Title: Bitter Tasting

Summary: Full, mind-blowing passion and lust isn’t a bad thing in a relationship. Unless, that is, you’re feeling it for someone who isn’t your boyfriend - more like your boyfriend's worst enemy.

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She had no idea how long she was standing here. Under the cold running shower. But she’d stop caring a while ago. Even though her feet were arching from standing up for so long, she couldn’t get her body to move. Her eyes were shut closed while her hands rubbed her face.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the memories out of her head now. The memories of her mother, the arrangement, and everything else that concerned that. It hurt so much to know no one cared about her. It hurt even more knowing she would never have someone to truly love. No, she wasn’t far from certain that she could never love Aaron, but she would continue being with him.

Stepping back, she continued moving backward until her back hit the wall. She suddenly felt naked, even though she was wearing a robe. It didn’t matter; the robe had long ago ceased providing cover for her body. All it did now was stick to her wet skin.

Her eyes remained closed while she leaned against the world. “Far away, long ago. Glowing dim as an ember. Things my heart used to know. Things it yearns to remember. And a song someone sings. Once upon a December,” she silently sang to herself. Despite it bringing bad memories, it brought some good ones as well. Memories from days where she thought her mother might have cared for her, even if it was just a little.

A little laugh escaped her pale lips as she remembered another occasion linked to the song. It hadn’t been that farther back either. The song, she had sung it to him, to Reid.

Flashback

It was a little past midnight. Ella was cuddled on the bed, her head resting on his chest. A thin white sheet was draped over their naked sweaty bodies. The sheet just covered their bottom half’s, so her breasts were pressed against his flesh. There was no point in modesty as long as she was with Reid Garwin.

They were both silent, but both knew the other was awake. She didn’t mind the silence, it was… nice. His breathing was soothing and so was his scent. She always liked resting on his chest after their lovemaking. Her slender fingers were drawing circles on his torso as she started humming.

She could feel his fingers twirling her hair and it made her smile. It made her think of the song. Without thinking, the words slowly started slipping away from her lips.

“Someone holds me safe and warm. Horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully. Across my memory,” she suddenly stopped realizing she had been singing it out loud.

It remained silent for a second. She was afraid to say anything, well, more like she didn’t know what to say. Her fingers ceased their actions and for a second she even stopped breathing when she thought she heard him say something.

“It’s nice…” he said taking a pause, his fingers still playing with her hair, “keep going… keep singing.”

Ella smiled slightly as her eyes drifted shut. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she continued singing, just because he wanted her to. And so she did, she sang to him until she fell fast asleep in his arms.

End of Flashback

Ella opened her eyes slowly as she felt hot tears flow against her cold flesh. Her teeth chewed on her bottom lip, trying to suppress the sobs escaping her throat. Though she was still leaning against the wall, her knees suddenly felt weak and began to give under her. Slowly, her back slipped down the wall until her bottom hit the tiled floor.

“It wasn’t a game…” she whispered to herself as her arms fell to the side of her body. Tilting her head up, her eyes scanned the ceiling but her mind was clearly on something… someone else.

Her mind had started to wander back to the memories she shared with the blond Son of Ipswich. She felt her body tingle at the thoughts. The way he touched her… the way he knew exactly where to touch her. It amazed her how he managed to remember every aspect of her body. Especially considering his reputation.

Part of her wanted to think she was somehow special to him or at least she had been. But she knew better then that, she had just been one hell of a notch on his bedpost. She knew he hated Aaron, and what best what to beat him then screw his girlfriend.

Still she didn’t regret anything… no… she loved every second she had spent with him. She remembered every encounter so clearly, starting with the very first one, two years ago.

Flashback

Ella tapped her foot on the ground as she narrowed her eyes at the scene in front of her. There he was, Aaron Abbot – her boyfriend of two whole months. She was trying, god knows, she was trying to form emotions for the boy. But it was pointless and useless; she was starting to understand that now.

Still he could at least act the part of a boyfriend. No, instead he would bring her here almost every night and just flat out ignore her. That was of course until he got bored and wanted to get laid – then he would come find her.

