Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction ❯ Unforgettable ❯ a new life ( Chapter 8 )

Fiona sat down on the couch wrapped in a robe since she had to take off her clothes so that they could dry. She held a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, but she didn't really drink it but more of just stared at it as she waited for Van to return from where he had wondered off to.

 

Van walked into the room at that moment holding a first aid kit so that he could treat Fiona's wounds. They may have slowed down in their bleeding but her once beautiful face was covered in both dry and wet blood. The sight of it sent hatred through Van at the mere thought of the man who had done it to her.

 

No words needed to be spoken between the two of them as Van reached into the first aid kit and pulled out some gauze and some disinfectant to treat her wounds. “This may sting a little Fiona,” Van said and when he lightly dabbed it over the wound that was just under her eye, she flinched at the light amount of contact.

 

Fiona had absolutely no idea what brought her to Van's place. She said to herself that it was because he was the closest to where she had run. She knew that deep down that was only an excuse, that the thing that brought her to Van was the part of her heart that still belonged to him. It was that same part of her that was the cause of the reason that she kissed him earlier in the day.

 

Van continued to clean her wounds with the utmost care that he could give to her. It hurt him to see her in such a state. He looked down at the finger that once held her engagement ring and was glad to see that it was gone. Even if she ever had planned on forgiving him, which he highly doubted that she would, and went back to him. Van knew that he would never allow her to do that. To see that she got rid of the ring he had given her meant that she had no intentions and that sent relief into his heart.

 

Fiona didn't know what it was that made her speak up because she didn't want to relive the experience that had just happened to her but she found herself telling Van all of it. “When I came home from my time with Moonbay, I found Ethan waiting for me and he was not happy. Apparently he had not heard it when I told him what I planned to do tonight and he ended up shouting out all sort of accusations towards me. He also accused me of sleeping with you. I told him that I was not but he didn't believe me and said that he wanted proof and for him that could only mean sleeping with him. I told him that I wouldn't and he went insane and he hit me,” Fiona said flinching at the thought of what had happened.

 

Van didn't know why Fiona had said that. He wasn't even planning on asking her about it so that she wouldn't have to relive the experience but he was kind of grateful that he knew what happened between Fiona and her ex-fiancé.

 

“I am sorry for bugging you about all of this Van and I'm sure your wife didn't appreciate it,” Fiona said although she was sure that she hadn't seen the woman that Van called a wife anywhere around ever since she first stepped foot into the house. “You were just the first person that came to my mind when I was running away,” Fiona said before tears started to once again flow down her cheeks.

 

Van wrapped his arms around Fiona and made soothing sounds so as to try and comfort her a little. “There, there Fiona. It's no problem that you came here; I will always help you if you need it. About my wife, she isn't even here right now so you don't have to worry about her. You are no where near Ethan now and I promise that I won't let him come near you again,” Van said just holding Fiona by the back of her head very gently so that she sobbed into his chest.

 

“T-Thank you,” Fiona stuttered trying her best to get her tears under control so that she wouldn't look so sad and pathetic in front of Van. “I am still sorry for troubling you at this hour. I will be gone by tomorrow though,” Fiona said hoping that Van wouldn't have to put up with her for all that long.

 

“I already told you that it was ok Fiona. I have no problems with you staying here for as long as you want. When you do want to leave though, I will personally help you find a new place to live,” Van said putting on a smile to his face. He felt good when he saw that Fiona returned the smile as well.

 

Van had no idea what possessed him to do what he did next. Just like earlier in the day, his body seemed to take over and he leaned down and captured Fiona's lips with his own and to his surprise she willingly responded to it by kissing him back with just as much passion.

 

Unfortunately for them, the sound of the front door opening pushed them back to reality and they flew quickly apart so as to not be caught doing what they had been doing a few seconds prior. They were glad they did because a second later, Tiffany came into the room.

 

Tiffany walked into the room and was not happy to see what was waiting for her. There was Fiona; her husband's ex-girlfriend wearing one of her robes and Van wasn't all that far away from her. “What the hell is she doing in my house!” was the first thing that came out of her mouth when she saw Fiona.

