Tulip's Destiny

XXXVI - Back Home

"Raine!" Lara greeted, pulling the door open. "Can I stay here for the night?" Raine asked impassively. "Sure. Come in." Lara motioned, letting her friend walk in as she followed inside. "Is everything okay?" Lara asked, giving her a glass of water. "We just had a fight." Raine nodded in deep thought. "What happened? Do you want to talk about it?" Lara asked in a worried voice, she hugged Raine by the shoulders as they sat down. "Don't worry, we'll talk about it tomorrow. I just really need a breather." Raine sighed. "Okay... You can borrow some of my clothes if you want. Shower first, I'll prepare everything." Lara said, disappearing to the bedroom.

Raine hopped in the warm tub, letting out a deep groan of satisfaction. The warm water was just she needed soothing her nerves. She slowly slid down, closing her eyes. "I'll tell him everything tomorrow. It was my fault, I lied to him." Raine thought to herself. Water instantly invaded her senses, she sputtered and coughed between eager inhales. She got up, wrapping herself in a towel. Lara handed her some pajamas that fit just well on her. Quietly, Raine sat next to Lara reading on the bed. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? Talk about how you feel?" Lara turned to her. "It's fine. Thank you for letting me stay here." Raine smiled, tucking herself in the blanket. "Okay then... sweet dreams." Lara nodded, turning the bedside lamp off.

All night Raine was plagued by nightmares. In the morning, your eyes could barely open and it was gray and dull outside. Forcing herself to get up, she stretched out of the blanket walking to the kitchen. "Pancakes?" Lara asked, preparing a stack. Raine chuckled while taking a seat. "Why are you laughing?" Lara noted, sliding a pancake off the pan. "You and Manuel... you're like my parents."

"Parents?" Lara repeated, making a face. "You take care of me so well. And you both make me pancakes." Raine said, slicing a bite off. "If that's the definition of being a parent then it must be so easy." Lara chuckled. Raine was about to make a response when a knock interrupted them. "I'll take it." She insisted, letting Lara finish the batch.

"Raine." Gelo started with a regretful look. "Gelo..." Raine breathed out. "I'm sorry." He muttered with downcast eyes. "I know. I'm sorry too." She replied. "Can we talk about it?" Gelo asked with a tight-lipped smile as he handed her a bouquet of tulips. Raine smiled, hugging the bunch into her arms.

"Look who's made up." Lara laughed, walking in on them. "Why don't you join us for breakfast, Gelo." She suggested, raising her eyebrows as she looked at Raine. "If you insist..." Gelo said, taking a step forward to take his shoes off before entering the house.

They had a quick breakfast. Although Lara was silent the whole time, she tried her best to not make them feel uncomfortable. As soon as the couple stepped inside the house, Gelo pulled Raine in for a passionate hug. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, snuggling in her neck. Raine brushed her hand through his hair, holding onto the hug. "Gelo, we need to talk."

"What is it, Bambina?" Gelo said, pulling away slowly to sit on a couch nearby. He gently pulled her along, to sit on his lap. "I lied to you..." She started. "I'm sorry, please hear me out. I...uhhh I purposefully contacted Manuel to come with me."

Gelo became tense, swallowing a heavy air. "I... I don't know where to start. I just want you to know that I love you." Raine sighed, cupping his face. He smiled, holding her hand to his lips before kissing the palm. "Look, love... you see before we met back in the Netherlands I was looking for someone else. And I thought that was you. I started remembering things. Turns out, you were not the Mikhail I was looking for." She said, making his grip on her hand slightly tightened. "I went back there with Manuel to talk to him. To talk to Mikhail."