Playing The Risk - Book One in The WSU Series

- Chapter Seven -

One minute I'm sleeping peacefully.

The next I hear a muffled whimper.

I open my eyes and sit up abruptly. This isn't my room. I look to my left to see a digital clock reading 3:42 am. Oh, God, I fell asleep. Before I could check my phone I hear a whimper again. Lying back down I turn so I'm facing Roma.

And what I saw broke my heart a little.

His cheeks and eyes were slightly wet from when he's been crying. I reach out to wipe away a falling tear when his hand quickly grasps my wrist. Opening his eyes he looks at me. I'd never really noticed the color of his eyes before, they were a shade of hazel. His eyes hiding a million stories. A million stories I want to know.

"Eleonora?" He asks into the dead of the night. "Roma?" I whisper his name softly. He's still got a firm grip on my wrist. Just then he looks toward his hand before dropping it. "I'm sorry." I raise an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," he whispers, Roma didn't hurt me. The thought of him thinking he hurt me makes my heartache.

"Are you okay?" Instead of answering my question, he wraps his arm around my waist bringing us closer as he had done a couple of hours before. "Did I wake you?" His eyes watching mine waiting for my answer. "No."

"Wanna talk about it?" He doesn't say anything. "It was just me and my mom growing up, she has a bakery just before you leave town, maybe you've been there? It's called Sweet Delights" If I'm being honest I don't know why I'm telling him this. My friends know my mom owns a bakery on the edge of town but they don't know anything else. "She's currently having money problems, my mom's struggling to pay her employees and make enough profit at the same time." I take a deep breath "she's too proud to ask for help, but she needs it."

I risk a glance at Roma, "stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Roma asks as he tries to smile. His eyes are filled with emotions.

"Pity," I whisper the word, I hate pity, "I don't pity you."

"I didn't tell you this for you to show me some sympathy, I told you because I haven't told anyone else and I needed to."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Buy the bakery," I joke. I'm clearly not being serious, the bakery was owned by my grandparents before they passed it on to my mom. If someone else bought the bakery it would no longer be ours. Even though the business hasn't been the best recently, I know that it's mine, if all else fails I have the bakery. My mom knows it too.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" He whispers softly.

No.

He moves his hand so it's now stroking my cheek. I lift my hand to where he is, entwining our fingers. I slightly tilt my head back to look into his eyes noticing that he hasn't stopped looking at me.