After my exploring of the house and learning as much about it as I could, I now sat on the couch in the living room staring at the television. I wasn't even paying attention to what was playing. All I could make out through my spacing out was that the show had people walking through a haunted place and staying in it for a certain amount of time. Some of the stuff was obviously made up but other stuff was pretty convincing.

Derik was no where in sight due to the fact that Boss had called him shortly after we got back into the house after our small talk in the backyard. I know that there has to be a longer talk, but it didn't seem that it was going to happen anytime soon. Part of me felt like that even though he knew that it had to be done, Derik was avoiding it any chance he had. As much as I would like to think that he is just too busy with the whole Donny thing, but I can't trust him with that if he didn't trust me enough to hear me out.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell had me jump in my seat. With a sigh I got up from my spot and went to see who decided to come to visit. Also I was kind of hoping that who ever it was, they brought food. I was getting pretty hungry since I didn't really have a chance to eat since the sudden move.

Opening the door, the first thing I was greeted with was a bag of Chinese take out. Then it was lowered to show Jared's face. My eyes followed the bag as I greeted him in my own way, "Oh my God, I love you.

He let out a laugh as he walked in, "I figured you were hungry. Derik should be taking more care of you if he is going to leave you home alone."

"Thanks for make me feel like a dog," I told him as I passed him into the kitchen and hunted down the dishes and silverware, "Speaking of dog, I see Katelyn loosened her leash on you."

Jared rolled his eyes as he emptied the bag of food and displayed all that he had ordered. By the time he was done, it almost looked like he got something from each section of the menu. My mouth was watering with how good it all smelt together. It felt like I was at a Chinese buffet.

Without hesitation I started to load my plate with the food. Jared just looked at me with amusement as he slowly loaded his plate. Once we had our food, we sat down at the dining room table. It didn't escape my notice that Jared stared at me with curious eyes as I began to slowly eat my food.

"What is it, Jared?" I asked him with a bit of a cautious tone.

He raised his eye brows as he responded, "I'm just wondering how you are handling this sudden change in events."

For a minute I forgot that he wasn't really a part of all that was going on. David may be his cousin, but that was as far as it went. Jared's mom was trying hard to make sure he didn't have the lifestyle that came with being part of the Seadonna family.

"How do you do it? Knowing everything and still act normal?" I answered him with my own question.

Jared noticed the change of subject, but he accepted it. Answering my question, "My mother didn't keep her family a secret. She told me everything I needed to know and some that I didn't. But she made sure that we weren't that much in contact with them unless necessary."

It made sense to me in a way. But there was something still bugging me about something. Like he was holding back something. I made it known towards him as well by saying, "Why do I feel like you don't agree with her choice?"

"Because I don't," he answered as he took a bite of his food, "Keeping me away from the family may protect me in her eyes, but it's also hurting me." I looked at him confused, "Every Seadonna has a perfect match. Someone they are destined to be with. By keeping me away from who I'm destined to be with will guarantee an unhappy life for me."

"So you aren't happy with Katelyn," I stated to him as I sat back in my seat.

Jared let out a small chuckle as he followed my gesture. Crossing his arms over his chest, "I would like to think I love Katelyn, even with all of her faults. But my mother is pressuring me to marry her. She's afraid that if I don't, I will somehow end up back in the family she tried so hard to keep me away from."

"Why even try to keep you from them in the first place. It seems like it is too much trouble," I said out loud to myself. Making Jared smile.

"My mother is the youngest of three children. One sibling died and no one is quite sure the reason why. The other sibling has to live a constant life of heartache because his soulmate denies him," Jared explained, "My mother believes that our part of the family is cursed. She denied her soulmate and married my father. Living a happy normal life, never fearing for her life."

"But?" I pressed on.

"But, I'm not destined to have the normal life. I'm not going to be happy living normal. I know this. Eventually, I will end up living with the Seadonna family," he finished before going back to eating his food, "You and I are only denying who we are supposed to be with by going against the beliefs. By choosing who we are with instead of our true loves is only going to hurt us in the end."

My appetite was suddenly gone as the truth of his words had sunk in. The hidden message in them was there. He was telling me the same thing that Jake was but in a more relatable way. Jared understood the constant guessing and trying to convince yourself that you made the right choice. The constant doubt and second guessing that I was suffering was the same thing that he was going through with Katelyn.

It made me wonder if I even made the right choice to give Derik a chance. Jake had explained that people had tried to stay by his side, only to have him push them away. It kind of felt like he was doing that to me as well at times. It make being with him difficult, but I was still willing to try.

"Leah," Jared said, making me look at him, "I didn't tell you any of this to make you doubt your choice. Things happen for a reason, we just have to find out what that reason is. Maybe you just have to endure the future hardships just so you can appreciate your soulmate more."

No one talked after that. We just continued to eat quietly. It was as if Jared was leaving me to process all that he told me. Which was a lot and making me overthink everything that I had already known. Even if he said that he didn't want me to do it, I ended up doing it anyways.