 

Van could already feel the migraine that was already starting to form in his head at the impending argument that he knew was to come from his wife. “She was hurt and I offered her a place to stay so don't you dare get on my case about wanting to help out a friend,” Van said trying his best to keep his voice calm.

 

“I don't care! Give her back to her fiancé. Isn't that where she should be?” Tiffany asked without even trying to hold back the anger that was forming inside of her. `Van is mine and I will not let her come and just take him from me,' Tiffany thought knowing that it would get her through any counter argument that Van could possibly give her.

 

Van hand clenched into a fist at his side and it started to shake at the mere thought of him giving Fiona over to that man. “There is no way in hell that I will ever let Fiona go back there! He was the one that injured her in the first place!” Van yelled finding his patience with his wife becoming all but existent.

 

“Like I said before, I don't care! Just get her the hell out of my house!” she yelled back determined more than ever to keep the woman, who could possibly still hold a place in her husband's heart, out of the house.

 

“No!” Van said shocking Tiffany because he rarely ever denied her that much. “Fiona is my friend and she is injured. I will not send a hurt friend out into the street. By the way, it's my house as well. I was the one that bought it with my money,” Van said refusing to give into his wife no matter what tactics she tried to use.

 

Instead of staying there and causing trouble between Van and his wife, Fiona stood up and tried to make a quick retreat for the door. She completely forgot that she was in just a robe with only her undergarments underneath it. She was almost there when a voice stopped her.

 

“Where are you going Fiona?” Van asked in a soft tone almost as if he had not even been arguing with his wife only a second before. He stared at her with worried eyes into her sad and pain filled ones.

 

“I really don't want to cause any trouble for your wife and you. I will just go so things could remain at peace since my staying here will only cause problems,” Fiona said keeping her voice under control because she suddenly felt like crying once again, she sure seemed to be doing a lot of that within this one night.

 

“You see? She has the right idea Van,” Tiffany said thinking this was the perfect excuse to just get Fiona out of the house once and for all. “Just let her go like she wanted to,” she said before plopping down upon the couch that Fiona had been sitting on only a minute prior.

 

“No you are not Fiona. Also in case you forgot, your clothes are still drying and you are only wearing a robe,” Van said earning a glare from Tiffany, which he merely shrugged off. He was used to the temper of his wife so he knew what to expect. “Tiffany, you need to calm down a little. She will stay here for tonight whether you like it or not. This will be the end of the discussion,” Van said and happy when he didn't hear a reply although he did hear a growl from Tiffany.

 

The place remained quiet for a while with Fiona looking towards the ground and Tiffany giving death glares to both Fiona and Van. “Now that that is settled, I will give you one of the guest rooms Fiona. If you want to leave then that is fine but at least go tomorrow and I will help you to find a place for you to stay. It will only cause even more problems for you to leave now in the middle of the night while it's raining this hard,” Van said signaling out the window. He saw her only nod slightly before he led the way out of the room.

 

Van walked out of the room a few moments later only to see his wife getting up and heading for their room. “I am only doing this to help a friend Tiffany. Why can't you understand that?” Van asked following closely behind her. He was forced to stop when she suddenly stopped and turned around with a seductive look on her face.

 

“I forgive you for yelling at me Van,” she said walking up to him and placing her hands upon his firm chest. Van just rolled his eyes because she was the one that needed to be forgiven if Van felt like she was deserving of it. “Why don't we just head into the bedroom and discuss all that needs to be done about that woman,” Tiffany said making an emphasis on the word that.

 

Before she could get too far. Van grabbed a hold of her wrists and took them off of his chest. “You just can't keep doing that!” he yelled although he was tempted to go with her into the room. He may have wanted that sort of thing for their relationship before when they weren't having it all that much but now she was just used to using it as an excuse to get what she wanted. Van wanted a relationship based off of love and not just sex. He was beginning to wonder if his wife even loved him like she once claimed to have.

 

“Fine! Have it your way. You are sleeping on the couch tonight!” she yelled storming into the room and slamming the door right into Van's face. Van just shook his head in frustration because he had already been sleeping there before Fiona even came. He walked to one of the hall closets and pulling out a spare pillow and blanket before walking over to the couch and falling asleep very quickly upon it.

