None Other Than You

by Samolu Pearl

  "Safety locks." He says grinning. Teigan turns the key and drives off down the street as I stare, open-mouthed and shocked to the point that words have left me.

  "Why are you doing this?" I demand. Can't he just leave me alone?"

  Teigan's eyes drift over towards my own. "Because I want to talk to you."

  "You're going a bit out of your way to just talk to me, Teigan." I fold my arms across my chest and sink into the seat.

  He looks at me, a smile playing on his lips, "Like I said, Ace, I'm taking a drastic course of action." His eyes slowly revert back to the road. I'm still staring at him like he's a lunatic but he drives on.

  For the first few minutes I'm shivering, but then the car warms up. I realize Teigan turned on the seat heaters and I can't help but feel a little better. It is just a car ride after all.

  The entire ride is silent and I can't help but fidget. I'm hoping he'll just drop me off at my house and be gone. Then I only have to deal with him tomorrow and even then I'll have Dan and Sean to hide behind if they don't hate me for ruining their night.

  We reach my house and he pulls up alongside the front of the yard. I pull open the door and scramble out, crossing the snow-covered lawn to get to my front steps faster. After about four steps I realize this is a bad idea. I'm in heels, and the snow comes up to the middle of my calves.

  "What am I going to do with you?" I turn around just in time to see Teigan before he scoops me back into his arms. He grins down at me as he crosses the rest of the yard.

  This time, I don't struggle.

  "You enjoy doing this, don't you?" His grin simply widens. We reach the front door and he sets me down gently. "Thanks for driving me back." I say. I move to grab the door handle, but Teigan's hand clasps the knob just after mine. The touch of his hand grasping mine immediately speeds the beating of my heart.

  In my head, I tell my heart to shut up.

  Teigan's eyes capture my own. "You don't think you're getting off the hook do you?" I give him a puzzled look and he sighs. Taking my hand in his, he uses his other hand to open the front door. "I told you I wanted to talk to you. And that's exactly what we are going to do."

  "But-"

  "Go upstairs and change. Shower too." I look up at him, astonished. "It will warm you up." His lips pull into a light smile. "God, Delaney, you have quite the interesting mind."

  "Shut up." I say, blushing. I look away from him, standing awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs. I notice Dan and Sean are not on the couches as they should be. This worries me slightly. I saw the Impala in the driveway, so where are the boys?

  "I'll be waiting for you." Teigan's soft voice draws my eyes to his. They are so startlingly blue even in the dull lighting that it takes my breath away. I nod slowly and stumble up the first few stairs before regaining my balance.

  I immediately find the answer to the question about my brothers. They are sprawled out together on my own bed with a nasty note scribbled from Eleni on my door.

  Payback's a bitch

  I roll my eyes and crumple the note, tossing it into the garbage can beside my desk. I grab my pajamas and head into the bathroom, shaking my head and cursing Eleni silently in my head. Now I have to sleep on the couch on Christmas Eve. There's no way I can move those two lugs off my bed by myself.

  I could ask Teigan, but then again he would probably want something in return for the favor. And who knows what his mind might come up with.

  That's right, I remind myself. Teigan is sitting downstairs waiting to talk to me. He's probably going to ask me to explain myself, once again. I stand in the shower letting the water pour over me. It certainly does warm me up. I feel my muscles relax from all of the tense feelings I've been having lately.

  It's Christmas Eve and I'm only worrying about myself and how I feel or don't feel about the guy who moved in across the street; the guy who seems to like me for who I am and seems to genuinely care about me. I should be worrying about my family, how my mom's relationship is going and if she's happy or not. I shouldn't be thinking that her boyfriend is a bad person just because she's been in a bad relationship before.

  I shouldn't hold myself back from a relationship just because other members of my family have been hurt by people they thought they loved and trusted. Part of finding out who your soul mate is, is getting hurt.

  Isn't it?

  I stay in the shower for a while longer, sorting out my thoughts. As I turn off the water I have come to a resolution on several things.