The sound of the front door opening broke me out of my thoughts. A few minutes later, Derik walked into the kitchen. I watched as he grabbed a plate and loaded it up with some of the Chinese food on the table. He didn't ask any questions or say a word as he sat down across from me at the table. For some reason I was waiting for the dirty, judging looks he always gave whenever David was around. Instead he acted as if we weren't even there.

I couldn't help but stare at him in amazement. This was the first time I've ever seen Derik at so much ease. Like he had nothing to worry about in the whole entire world. Jared watched him as much as I did, but the look on his face was as if he was waiting for him to say something. I wasn't sure about what, but it looked like I didn't have to wait long.

"Fancy seeing you here, Derik," Jared mentioned as he rested his cheek on his fist. Still holding his fork in hand.

Derik continued to eat as he answered, "Why are you so surprised? I live here too, you know?"

"I just figured your hands would be full with David out of commission," Jared said, making Derik freeze. His wall was instantly up and it made me curious if his jealousy towards David was more then just the fact that they both liked me.

"You like testing my limits, don't you Jared? I can see how you two can be related," his guard was up. I could see it in his movements as he went back to finishing his plate of food. He was stiffly stabbing at his food and aggressively chewing on his food. The annoyance he was feeling radiated off of him like a heat source during winter.

Jared just let out a small chuckle as he got up and put his plate on the counter in the kitchen. Derik didn't seem to take it too lightly. He ended up getting more annoyed and angry. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that was telling me that I needed to change the situation before something bad happened.

But luckily I didn't have to do anything as David walked through the back door and into the dining room. Making everyone look at him. My first thought that he looked worse than he did earlier. His face was almost a ghost pale and his eyes looked sunken in.

"You should be resting, David," Jared told him as he walked up to him.

David looked just as annoyed as Derik at the moment, "I would be if your wife wasn't driving me up the walls looking for you. She won't leave me the hell alone."

"She's not my wife yet," Jared corrected.

"Either way she is pissing me off," David mentioned as he started for the living room, "Leah, I hope you don't mind me crashing on your couch for a bit."

I opened my mouth to say something, but Derik beat me to it, "This is my house too, Asshole."

"Like I give a damn," David shouted back. Followed by the television being turned on.

Jared then pulled out his cell phone with a heavy sigh. I watched him as he headed for the front door placing the phone next to his ear. He was probably going to do some damage control with Katelyn. So I wasn't to offended for the fact that he didn't even say goodbye. But my attention went back to Derik as he stared at me with curiosity.

Returning a questioning look towards him, he shrugged his shoulders before getting up and putting our plates away. I got up and followed him into the kitchen and leaned against one of the counters. He leaned against the sink as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I need to talk to you about some things but it can wait until someone leaves."

"Can't you talk to me about it now?" I asked him, "What is it that you don't want David to hear?"

He hesitated a little bit. After what seemed like minutes, he finally decided what he was going to do and walked up to me. By the time he stopped there were only a few inches between us. He was so close that I could feel his warm breath cover me. Making my eyes make contact with his.

His hand cupped my cheek as his thumb traced my bottom lip. The small gesture made my heart race. "You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now, but I can't. Not when you still feel guilty for choosing me over him," he said in almost a whisper. Dropping his hand, he backed away and left the room. I didn't move until the sound of him going up the stairs stopped.

Instantly relaxing, I released a deep breath. Placing a hand on my chest to slow down my racing heart. My mind raced as it tried to make sense of all that just happened in that small moment. Letting his words sink into my thick skull. It was taking longer than it should have.

Derik knew about the constant doubt that I've been feeling. The constant guilt that I felt for hurt David by not being with him. That just made me feel worse. Because even though he knew, he never said a word. It also explained the constant fights about David. He knew that I had some feelings towards him, even if I didn't even know what those feelings were.

Slowly I walked into the living room, stopping in the doorway. I could see David sound asleep on the couch and looking so peaceful. Admitting to myself that there was something there in my heart for him was probably as far as I was going to allow. I was just too scared to explore that feeling more and I was going to do the one thing I knew I shouldn't. I turned my back on him and headed up the stairs.

I found Derik staring out of the window, but he ended up turning around when he heard me walk up to him. Sadness and hurt was in his eyes, making me feel even worse. Without saying anything, I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. Listening to his heartbeat, I took in the warmth of him.

"I'm sorry, Derik," I told him, "I'm not good at this. I've never been. You can even ask Jared. I over thought things constantly in that relationship as well and we only did it because it was expected of us."

He let out a small laugh as he wrapped his arms around me. Returning the embrace, "I forgive you. I also know that I'm not perfect in all of this."

"You are forgiven too," I reassured him. He may not need it, but it was probably nice to hear. I know if I were in his shoes, I would want to hear those words, "Let's work together from now on to get things right."

Feeling better about the whole situation. I left his embrace and headed back downstairs. Someone had to go put away the leftover food that was still sitting on the counter. But by the time I got to the kitchen, the food was already put away. The dishes were even all washed. Confused, I headed to the living room.

When I got in there, the couch was empty. It was as if I imagined David being there. Making me only more confused. I don't think I was upstairs for that long that I missed him. Also I was pretty sure that he was sound asleep when I went upstairs. Not sure what to make of things, I just assume that Jared came back and put everything away before taking David home. It was the only thing that would make sense.