 

*****

 

Fiona eyes fluttered open early in the morning to the smell of something delicious within the air. She looked around and didn't recognize the room and shot up within the bed. It was only then that she remembered the events of the night before and calmed down a little.

 

Fiona stood up from the bed and dressed in the clothes that she wore the night before since she hadn't had any time to get any of her clothes when she was running away from Ethan's place. Walking out of the door and down the hall of the very luxurious home, Fiona came upon the kitchen and her eyes widened when she saw Van standing at the stove cooking some breakfast. He had never been all that good at cooking before, although he had tried so many time to cook for her it never seemed to come out as good as the smell makes it seem at times. She just hoped that this time the food would actually taste good. “Good morning Van,” Fiona said taking a seat on one of the kitchen chairs.

 

“Hey there Fiona. You are just in time for breakfast. Tiffany left early so you shouldn't expect her to be around for another argument,” Van said turning towards her with a smile on his face.

 

Fiona knew that that smile of his was only a means to cover up what he was actually feeling at that moment. They had kissed twice yesterday and he must have been feeling as confused as she was over what it meant for the two of them. “Ok. Um, Van?” Fiona asked making him turn around once again to look at her. “About what happened last night before your wife came home,” Fiona said but she noticed that Van had turned the other way.

 

“So, um… pancakes or waffles?” Van asked trying to change the subject since he didn't know or want to answer that question. His heart and his logic were at war with each other. With his heart also having a war against itself. He was married to someone else and yet his feelings for the beauty before him were going against everything he had thought to become so accustomed to these past few years. Sometimes he started to wonder if he was over these feelings he once had for Fiona.

 

Fiona just gave a very weak smile at his attempt to change the subject so that he wouldn't have to go into what had happened between them. “Pancakes please,” Fiona said looking down towards her lap.

 

Van brought her the food and the two of them ate in silence for a while unable to speak out of fear of something else happening between the two of them. Fiona was surprised when she took a bite of her food after a while of just letting it sit there. The food actually tasted very good. “This is very good Van. When did you learn how to cook?” she asked trying to start some sort of conversation with him.

 

Van merely shrugged his shoulders while trying to swallow his food. “I guess it just became a necessity for me to learn since I'm alone here during most meals since Tiffany is so busy with her job,” he said as if it weren't all that important.

 

Fiona was beginning to wonder just how much this woman was even home. As far as she had heard from Van, his wife was pretty much gone for most of the day as if she didn't have too much of a care about her marriage to Van. Fiona was pretty sure that not even Tiffany's job, from what she had heard, could possibly go on that long. “It must be lonely,” Fiona stated what she knew was obvious.

 

“Yeah, it is. I thought that when I met her that I would be able to have the life that I couldn't have with you,” Van said causing Fiona to blush a little out of embarrassment. “But she isn't around enough for my liking. All I want is a normal marriage,” Van said with a sigh leaning back in his seat.

 

“Are you… unhappy?” Fiona had to ask. She noticed since they first met that he was a little different from before and that he didn't quite have the happiness that he had before when he was around her. She seemed to have figured out why now.

 

Much to Fiona's surprise, Van laughed out loud. She stared at him in confusion while he did his best to calm down. “Irvine and Moonbay are always asking me that. They thought that my marriage to her was bad from the beginning. As to whether I actually am, I don't know. I'm lonely but I don't know about unhappy,” Van said as truthfully as he could.

 

Although Van didn't outright say it, Fiona could tell that he actually was whether he knew it or not. “Is that so?” Fiona asked rest her face within the palms of her hands. “I guess I was kind of rude for me to ask that and I'm sorry,” Fiona said although something within her told her that she wasn't sorry.

 

“No, you don't have to be sorry. I have gotten that question a lot,” Van said with a smile that was like the one he always used to wear for her. For a moment, he really was once again the man that Fiona had fallen in love with so many years ago. “Come on, you need to finish your breakfast. I know of a place you can stay and I don't want you arguing with me about it,” Van said with a smile picking up his plate and putting it in the sink before walking into his room to get changed.