  One: I'm going to answer any question Teigan has honestly, and I'm going to consider, honestly consider, giving him a chance.

  Two: I'm going to apologize to my brothers and do any favor they ask of me while they are here. Yes I know the risk to this resolution, but I feel bad and I'm willing to take it.

  Three: I plan on having a good, long talk with my mother at some point this break (the sooner the better) about how her relationship is going and if she really is happy.

  I get dressed quickly in my flannel pants and t-shirt and head downstairs. Teigan is sitting on the ground in front of the fire, his eyes closed. I walk slowly towards him, admiring how peaceful and kind he looks sitting here, silent and calm.

  "Hey." My voice comes out a lot softer than I planned, but Teigan's eyes flutter open, and he turns to look at me.

  "Hey." He replies back. He pats the spot on the carpet next to him and I fold my legs underneath me as I flop to the ground. He laughs lightly at my less than graceful motion and reaches onto the tile in front of the fireplace. It's the first time I notice the two mugs steaming there.

  "You made hot chocolate?" I ask, astonished as he hands me a mug. He nods and takes a sip from his.

  "They've cooled down enough you could probably drink it now." He watches as I take a tentative sip and, sure enough, it's just right.

  "It's good. Thanks." I murmur, holding the mug close to warm my hands. We sit, staring into the flames long enough for me to finish off most of my mug. "So-" I say vaguely.

  "So." He responds. Teigan sets his mug down on the tiles once again and turns to face me. "Are you going to be stubborn again, or can I actually get a few answers to my questions?"

  I look down at my feet and mutter my response. The room is quite however, so my words aren't hidden at all. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

  Even though my sight is aimed at the floor, I can see Teigan's eyes dart upwards towards my face, his expression riddled with surprise. "Why the sudden change of mind/"

  I shrug. "I think, maybe, I've finally decided to stop running." I bring my eyes up to Teigan's to find him staring at me intensely. His stare is so intimate I have to pull my eyes away, back to the fire, to regain my breath.

  "I'm glad." His voice washes over me, warm and calming, and I shiver with the sound. My eyes still on the fire, I faintly hear Teigan slide closer to me and place his arm around my shoulder. His hand runs up and down my arm, creating friction, warming me through to my core. I relax slightly under his touch and my eyes close. We sit for a moment, the tension that always seemed to be between us before is gone. A new kind of electricity lies in the air around us, making my heart speed up as if it is going to leap out of my chest.

  "So." I say, breaking the silence. "What… what did you want to ask me?" My voice is soft, low; but I know Teigan can hear me.

  Teigan takes a deep breath. "Why do you keep running away?" He asks, the same question he has wanted an answer to for weeks.

  "Because…" You're giving him a chance, remember, I have to remind myself. "I'm afraid."

  His voice is filled with concern and confusion. "What are you afraid of?"

  "Getting hurt." I murmur, softly. I burry my face in my shoulder closest to Teigan and he rests his chin atop of my head. His other arm wraps around me and pulls me closer to him. I let him.

  "I don't want to hurt you, Delaney. I never want to hurt you." His voice is calming, and I believe him.

  "I know that, but… I've had bad experiences wit
h getting hurt and-"

  "Wait. Not to sound cruel or anything but," He pauses, his voice sounds confused, "Ryan told me you've never been in a relationship before."

  "I haven't."

  "Then how-?"

  "I haven't personally experienced getting hurt in a relationship but I've watched and heard plenty of stories from my family members. My mom, my sister, my brothers; they've all been hurt by relationships multiple times. Every time someone in my family gets into a relationship it's like everyone else is holding their breath until something goes wrong. It's a family trait I suppose."

  Teigan says nothing for a moment, but his arms still hold me close to him. Even though I've been holding all of this back for so long, it feels so good to get it out and tell him.

  "Bad things happen to good people."

  "Yeah. I suppose." I say softly.

  "Delaney, not everyone gets hurt in relationships, and even if they do, there's someone out there who is just for them. Someone who couldn't dream of hurting them."

  "Yeah. We're cursed with that too."

  "What?"

