An Illicit Gentleman II

                                        Chapter Thirty-Six

            With a moan and a frown AJ tossed and turned in the hotel bed.  His sheets were scattered across the bed not even covering him anymore.  His forehead and body were covered in sweat and his breathing was heavy and sporadic.  Then with a shout his body sat up as he awoke suddenly.  Looking around he realized it was just a nightmare, another horrible nightmare about Eve.  He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.  Standing up AJ went to go to the living room part of the hotel room to get a drink.

“Having trouble sleeping are we?” He heard someone say and he looked over to the small love seat in the bedroom.  Anger and a little fear rose up inside him as he saw Mats sitting there staring at him.  “Where’s Evie tonight?” He asked nodding to the bed.  AJ didn’t say anything.  “Having problems are we?”

“You’re not real.” AJ repeated. “This is a dream you’re not here.” AJ said as he closed his eyes and tried to wake himself up.

“Maybe I’m the dream but the rest is very real.” Mats replied and AJ looked at him confused.  “I give it two more days and then she’ll be heading back to Cali and packing her things.”

“You’re not here.”

“Duh dude, we already figured that out but what I’m saying is Eve leaving is very real, thanks to me and well maybe a little of you too.” Mats said with a smile.  “I knew that video would get to you, seeing your precious Eve like that.”  

“Fuck you.” AJ snapped.

“Oh and there it is, so angry and bitter, every time you let it out she gets further and further away from you.” Mats said with another bright smile.  “Uh Oh you didn’t get her to sign a pre-nup did you? Tisk Tisk” He said shaking his head.

“Shut up!!” AJ screamed at him as he dove at the man sitting in the chair but then in a split second the man was gone and AJ was sitting back in the bed, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

Realizing it was all just a nightmare both times; AJ got up out of bed and made his way into the living room area to get some water from the mini bar.  When he walked past the couch in front of the TV something caught his eye.  He stopped when he saw Eve sleeping on the sofa.  He stared at her for a moment and then continued onto the mini bar.  Pulling out a bottle of water AJ sat down at the small dining table and watched as Eve slept.  He wondered what she was doing here.  About an hour after she had left the room his Mom showed up and told him that Eve would be staying with her.  His Mom wasn’t happy about what had happened between them.  She told him he was running away again; pushing people he loved away again because he was afraid of what ‘might’ happen.

As he watched her he thought back to earlier today before she left and remembered the words she said to him.  “I’m just mad that Mats still got between us some how and now he might get what he wanted all along.” That’s when it happened; at first it started as a small bubble deep down inside him and then as he watched her sleeping it grew.  Bigger and bigger until it pushed the fear and anger away, until the images Mats had shown him disappeared from his mind and when his thoughts were finally clear it hit him.  He wasn’t going to let Mats win, he still wanted to be with her, he wasn’t going to let what happen come between them and the dream of Lily was still going to come true.

He put his water bottle down on the table and walked over to the couch, kneeling down in front of it and her.  He stared at her for a moment and lightly smiled as he brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear.  As he fixed her blanket he noticed she was wearing her robe and PJ’s and it made him smile.  Gently he placed his hand on her shoulder and shook her.

“Evelyn?” He said as her eyes started to flutter open.  She sat up quickly when she saw him kneeling in front of her.  “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I…I couldn’t sleep, worried about you and waking up to a nightmare alone, so I figured I’d just come and sleep here in case…” She stopped and then stood up.  “I’m sorry I’ll go.” She told him as she grabbed the blanket and headed towards the door.

“She has black hair.” AJ said before Eve got to the door.

“What?” Eve replied confused.

“She has black hair, blue eyes, she’s about two maybe three and she has a smile that makes my heart melt every time I see it.” AJ told her.

“You mean Lily.” She replied.

He nodded.  “The first dream I had was the night I got home from the Hospital after escaping.  Something woke me up and I saw her at the side of the bed, she smiled and climbed up.  She wrapped her arms around my neck and hid behind me that’s when you came in.  You said she took off upstairs when she saw my things and then you and her went downstairs to make breakfast, that’s when I woke up.”

She didn’t say anything as she looked down at the floor.  AJ tried to fight the tears that weld up in his eyes “I don’t wanna lose you but if I keep snapping at you the way I am, I’m afraid I will.”

Eve looked up and lightly smiled at him.  “Alex where would we be if you had walked out of my apartment the night I was distraught over Sean’s death? Where would I be if you hadn’t answered your cell the morning Mats and Thomas let me go or you didn’t care that I was in your living room plastered thinking about killing myself.”  She walked up to him and took his hands.  “I’m not going anywhere; you wanted space so I gave it to you.  If you want me to stay then I’ll stay, I’ll do what ever it takes to get you through this.”  He looked down at their hands when she squeezed them lightly.  “I’m sorry you saw what you saw but I want you to know I’m ok now and I’m ok now because of you.”

He wanted to cry but he held it in and pulled her into his arms. “God Eve I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok” She replied and he heard the relief in her voice.  “Something like this will take time and I know you’re not the most patient of people.”  He couldn’t help but smile and laugh at her comment.  Smiling and laughing, there’s something he thought he wouldn’t be doing for a while.  He kept her in his arms and he noticed she didn’t try and let go either.  They both stood there in silence in the dim lit room.

When Eve pulled away his eyes locked on hers, he thought he should look away, what if he stared to long and the nasty images came back but he couldn’t.  He didn’t want to lose her to this, not after everything they had been through.  No, he let her go once and he learned his lesson, he wasn’t going to let her slip away again.  He didn’t care about those images anymore, they weren’t her, they weren’t who she was now and she was right, she’s ok now.  There was still anger, lots of it.  Anger at Mats and Thomas for what they had done to her.  But there was also hope.  Hope that if she made it past that and is now the woman that stands before him that he too could get past this.

“You should get back to bed.” Eve told him.  “The Doctor said you need to rest.”

“Will you stay?” He asked.  “I want you to stay.” He told her before she could say anything.  “I can’t promise I’m not going to get mad or snap again but I want you here, I need you here.”

“I’ll stay.” She told him with a light smile.  The couple walked into the bedroom and climbed into bed.  They lied beside each other and AJ took her hand. 

“What happened with Brian?” Eve asked and he looked at her.

AJ lightly laughed.  “I just didn’t want to see him, still don’t.  People can say what they want but if he hadn’t of said those things to you, you wouldn’t have wanted to leave, we wouldn’t have had that fight and…”

“And you would have been at the club that night.” Eve finished.

AJ nodded. “I know he couldn’t have known but I asked him to give you a chance, he said what he said and now needs to deal with the consequences.”  AJ brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.  “Besides, I didn’t need to hear him go off again about how you brought this on, that all of this was because of you.”

“How come you never told me about the dreams you were having?” Eve asked.

“I didn’t want to upset you or make you think I was hell bent on having kids now because of it and we hadn’t talked about it since we got back together.  I wasn’t sure how you felt about it now.” AJ told her.

“It stills bothers me I can’t have my own, I guess it always will but I’ve moved on and I know I can still be a Mom.” Eve said and it made AJ smile.

“You’ll be the best Mom ever.” AJ said as he brushed the back of his hand down her cheek and then leaned in and kissed her.