 

*****

 

“Where exactly is it that we are going Van?” Fiona asked staring out of Van's car window. They had to use it because just like her clothes earlier, she was unable to take her car because the stupid thing refused to start.

 

“For the fifth time Fiona, you will see it when we get there. It's a very nice place and I'm sure that you will like it,” Van said with an amused sigh. They had been on the road for five minutes and she has asked the same question over and over. Van was lucky that the place was close so he wouldn't have to put up with the same question over and over.

 

The two drove in silence for about another twenty minutes with Fiona not asking the question at all. Van smiled when he finally stopped at his destination. He looked towards Fiona and his smile widened at the way she seemed astonished at the place he brought her to. “What do you think?” Van asked the amazed Fiona. He smiled even more when she turned towards him with wide eyes.

 

“It is very nice,” Fiona said staring at a nice sized house that was near one of her favorite places to be, the ocean. “Van this place is way too nice,” she said turning to him with a frown on her face.

 

“Like I said before, I won't stand for arguing. Besides, I bought this but can't live in it because Tiffany refuses to because she figures it's too small. I personally love this place and use it as a getaway when I need to. It could use someone living in it for a while,” Van said with a smile that caused Fiona to smile as well and nod her head. “Besides, I have to fulfill a promise,” he said with a smirk.

 

Fiona was completely shocked. “You still remember that?” she yelled out of surprise. Making Van chuckle a little and nod his head. “That was years ago! How can you possibly still remember it?” she asked facing him completely with a questioning look on her face.

 

“What can I say; I'm a man that likes to keep to his word. Years ago I promised that I would take you to the beach someday since you told me you really wanted to go since you hadn't gone since… well you know,” Van said not wanting to bring up the subject since it was hard on Fiona.

 

“Yeah,” Fiona said softly looking towards the ground. She didn't want to think about what happened in the past. The more she thought about it the harder it became for her to bare the burden it placed upon her. “You have done so much for me Van. I don't know of anything that I can do for you,” Fiona said looking at the ground sadly.

 

“You don't have to do anything for me. Helping you is enough of a reward for me,” Van said with a smile before wrapping his arm around her shoulder in a friendly manner. “Come on Fiona. Let's go inside and I can show you around for a little. Then we can go and get you stuff that you will need since I'm sure you won't want to go back there for your old stuff,” Van said before leading her into the nice place.

 

Van showed Fiona all over the luxurious place and was happy to see the happiness that was within her eyes while looking at it. It was as if she had completely forgot about what had happened to her only the night before and Van was extremely glad about that. He showed her all around from the porch that faced the ocean, to the kitchen, and each of the bedrooms.

 

“This place is completely amazing. I'm surprised that your wife wouldn't want to live here,” Fiona said when the two of them finally sat down for a cup of coffee after Van had shown her the entire house.

 

“I told you before Fiona. She is only interested in large houses and this is probably the smallest one that I own. If I had my choice I would live here without a second thought. I had to beg her for just the house that we live in now,” Van said with a slight chuckling remembering what had happened that day he had to literally beg her. “Enough about that though. There is a lot that we need to get done by the end of the day,” Van said taking a sip out of his coffee.

 

*****

 

Van walked into his house very tired just before the sun had set that night. It had once again started to rain so he was a bit wet and all he wanted to do was get in a get warm. He had forgotten how stubborn Fiona could be at times. She refused to let him buy some of the things that she needed but he still did that anyways despite her protests.

 

Van looked up from walking into the door to see his wife sitting on the couch with her arms folded and a mad look on her face. Van was surprised to see her because most of the time it was him that was home first and waiting for her to come back but this time it was the exact opposite.

 

Tiffany looked up from the TV where she had been watching the news, which happened to have a nice little story about the rich businessman Flyheight out on the town with a very beautiful unknown woman. To say she looked mad was an understatement; she was downright pissed. She got up from her seat and stormed over to Van and got right into his face. “What the hell were you doing with that whore earlier today?” she yelled referring to the news on the TV.