  "Remember? My dad? He was my mom's special someone. He hurt her too, just in a different way."

  "You blame your dad?"

  "No." I respond quickly. "I don't blame Patrick for that, but I know just how much that hurt my mom." I laugh, bitterly. "I definitely know how much that hurt mom."

  "What do you mean?" He asks slowly, gently.

  I sigh and shake my head. "I don't even know if I can explain it."

  Teigan's hand leaves my shoulder. His hand gently slides under my chin and lifts my face to look into his eyes. I think he knows how much power he has in his eyes. "Try me." His voice gives me goose bumps.

  I sigh, my eyes not leaving his, and frown. "It's extremely complicated."

  His eyes only press me harder. "Try me." He repeats gently.

  I close my eyes and lean into him. This will be easier without looking at him. "Sarah's father wasn't Patrick." I start out slowly. I can tell Teigan is holding very still, waiting for me to keep going with my tale.

  I take another deep breath and continue. "My mom had a boyfriend in high school. She thought he was going to propose to her after they graduated. This was in her junior year. That summer, she got pregnant. Her parents were completely ashamed and wouldn't let her go back to school, but they wouldn't let her give up the baby either. They made her boyfriend help her take care of the baby too. He really hated her parents for that. He took it out on her."

  "He would come back to their apartment drunk after working as a bus-boy at this restaurant on top of going to school. Mom says it was awful. That he called her names constantly. There were a few times he physically beat her. After she had the baby, it only got worse. He never harmed Sarah, but mom finally went to her parents after she was beaten pretty bad.

  "They moved away and mom worked a small job as a waitress. She met Patrick there. He was the bartender, taking night classes at the University and working towards a degree to teach History. He urged her to take night classes too, and she enrolled. It wasn't soon after they got married, got an apartment together. As soon as Patrick graduated and got a job they had Eleni, then Dan. Mom was working through school slowly. She had Sean soon after, but it was a week after they found our mom was pregnant that Patrick was diagnosed with cancer. He was given seven months to live, but he was alive long enough to see his son born, alive and healthy."

  My eyes are glued to the floor as Teigan's arms are enveloped around me. I tense up as I prepare to tell him what happened next in my family's history. It isn't something any of us are very proud of happening.

  In the long silence I leave, Teigan speaks up. "So you're dad was around long enough to get your mom pregnant again?" He asks softly. I can tell he is extremely curious.

  I shake my head softly. "Not exactly." I take a deep breath and start talking again. "After Patrick died, mom's ex showed up out of the blue. She was so upset about everything that she wasn't sure what to do. Sarah, Dan, and Sean automatically disliked him, but he was kind and willing to help out. "

  Teigan's arms envelope me even tighter; he realizes, I think, what happened. "Sarah's biological father is my biological father. That's why Ryan and I don't look alike at all. Why I don't look like Dan or Sean or Eleni either. Allison holds it over my head constantly. Our entire family is embarrassed by the fact that he wormed his way into our family again, after all those years we were actually happy, and threw us off course again. He was just trying to get back with my mom 'cause he wasn't over her. That and he wanted money." I'm scowling thoroughly now, clenching my fists and shaking. And all Teigan does is hold me.

  I laugh bitterly once again. "What do you think of my family now." I whisper, my head buried in his shoulder.

  "How could anyone, be that cruel?" Teigan whispers softly, holding me close.

  "I don't know." I feel a tear drift down my cheek and try to wipe it away but more follow. I just spilled a secret with a boy I never thought anyone else would find out. Emma knows because she was there when he came back a few years ago, along with Jessa.

  Pete knows too. He helped get rid of the bastard before he could hurt mom again the last time.

  The thought passes my mind that Pete would be so much better for my mom than Allen, but I push it away; mom is happy now, I don't need to do or say anything to screw that up.

  "Delaney?" Teigan's voice softly breaches my thoughts.

  "Hm?" I ask, my voice crackles, giving away my tears.

  Teigan lifts my chin so my face looks towards his. His dark blue eyes soften as he sees my tears. "Oh, Delaney." He says softly, pulling me close again. "I could never hurt you like that. Please, tell me you didn't think I could do something like that."

