe Buffay!”
“Bastien, tell her! Tell her I’m a prince!”
Bastien didn’t even look up from his newspaper as he rolled his eyes. “He’s a prince…” She couldn’t contain her giggle as Liam scoffed and raised his hand towards Bastien as if to say ‘I told you so’.
“Remi already told me you were royalty… You’re fun to mess with.”
Despite the fact that they’d just gotten off an almost 9 hour flight, all he could think about was how beautiful she was as she slept with her head resting on his shoulder. As they came to a stop outside of Ramsford, he gently stroked her cheek, smiling as she let out a loud snore. “Aria… Wake up. We’re here.”
She slowly sat up, trying and failing to discretely wipe the drool from her chin as she looked out the window. “Wait a minute… This is Remi’s house? She’s rich, too?! This heifer has been buying us cheap tequila for the last year when she coulda bought the good stuff?”
Liam shook his head, laughing to himself as Bastien opened the door, but before she could slide out, he reached over, grabbing her hand to stop her. “Wait, Aria!” She turned back, curious. “Listen, I know we just met and don’t really know each other that well, but I was hoping you’d want to have dinner with me tomorrow?”
“Like a date? Gee, I don’t know,” she tapped her finger to her chin. “It would have to depend, I guess. For instance, do you have plans to seduce me at said dinner?”
He chuckled lightly. “Maybe… I guess we’ll just have to see how the night goes.”
She leaned into him, placing a soft kiss on his lips before pulling away, locking eyes as she whispered. “I don’t think you can handle me.”
Liam felt his breath go heavy. “That sounds like a challenge, Ms. Lockwood.”
Liam reached over her, grabbing the handle to the door and slamming it shut before pulling her onto his lap to straddle him. He cupped her cheek, drawing her face closer to him as he nearly growled. “One thing you should know about me, is I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge.” He pressed his lips to hers, sliding his tongue across her bottom lip, begging for access. She opened her mouth, allowing them to get lost in each other for mere seconds before Liam pulled away, smirking. “Challenge accepted.”
He leaned them back, nearly pressing her into the seat beneath them as he hovered over her. Aria closed her eyes and parted her lips in anticipation for his next kiss, but her eyes shot open as he knocked on the window, alerting Bastien to open the door. He smiled at the shocked look on her face, knowing he had her right where he wanted her. “I’ll pick you up at 7. Goodnight, Peach.”
Want to continue? Click below for the next chapter :
(COMING SOON) CHAPTER 16 - YOU GO, GLEN COCO!
