November (ManxMan)

Eleven

Aizen was my knight in shining armor.

He gave me the space I needed and kept leaving the card to a therapist all over the house, silently telling me to talk to someone even if it wasn't him. He cooked, he had someone come over to clean. Some days he worked at home, other days he goes to his office.

Each day he comes home with a new set of pajamas for me. It was all I wore now. There were some days that I was too weighed down by the sadness of my life that I stayed in bed. It's been two months and I know healing has no particular time but I thought I would be better by now.

I had changed my phone, gotten a new number. I have checked the internet and the first step I keep seeing is to leave the bed, actually it was to leave the area of comfort. To me that wasn't the bed, but the house.

I moped everywhere now. Aizen looks like he always wants to say something, his blue-green eyes staring at me. Sometimes he would make this move like he wants to reach out and touch, maybe hug me but his hands would drop and he would take a step back. He was a little different, calmer than the snappy Aizen that I had met weeks ago.

Today, though, today I wanted to surprise him.

There was enough food stuff in the house so I decided to make lunch for two, hopefully he didn't have a lunch meeting. For lunch I made smoke steak skewers with tomatoes, onions and olives, some fried rice and slices of cheesecake from the fridge. It smelt and looked good, I hoped he would like it.

My red hair had grown out a bit and was now falling past my ears. I had filled out though. Aizen never lets me skip a meal and he makes sure to keep a lot of snacks, pastries and food in the house. I was so grateful to him.

I stepped into a pair of black jeans and a baby blue sweater that matched my eyes. One of the many clothes that Aizen had bought for me. I never went back for my clothes, never went back there for anything.

I tucked my hair behind my ears, slipping on my sunglasses. My bruises were fading now, my ribs no longer ached and it doesn't hurt to stand anymore. There were a lot of keys in the garage and I picked the burnt orange Kia stinger. It looked so good and so smooth.

Aizen's garage had a top floor too. A lot of sports cars, vintage cars, range rovers and so many more. I typed in the address for Axel Corp. I really hoped that he liked the food, it would mean a lot to me. The drive to his office was filled with music, some I sang along to, some I just listened to.

I pulled up to the front of the office and handed the keys to the valet who had stepped out with a confused expression on his face. Maybe he was wondering who the fuck I was driving his boss' car. I walked into the building holding the basket of food. Since I had no clue where I was going, I asked the reception where Axel was.

I got into the elevator, tapping the twelfth button. The doors part and I got out. Axel's office was an entire floor and he even had a secretary. Oh. He was actually the CEO. Why did I keep thinking he was joking? I did google his name and I did see articles of him and his work and the word innovative and brilliant was used.

I asked her if Aizen was free and when she said he was and raised the landline to call in, I took a step forward.

"Can you not tell him it's me? It's a surprise." I said and she nodded. She simply tells him, he has a guest. I knocked on his door, pushing open the door when I hear him say come in.

Aizen's office was huge, white walls, black chairs. He had a mahogany table facing away from the huge floor length windows. He was talking on the phone, face set in a scowl as he looked through papers on his table.

I cleared my throat, swaying silently on my feet. He raised his head, eyes widening when he saw it me standing there. He doesn't say anything and instead, he cut the call. He didn't even warn the person on the other line, he just ends the phone-call and smiles at me. 

He was smiling.

It has only happened a few times but not like this though. This was a full blown smile, crinkles by the side of his eyes and even smile lines, his blue green eyes glinting. He holds his hands out towards me and I walked, no I picked up the pace, dropping the basket on one of the chair, running into his arms.

He wraps his arms around my waist, mine going around his neck, fingers pushing into his hair as he held me tight. This was the first time we've hugged, first time we've touched like this. He felt so warm and so safe.

We stayed that way for a while, just holding on to each other. When we pulled apart, Aizen was still smile. This close his scar on his face was meant to be even more visible but instead it had somehow smoothened into the skin and he looked so... good.

"You left the house." He said and I nodded.
His hands were still on my waist and deep down I was tempted to not let go but instead I take a step back.

"I did."

"I am so proud of you right now, you have no idea." He said, still smiling at me.

"I also brought you lunch." I gestured towards the basket. He raised a brow at me and I. . . felt so happy at how proud he was of me right now. He might be snappish and sometimes rude but he was also a fluffy bunny.

I led him over to the sitting area and he watched, gaze unwavering as I took out the food. He hadn't stopped smiling and I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it was because of me.

"They look so good, Deri. Smells good too." he complimented.

He was so happy about this progress and it made me want to do more.

"Will you take me to see Dr. Fletcher?" I asked and Aizen promptly choked on a piece of beef he popped into his mouth. I pat his back, giggling as he takes a sip from the bottle water I had also packed.

"Are you trying to kill me today?" he asked and I giggled loudly.

"I. . . just want to try it. it might help."

"It would definitely help, especially if you want to date again. Not everyone is going to be like that son of a bitch but you. . . wouldn't want to be that trusting or believe it again and that's not how I want you to live your life. You are so. . .  you deserve better than that." Aizen said, his voice quiet and solemn. He moved his hand, like he was going to touch mine. He seemed to think better of it and let it rest on his thigh instead.

"I don't think dating is for me anymore." I said and Aizen shakes his head at me.

"I'm just happy you're going to talk to Dr. Fletcher." Aizen said, a small smile on his face.
Lunch was good. We talked and laughed. It felt like our relationship had gone up a level, like we had progressed a little. He felt like a friend. Better than that even, he felt like a best friend to me.

Aizen kept telling me thank you for lunch and I didn't even know how to react. He was acting like it was the best thing I had ever done for him.

I wasn't used to being thanked for things like this. Instead a fault was found in everything I did. Aizen though, he praised me whenever I did something good, and told me straight to my face if I did something not smart (stupid).

Aizen walked me over to the elevator and no matter how many times I told him not to follow me out, he still did. He led me to the elevators, walked me out when it got to the ground floor. On my way out, I passed Tommy, my ex-friend, who was coming in with his co-workers. He stopped to look at me, to look at Aizen and me but I just walked past him.

He wasn't a part of my life of anymore.

"Thank you for coming over today. Thank you for making me lunch." Aizen said, pulling me in for another hug.

"Thank you for taking care of me." 

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