  I shake my head. " I don't know, Teigan. I just… Mom said dad was arrogant in high school, he had this air about him that everyone loved and he always got just what he wanted. That he was good-looking and popular."

  Silence fills the room except for the crackle of the fire. "You just associated everyone who acted like that with your memories." I nod silently in his arms.

  "I'm sorry." I whisper.

  "Don't be sorry." Teigan says fiercely. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Just…" He lifts my face up to his once again. "promise you'll give me a chance. Just that, a chance."

  I stare into his crystalline blue eyes for a long moment, weighing my options. I told myself that I would give Teigan a chance didn't I? And again, part of finding love is getting hurt, right? Would giving it a try really hurt that much?

  I nod my head slowly in reply. A soft grin slides itself onto Teigan's face and he pulls me close to him once again for a hug. "Thank you." He whispers softly.

  * * *

  "Well, well, well." A deep voice breaks into my sleep. My eyes flutter open to see Dan and Sean hovering over me. I vaguely register the fact that there is a strange weight around my waist and against my back.

  I moan and close my eyes. "Merry Christmas to you too." I mutter. In my attempt to roll over on the couch I don't remember falling asleep on, I turn beat red when I come face to face with none other than Darren Teigan.

  "Ah!" I yelp, and with one quick movement I have fallen off the couch. Dan and Sean erupt into laughter and I throw the two of them glares. "Shut up!"

  "What's going on?" Teigan's voice draws my eyes to his, his sleepy voice pushing my heartbeat faster.

  Dan pulls himself together long enough to spit out an answer. "Morning sleepy head. You might want to get back home. Your parents are going to be wondering where you are."

  Teigan looks around at his surroundings and I'm surprised to see a slight twinge of red on his cheeks. Apparently Sean noticed it too.

  "Aw. Cute! He's blushing!" Teigan's cheeks redden more and he quickly sits up and walks towards his shoes. "Hey man, don't worry too much." Sean says as he sees Teigan's embarrassment.

  Teigan's head turns toward them, still silent. I'm sitting on the floor like an idi
ot, staring at the boy I fell asleep on my living room couch with and wondering what it would feel like to smooth out his messy black hair.

  "You aren't the one in this room we're mad at." Dan winks at Teigan, whose confused face forces my brothers into another fit of laughter.

  I scramble up from the floor and push Teigan out onto the porch. The cold air rushes at us, and the sun sparkles brilliantly off the snow covering the front lawn. I gasp slightly at the breathtaking sight on Christmas morning.

  "What was that about?" Teigan asks. I look at him, still ruffled from our abrupt wake-up call and then I look down at my feet.

  I shuffle my feet a bit and pull my hands behind me. "They're pissed at me about last night."

  "What did you do last night?"

  I shrug slightly. "Essentially, they wanted to beat the crap out of you until you could no longer dance with me, touch me, or come near me."

  I look up to see Teigan's face scrunched up in even more confusion. I let out a giggle, but that doesn't deter Teigan's confusion. "Explain."

  "Over protective brothers. That's all there is too it." I look up at him and smile slightly. His eyes are weary from sleep but still as beautiful as ever.

  "So now your brothers are pissed at you instead of me." I nod. "That kinda sucks."

  I shrug once again. "Better they prank me than beat you to unconsciousness."

  Teigan laughs and his smiles lights up his face. My heartbeat picks up once again and a blush spreads across my face. A guy should not be that attractive!

  "I guess I'll see you later today then, Delaney." Teigan smiled once more for me and began to walk towards his house.

  "Wait!" Teigan turns around and looks at me quizzically. "I just…" I walk up to him slowly and envelope my arms around his neck. I burry my head in his shoulder as his arms wind around my waist.

  "Delaney-"

  "Thanks you." I whisper softly. "Thanks for listening last night." I feel Teigan laugh slightly and pull me closer to him. I sigh, relaxing in his arms. Maybe giving him a chance won't be so bad after all.