Wasp - A Chris Motionless Love Story

Chapter Four - She Looks So Lost

CHRIS' POV
As soon as the plane landed I ran straight to the rental car station and got whatever was available, which happened to be a Dodge Challenger. I would have preferred my BMW, but I had no time to be picky. All my bags were crammed in, it felt like a Tetris game trying to fit everything. Damn you, Dodge, and your small ass trunks and back seats. At least I had something with power, though. I raced out of the parking lot of the Preston Smith Airport, and headed straight to Aurora. When I opened the apartment door she collapsed into my arms, bawling her eyes out and wailing. It hurt me so bad to see her so down. I held onto her for a few minutes in the doorway before pulling her back, deciding that I needed to know what triggered this.

"Ora, tell me what happened. Did someone say something to upset you, or do something? Is he refusing to sign the papers, because I will pay court fees and take the fucker to court." I thought of every possible situation, but nothing prepared me for what she said next.

"I went to dinner with my boss thinking it was just a friendly business dinner," oh fuck, I had a feeling I knew where this was going, "and everything was fine! That is until he got too handsy... He groped me, and grabbed me." I could feel myself getting angrier as she talked.

"Grabbed you where?" I asked, cautiously. She started crying even more and couldn't talk, so she just pointed. Fuck. I sat her down on the couch, and crouched down in front of her, then played detective. "Did he touch you anywhere else? He didn't rape you did he?" She shook her head and I took a deep breath from being relieved.

"But now I don't even know if I have a job anymore, and if I do it's going to be awkward. I feel like I'm just fucked." I could almost feel her concern radiating off of her, all I knew to do was pull her close and hold her, so I got on the couch and did just that. Our silence was interrupted by Aurora's stomach loudly grumbling, relieving the intensity of the moment. I laughed and looked down at her.

"Are you hungry, Ora?" I asked, already knowing the answer. She giggled and wiped away her tears as she nodded.

"Can we go to Cujos? It's a local sports bar, the have amazing food, the fried cheese is to die for." She gushed.

"I'm a vegan, but I'm sure I could find something there." I assured her as I grabbed the keys.

"And I'm lactose intolerant, but that won't stop me." Oh God, she was pure chaos, and I think I'm falling in love with it.
As soon as we sat down Aurora ordered a margarita. She seemed more relaxed, and there were replays of the local college football games on every TV.

"Ora, do you even watch sports?" I asked her. She looked at with a look that said, 'did you really just ask that?'

"Absolutely, my favorite is football, but I was raised on hockey and basketball. Baseball is okay, I never understood it." She shared her thoughts on sports.

"What's your favorite hockey team?" I asked. She thought for a second more as she popped a fry in her mouth.

"Buffalo Sabres all the way." It felt nice to sit there and just learn everything about her. Her hopes, dreams, talents. She was about three margaritas in when she got honest.

"Ya know, I had this crazy dream that I'd have a normal life. I'd own a funeral home, have a husband that's worth a shit, have an Australian Shepherd. I just feel like I'm never going to have that now." I knew she wasn't drunk, but the margaritas seemed to work as liquid courage to help her open up.

"You're still young. I mean, you're ridiculously smart, talented, and you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Inside and out. I haven't stopped thinking about you since that day you walked me through the funeral home." I confessed. She smiled at me and looked down as she blushed.

"I think it's time that we go home. I don't need to drink anymore, you're getting sexy." She joked as she reached for her wallet. I put my hand out, telling her to stop.

"Now, wait a minute," I insisted, "maybe you should have one more drink." She laughed at me and shook her head, then flagged down the waitress to hand her debit card over. I quickly snatched it from her and gave the waitress mine instead.

"The man is supposed to pay, that's how it is." I explained to her. She grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought that only applied for dates?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Maybe this was a date." I winked at her as I signed the receipt and got up, then took her hand to help her off the platform the booth was on. When we got to the car I helped her slide in, and as she did so her dress rode up, showing me a bit of her red lace panties. I tried not to look, respecting the fact that she was slightly buzzed and I didn't want any alcohol induced decisions to happen.
She stumbled into her bedroom, and hit the bed before she even changed into different clothes or took off her makeup, so I grabbed a makeup wipe from her bathroom and proceeded to wipe it off for her. If I hadn't felt her exhaling through her nose and seen her chest rise up and down, I would have thought she was dead herself. She didn't move or wake up a single time. I brushed her hair off of her forward and kissed it lightly as I turned on her bedside lamp, and turned off her bedroom light. After getting into my pajama pants and a black t-shirt I made my spot on the couch. I couldn't quite sleep though, so I scrolled through social media to pass the time. Everyone was blowing me up over the canceled show and how I left so quickly, without any explanation. I wasn't sure what to tell everyone. 'Hey, sorry, had to go take care of this 23 year old that I met that I fell absolutely, insanely, unconditionally in love with'? The age difference would be startling to most, and I have to admit, these millennials are pretty damn crazy, but she wasn't like the others her age. Yeah, she drinks, she parties occasionally, but she was so grown for her age. Almost as if she had grown from years of trauma, which begs the question of what her childhood was. Her past was a mystery to me, almost like I came in in the middle of a chapter and never got any insight. As I laid on her couch, wondering if her and I were ever a possibility, I caught a glimpse of something standing in the darkness of the hallway. It made me jump out of my skin, and then I realized it was Aurora as she walked closer to me.

"God damn it, Aurora, you scared the shit out of me. What are you doing up? You were passed out just about two hours ago." I stared at her in the light of the living room lamp, and could tell she had been crying. "What's wrong, baby?" I asked, concerned. She had a blanket wrapped around her, but I could tell at some point she had stripped her dress off. Under that blanket she stood with just her bra and panties, and it took everything in me to keep my mind from racing. She waddled over to the couch and laid down right next to me.

"I didn't want to sleep alone, that's all." Her fear of letting people in had taken over. I knew there was more to it. I wasn't sure what to do with my hands when she laid next to me, then she pressed into me and looked at me. "C-can you just h-hold me?" She stuttered out, obviously worried I'd reject it. Little did she know, I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms and keep her safe. She seemed so lost in life, and all I wanted to do was help her navigate. In that one night of holding her close to me as we both slept, I knew that was all I ever wanted. All I ever needed.