Into the unknown

Chapter 12.

I lifted my hand to cover my mouth as I let out a large and very unattractive yawn. As my hand fell back down in front of me, my heart stopped beating, my fingers hitting a hard and warm surface. Hastily, my eyes shot open, trying to adjust to the newfound light that entered the room and make sense of the brown tanned-like skin colour that clouded my view. The pads of my fingertips trailed down the bumpy, but smooth rectangle.

My head rose and fell softly, as I realised, I wasn't sleeping on the usual soft and fluffy pillow. Although, this new pillow was still comfy, nonetheless. My head felt like it was positioned perfectly into a space that was so protective and safe. This was the warmest and securest I had felt in a while.

Once the blurriness of my sight had dissolved, I became aware that my head was laying on someone's chest and my hand was rested on their torso. At first, my body froze at the realisation, until the events of last night entered my mind.

Valentino was, once again, the gentle and caring person I first met, but I was still cautious of that switch being flicked off at any second. I remember asking Cristian to stay with me before I fell asleep. My body relaxed again, understanding that it was him that I must have been laying on. The longer my eyes analysed the body beneath me, the less it looked like Cristian.

The torso was long and well-defined, although I hadn't seen Cristian's naked body, I knew he wasn't this tall and I didn't think he was this fit. The skin was a little browner than the skin of Cristian's face, so unless he tanned only his body, which I doubt he did, this couldn't have been him.

"Are you awake?" A voice echoed around the room. This was definitely not Cristian's voice.

My head shot up from the captivating slot, hitting something hard on its way up in the air. My body followed suit, as I sat up straight, turning back to look at the person I was laying on.

"What are you doing here?" I gasped, watching Valentino laying there, his hand rubbing on his chin, that I must have collided with.

I tried to scoot myself back away from him, but my body was tangled up in the duvet and blanket, that I could hardly move. My heart began beating, double time, from the shock of Valentino in the bed and the panic fighting against the blankets.

"Calm down." He tiredly muttered, using his forearms to push his upper body up, so that his back was now leaning against the headboard. Reluctantly, I stopped fighting with the duvet and looked at him, keeping as much distance as I could between the two of us. I felt so vulnerable right now, as his eyes searched my face. For what, I wasn't sure though. I was scared of making one wrong move that I sat there still as a statue, not saying a word. Just staring, at him.

"Do you remember much from last night?" He asked,

"Not much." I shrugged. "I remember seeing my mum, was she here?"

He shook his head. "You hallucinated, from the lack of food and sleep."

"Oh, right." I nodded in acknowledgment.

A part of me was relieved that I had imagined my mother being here. If she really had been here, she would have soon become a sunken in and distant version of the woman I saw last night, she would have quickly become the woman she was now. However, the other part of me wished she had been here. No matter how she acted, I still missed her and loved her.
"Where's Cristian? I remember asking him to stay with me last night." My eyebrows furred in confusion over how Valentino ended up in my, I mean the, bed.

"You did, but you sort of clung onto me when you fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you with my movements." He smiled softly. Valentino looked like a different person when he smiled, no matter how small the smile was. It was difficult to explain, but his face changed, subtlety. Two little circular indents formed in his cheeks, his eyes widened and the green colour become more prominent over the brown. I much preferred this look, as opposed to the one where his jaw became tensed, his eyes became small and narrow and the thin throbbing vein that became defined on his temple when he became angry.