A Lily Among Thorns

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴

✞ C E L A I   L a C R O I X ✞

A strong grasp prevents Celai from moving from the spot she fell asleep in and she looks down to see Julian's hand being the culprit. He had wrapped her in his embrace, and while it's a cute sight, Celai needs to get up.

And not only because he's holding onto her tightly, but also because she's starting to enjoy his hold more than she should. When she breaks free from him, she makes a mental note to talk to him about setting boundaries.

She leaves his room to go downstairs, contemplating if she should stop at Nyomi's room, but siding against it when she hears the closed door lock. She moves forward and strolls down the stairs, hoping to get a moment of peace, since from the minute she woke up, her mind had a train of thoughts going from Julian, to Mama Ruth, to, intensely, her mother.

At this point and time, she wants to talk to her, but she doesn't know how.

"What were y'all doing up there?" Mama Ruth asks suddenly from the den, making Celai jump. "It's been about an hour since I've heard from anyone but myself."

She smiles warmly. "Well, the food was so good that we went to his room and fell asleep by accident," she says, hoping Mama Ruth doesn't frown up at her statement. It wasn't her intent to fall asleep, let alone in Julian's arms.

She's relieved to see Mama Ruth unbothered by her statement. "Is Julian still sleeping?" she asks.

"Yes ma'am."

Mama Ruth pats the spot beside her on the couch. "Then sit down. I want to talk and hopefully Julian doesn't eavesdrop this time. He thought he was slick earlier."

Celai lets out a forced chuckle as she sits beside Mama Ruth. The last thing she wants to do is get interrogated again, but that's where it looks like their conversation is heading.

"You ever been in love with a man?" Mama Ruth asks her.

Celai sighs lowly, partly because of the unexpected and invading question. "Once when I was in college," she confesses.

"What happened? Why're you no longer with him?"

"I found Jesus and found out he wasn't right for me," she solemnly shrugs.

"Oh," Mama Ruth scoffs and waves her off. "Well, then you weren't in love with him, baby. You never truly know love until after you know Christ and despite what the world is out here saying, God is your first love, not any other person."

Celai never looked at it in that way, but upon realizing, she agrees. The love she feels from the Lord's people can never amount to the Source.

Mama Ruth continues. "So with that being said, I wanted to tell you that since you're with someone that you're equally yoked with, it's not gon to be like any other relationship you've been in before."

"What do you mean?"

"Some Christian couples can't hold out like normal relationships because of the supernatural effect God creates; they get married quickly, and I should know, me and my Johnnie got married in six months of knowing each other. But all of that happens with complete trust in God and undeniable love for their partner."