“Not tonight,” she said to herself as she finished off her drink and walked out of the bar. There was no way she was going to be ignored by him anymore.

As she stepped outside to the parking lot she noticed a boy leaning against a car as he took a smoke. He looked familiar but she couldn’t pin point his identity. Then suddenly he looked at her and as he stared at her with blue eyes, it hit like a ton of bricks. He was that guy Aaron was always arguing with – Reid Garwin.

She remembered seeing him from school, but most importantly she remembered hearing about him from the girls in the locker room. This couldn’t have been any more perfect. He was just what she needed right now.

“Hey,” she simply stated as she walked over to stand in front of him.

Reid slowly scanned her slim figure and then her face. He couldn’t say he recognized her, but it wasn’t something that every stopped him with other girls. “Hey,” he said holding out a hand towards her, “Reid Garwin.”

Placing her hand in his, she used it to pull her body up closer to his. Standing on her toes, she was now only inches away from his. “I know,” she said as she completely leaned forward and crushed her lips against his. His lips felt so warm and gentle against her own. His kiss was soft too, which surprised her because of his cocky misdemeanor. Ella broke away from the kiss before things got too carried a way.

Smirking, Reid licked his lips as he eyed the girl carefully. “Let’s get comfortable,” he said as he turned around and unlocked the door the large vehicle.

As soon as both of them were settled inside, their lip locking resumed. Deciding that some teasing was in order, she broke away from the kiss once again. Smiling, she proceeded to remove his t-shirt and started to plant small kisses on his chest.

He pushed her back on the seat and lifted her chin to resume kissing her. This time the kiss was anything but gentle. He nibbled on her bottom lip; he desperately wanted access to her mouth. The strawberry lip-gloss she had on was driving his senses on overload. As soon as she parted her lips, his skillful tongue explored her every inch.

While his lips were working on her own, his hands had slipped under her shirt. She broke his kiss, and dropped her head to the side as a moan escaped her mouth. The boy was good – there was no doubt in her mind about that now.

Biting her lip, she remained motionless as the boy lifted the shirt over her head. She noticed the way his eyes looked at her chest – with hunger and lust. Before she realized it he softly grabbed her hips and made her straddled him. His rough hands slowly made their way up her toned stomach and towards her breasts.

Ella let out a soft moan as she felt him squeeze her through the material of her bra. Her own her hands making their way down his bare chest. Finding her desired destination, her hands began to unbuckle his belt, when a voice broke through her train of thought. Noticing whose voice it was she got up from the boy’s lap immediately. Talk about a mood killer.

“Ella! Ella, where are you?” yelled a male voice from outside. Looking through the car window, Reid noticed it was Aaron and let out a small laugh. “It looks like that prick lost his girlfriend,” he said with clear amusement in his voice.

Pulling her shirt over her head, she pulled her hair into a neat ponytail. “Yeah I should get back,” she paused as reached into her pocket to take out lipstick, “can’t keep my boyfriend is waiting,” she said giving the blond a wink as she laughed at his expression.

Opening the car door, she leaned against it and smiled at him. His messy blond hair, his toned torso, and his unbuckled pants – it took all her will power not to jump back in the car with him. “We should… we should finish this some time.”

Reid smirked as he ran his fingers through his blond locks. Slowly he nodded his head, “Definitely.”

End of flashback

Her eyes continued to be fixated on the ceiling as the water continued pouring down on her. But she was no longer crying, no a small smile played its way on her lips. Just the sheer memories of the boy would make her smile.

I feel so cold, she thought as her body involuntarily shivered from the water. Her fragile body fell sideways to the ground and she instantly closed her eyes. Her mind ran circles as her small smile faded and more tears ran down her cheeks.

“Reid…” I need you so much… I miss you. No matter how much she wanted to, she could never say those words aloud. Admitting that out loud, would only make things worse… it would only hurt more.

She let her eyes open a bit and she stared at the floor. Her mind was only vaguely aware of her surroundings at this point; she was both physically and mentally exhausted. Instead of relieving some of the baggage, she suddenly felt a lot worse than when she had first walked into the showers. A small part of her mind was telling her how she should have just stayed in her dorm room – even if it meant being with Aaron.