 

That really set Van off. She had no right to call Fiona something like a whore. “Where the hell do you get off saying something like that to her? She has never done anything to you and you are just saying these sort of things about her!” Van yelled making her back up a few steps.

 

“All she is trying to do is take you away from me Van. She is nothing but a conniving bitch,” Tiffany yelled tweaking the last few bits of Van's restraints that she has left. Tiffany suddenly calmed down and walked towards Van in a seductive way. “Why bother with her Van,” she spoke in a sultry voice. “I am able to give you so much more than she can. Just forget about her,” she said placing her hands upon his chest.

 

Van had just about had enough. Without even meaning to, he pushed her off of him making her fall to the ground but not to hard so that she wouldn't get hurt. “That is enough! I have had it with you and you stupid games of jealousy,” Van said walking towards his room with Tiffany following shortly after him.

 

Van stormed into his room and immediately went to his closet where he pulled out a small suitcase. He pulled out his clothes and started to pile them into the suitcase rather quickly. He saw his wife come into the room shortly after that but he didn't even pay her any heed.

 

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” she yelled running up and taking the stuff that he had already put into his suitcase and throwing them out back into the closet only to have Van grab them again and once again put them back into the suitcase. “You are going to her aren't you? Can't you see that she is just manipulating you? You have never done anything like this before she came!” Tiffany yelled stopping her useless attempted to get the clothes out of the suitcase.

 

Van turned towards her quickly with anger flashing within his eyes. “She is doing no such thing, you are! You are becoming nothing more than a jealous person who seems to enjoy making fun of my friend. I have no idea what I'm going to do about us but I really need to get away for a while,” Van said turning back to his suitcase and zipping it up before picking it up and walking out of the door and towards his car.

 

“Like hell you are!” Tiffany yelled running after him and grabbing a hold of his suitcase while they both stood out in the rain. Before Van could do anything, she ripped it out of his hands and attacked his lips with her own.

 

For some reason, this held absolutely no feeling whatsoever. Van regained his composure after the slight shock and pushed her away gently before picking up his now wet suitcase. `Just great!' he thought throwing the bag into his trunk. “I am going away for a while to figure what I plan to do next. Just leave me alone until then so I can get everything straight with myself and clear my head a bit,” Van told her before jumping into his car to get out of the rain.

 

She once again tried to grab him again but he had shut the door and was already pulling away before she even had a chance to move. Now all that she could do was watch him drive away from her. `That bitch has done this to him,' she thought bitterly before walking back into the house to get out of the rain herself.

 

*****

 

Fiona walked out of the room the next morning with a bright smile on her face as she looked around the nice place. She knew that she wouldn't mind staying in a nice place like this. Van had given her so much the previous day and she had no idea how she was ever going to be able to repay him for his kindness.

 

A sudden sound caught her ears and she followed it to the source. She walked through the halls into the kitchen where she was surprised to see that Van was there already drinking a cup of coffee. He did not look too happy though and continuously continued to rub his forehead like he had a headache. “What are you doing here so early Van?” Fiona asked fastening the robe that she was wearing more securely around her for reasons that she didn't know.

 

Van looked up at her with tired eyes and gave her a weak smile. “I hope you don't mind but I will be staying here for a while as well,” Van said dropping the smile. He had no choice but to stay here with Fiona even though he knew it would be hard. He had no other places that were close by, and he always came here when he needed to clear his head. He saw Fiona's questioning look. “Tiffany and I had a huge argument and I just need to get away for a while,” Van said with a sad smile.

 

“Oh, sorry,” Fiona said knowing that the argument was more than likely over her because she had also seen the news the previous night. She saw him just give her a shake of his head as if to tell her it wasn't her fault.

 

“Don't worry about it Fiona. She has acted like this a lot even before you came back. I always end up coming here whenever that happens. Right now I just need to get away and clear my head,” Van said before turning his head and taking a sip out of his coffee.

 

“Oh, ok,” Fiona said a little unsure. She had no idea what was going to happen to her life next. She was now going to be staying in this luxurious place with her old lover. They had always talked about getting a place together but that was back when the two of them were still going out and deeply in love. Somehow she found that her new life was suddenly going to become a lot more difficult.