In Shallow Seas We Sail || Task Para
Staring: Alice Knight Featuring: Jared Leto Mentions of: Alice's parents, Imogene and Kyle Knight Location: Jared's abode; Los Angeles, California Date&Time: 17 August 2013; 3:46 AM Status: Self/Task para -- Closed Song: x
The counter parts took their respective seats next to one another, Jared's hands holding hers in his lap, knees touching, their bodies shifted inward towards one another. Alice, though a somewhat naive girl, was still bright, keeping her wits about her tonight; eyes moving from Jared’s beautiful face around the small apartment room, making sure nothing looked out of the ordinary before she gave herself away. Tonight was the night, and Jared had to keep things sober this time around.
She let out a soft sigh and looked down at her legs, showing in the soft light of the loft, her shorts hugging her legs tightly. “I’ve got eyes in the back of my head,” she said, her heart aching as she did so, though she told herself not to cry. At all costs, Alice. You mustn’t cry. Jared’s head cocked to the side, his innocence showing for just a moment before he let go of her hands, obviously offended. “I know where you’re going with this, and I’m not surprised. You take me for a fool, and maybe you’re right. If… if I were wiser I would not have let myself come here tonight,” she continued, her voice shaking, as she felt the familiar lump in her throat. No, Alice, do not cry.
Looking up at Jared, she could see all the memories of the summer they spent together, all the times she could remember and some that she couldn’t. She knew his secret now and yet… yet she still wanted to be around him, be with him on more than a sexual level. Of all the times they were to have sex, she couldn’t remember a single one. Only adding to her anxiety, she looked back at her legs, ashamed that she had even come here. She had to free herself from the man, had to for her own good, before they actually started a relationship. And that thought alone made her want to cave in on herself, made it harder to breathe.
His hands, once warm, were now cold, pushing her away. Standing up he looked down at her, hurt and something on the side of amazement in his features. “You know nothing,” he whispered to her, malice and hatred in every syllable. Although she was speaking the truth, he would deny every statement; that was just his nature.
Here she was watching the summer from his eyes fade away with the winter, the changing of the times changing her as well. She wouldn’t stand for this sort of treatment ever again, not from the likes of any man or woman. She was a person and she mattered. As much as she could talk down on herself, she meant something in the grand scheme of things and she wasn’t about to let Jared steal her memory again. There was too much of that going on in her life for her to tolerate. She had this huge hole in her heart from her past trauma that she thought Jared would fill, but for some reason, he just wouldn’t fit.
Aching from her heart to her stomach, the pain moved to her very core, making her whimper out in agony before she looked up at the man she so desperately loved, but never could be with. Not on these terms.
“Alice,” he began, calmer now, looking down into her blue hues, the placidness in his frame replaced with utter regret and sorrow. He dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands, shaking it back and forth for a moment before he could face her again. “Lust can give a man so many regrets,” he defended himself, looking from his hands to her eyes once more, the pout of her lips trembling with heartache and want, the freedom she clung to making this harder as the time dragged on, the clock on the wall ticking loudly in the silence shared between the pair. She shook her head, unwilling to let herself back out of this, not again. She couldn’t be with him anymore. This was the end.
“I guess your love was only as safe as the promise you made,” she huffed, standing firm in her conviction. “You never loved me. You only wanted to take what wasn’t yours and make me out to be a fool. I’m not falling for your tricks anymore.” It was now that she let her true emotions show, the tears lining down her cheeks, make up streaking down her porcelain features.
“Alice, please,” Jared begged, taking her hands back in his own, red lips kissing over her knuckles. She shook her head although he wasn’t looking to see the reaction. “Please, it was just a one-time thing… I… well, you know how I feel.” He said, still unable to say those three words that would have tricked her once more.
“You are the storm, the wind and the waves; you break me in two and toss me away.” She sobbed, her voice cracking numerous times, stopping before her next statement to collect and regain her composure. “I fell apart, Jared. I fell apart when I fell for you, and you took advantage of that!” She tossed his hands aside, licking her dry and cracking curves as she wiped the mascara and eyeliner off her cheeks. “How can I float above the water that fills my lungs?” She asked him, not expecting an answer.
He looked up at her, tears in his eyes as well before she stood to leave his house, plans of going to a rundown hotel for the night as it was all she could afford.
“Pease, stay with me,” he choked out, standing to his feet, hands moving reaching out to her, wanting her to fall back into his arms as she so often did. Once more, she shook her head and turned away from him to walk out the door and out of his life.
