Fernando and Alexandria tossed their shoes onto the ground and ran out onto the freezing sand. Clouds blanketed the sky in a sheet of coarse, angry grey. The wind cut through their warm clothes, gritty sand stinging the exposed skin on their hands and faces. The ocean pounded on the shore with a deafening roar, pummeling the rocky outcrop that the pair came to stand on. Overlooking the choppy surf with the looming steel bridge to the left, Alexandria's heart pounded in her ribs. She lay down on the cliff on her stomach, outstretching her hands to feel the salty sea spray on the coarse rock beneath her. The power of the sea itself thundered in her chest.
She closed her eyes to feel the raw strength of the ocean. Instantly, the stress she carried with her everywhere since That Night. The faintest smile graced her lips, and she let out a sigh of relief. Feeling Fernando watching her, she opened her eyes. He looked at her with curiosity, tinged with something else she couldn't place. He smiled at her, offering his hand to pull her back upright. Her hands were solid ice, her lips tinged with purple and her teeth chattering as she smiled with youthful joy. Stress was wiped from her face and eyes, pressure from her parents, anger and sorrow from her night on the streets.
The patter of rain on their faces did not chase them away from their sanctuary. The sea and sand hissed as the rain pounded and ebbed, bouncing off the rocks.
The two of them walked along the beach, hand in hand, not saying a word. There was nothing awkward or tense about the silence they shared.
It was simply too peaceful to break.
They stayed there, breathing, shivering, healing, until the grey clouds turned to black and the sun was wisked away under the horizon. The rain had long since subsided, and a wavering wind brought the commotion of the city back to their ears.
Fernando and Alexandria left their paradise, returning to reality. Mist rose up from the sidewalks as they returned to their apartment, the wind blowing a smoky haze over the midnight sky. Lights and people rushed by them in a blur of color and noise, but they were still in their own private world. Three blocks from home, they passed an alley. Alexandria froze midstep, staring into the gaping black sliver of space between two brick walls. Her heart leaped and pounded in her chest. Her breathing drew fast and sharp, and shivers rattled her spine. She was there, back at That Night. Her bare back scraped against the coarse sandpaper bricks. She cried out for help, but no one was there. She was all alone. A pair of hideous, dark, beady eyes met hers in the darkness, tinted with malice while hers were brimming with terror.
"Alexandria!" Fernando shouted, snapping her out of her nightmare. She sat on the icy, wet concrete of the sidewalk, shuddering as tears caressed her cheeks. She locked eyes with Fernando, who cautiously offered a hand to help her up, leaving plenty of room for her to close the distance. Tenatively, she laced her fingers through his and was pulled upright, barely able to stand on her own. The flashback had shaken her up not just mentally, but physically as well. She leaned into his arm, putting most of her weight on him. After the several times she tripped left her sprawled on the sidewalk, hands scraped and knees bruised, Fernando lifted her onto his back and her legs locked securely aroundhis waist, arms wrapping aroundhis neck. Her head fell on his shoulder as he walked back home, and the world shifted from grey to black as she fell asleep.
Fernando awoke to the sound of a knife against wood. The bedside clock read around 3am, the open window poured in frosty morning air. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he padded into the kitchen, which was lit only by the light of the open-doored refrigerator. Alexandria stood with her back to him, violently chopping vegetables on a cutting board that looked like it was about to snap in half. Empty beer cans lay scattered around the countertop, and Fernando could see her shoulders shake as she slammed the knife through heaps of color. He approached her, and gently put a hand on her shoulder.
Whipping around, she screamed and thrust her knife at the attacker. Fernando dodged by an inch, feeling the blade scrape past his skin as it tore his shirtfront in half. Her eyes were bloodshot, tears tainted with charcoal mascara streaming down her face. They widened as she recognized it was not an attack, and fell helplessly against the counter, sobbing. Fernando eased the knife from her and spotted a trail of crimson trickling down her fingers. Wordlessly, he brought her to the sink to run icey water over her hand.
She tried desperately to choke out an apology, but the words caught in her throat. Fernando saw the remorse in her eyes and shook his head.
"It's okay, Alexandria. Everything will be fine. I'm here."
It's okay, Alexandria.
I'm here, Alexandria.
Everything will be fine, Alexandria.
She repeated his softly spoken words in her head over and over until the room stopped spinning and the ringing in her ears subsided. Her hands were clean and covered in a soft white towel.
"Lucky it wasn't deep enough for stitches." He murmured, clasping his hands around her bandages. They sank to the kitchen floor together, exhausted. They sat there, on the cold tile, hand in hand, sharing nothing but the air and space between them, calming eachother simply by being there. They stayed, perfectly still, perfectly silent, until long after the sun came up and the busy clamor of New York City morning dragged them back to reality.
YOU ARE READING
Daddy's Little Princess
عاطفيةAll she wanted was freedom. An arranged marriage to a man she didn't know. Pressure from her parents, her friends, society, every single person she passed on the street. Princess Alexandria was desperate to be freed.