“What are you doing?”

Ella turned so that she was laying flat on her back. Her eyes widen when she saw who it was that was hovering over. Reid. There he was in boxers and his black wife beaterEven though her brain told her to get up, her body seemed unwilling. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Reid bent down and leaned over her, his blue eyes scanning her face. He slowly brought his hand to her cheek, where her fresh bruise was imprinted. Softly, he traced over it with the back of his fingers. “What happened?” he asked, as his eyes continued looking from her face to down her body.

Frowning, she pushed his hand away and turned her face to the side. “Go away,” her voice sounded forced and tired. She mentally kicked herself for that; the last thing she wanted was to appear vulnerable.

The sound of her voice made him cringe. He had never heard her sound so… hurt. Without giving it a second thought he scooped the girl up from off the floor and over his shoulder.

“What are you doing? Put me down,” she yelled as she wiggled in his grip.

He didn’t bother answering her. Walking out of the showers, he headed towards his dorm room. On the way there he protesting died away and she felt like a lifeless doll. She was painfully thinner than she had been the last time he seen her. What has been going on with her, he wondered to himself, yet he was not about to ask her. If she wanted to tell him then she would, otherwise, he wouldn’t mention it. He would only hold her safe while he could.

Opening the door to his room, he didn’t bother to flick the lights open since the nightstand lamp was on. He was thankful that he had told Tyler to spend the night some place else. Of course Tyler had assumed that it was because he was going to have a girl over again. But he was wrong.

Carelessly he approached his unmade bed and dropped her on it. As soon as he did, her body quickly shot up and tried to walk out of the room. He knew better though. Sensing that she was going to do that, he immediately stepped forward to put his hands on her shoulders, holding her in her place.

Reid noticed her body tense at his touch and slightly frowned. His hands wandered down from her cold and wet shoulders to the tie that held the robe closed. Once again he felt her flinch and she quickly brought up her arms to cover herself.

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said casually as he pushed her arms aside and finished removing the soaked robe from her body.

She shivered, whether from his touch or the cold air she wasn’t quite sure. Her eyes begin to swell, but she refused looking up at him. All she could do is stand there, knowing full well that his eyes are scanning her naked body. Like he said, he had seen it on multiple occasions so she couldn’t understand why he was looking at her so intensely.

“Shit,” he mumbled to himself as he finally removed his eyes from her. The truth was he couldn’t stand to look at her anymore. Her damn ribs are sticking out and she has all those bruises. He walked over to his dresser and took out a t-shirt for her to wear.

Walking over to her, he placed the shirt over her shoulders and dressed her in it. He placed a hand on her cheek, as he looked into those eyes – the eyes he missed seeing for the past couple of weeks. He wanted to tell her, tell her that he missed her. That he wanted her just for himself, but he wouldn’t – he couldn’t no matter how much he wanted.

“I should go.” Ella moved away from him and towards the door but that was when she felt Reid place his hands on her waist and spin her around.

“Stop being so stubborn,” he said as he threw her over his shoulder. Taking a few steps over to his bed, he tossed her on to it once again. Only this time he laid down next to her, draping an arm over her to keep her still.

It was just like old times. Where they would lay in his bed together – content in just being with each other. She felt him give her a kiss against her hair and couldn’t help but let a tear roll down her pale face.

She knew this shouldn’t be happening. This would make things harder in the long run. But as her body snuggled closer to his, she couldn’t help but smile through her tears. For right now… for this single moment… she couldn’t care less about her parents, the arrangement, and everything else. She was content just being able to be in his arms… even if it was for one more night.

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Author Notes:

So how was part II? This one was pretty long; I guess it’s to make up for the last one being short. I hate this chapter, I don’t know I think it flowed very well. Well at least I hoped you all enjoyed that and are satisfied knowing how it was Reid and Ella came together. Just so you know there are maybe about six or seven more chapters in this story.

Next chapter is going to be thick with drama, and … well I don’t want to give it away. So you guys are just going to review and find out. Please reviews are the only things that make my brain want to work.