The Second Tour of 44West

ch. 17 - sting

Rion

~ Chicago - Night One ~

--

    I laid on the bed, thinking over everything that had just happened within the past hour, my emotions bouncing all over the place, going from annoyance, to anger, to happiness, to fear.

    I liked Robbie at first, but I'm realizing now that he's a fucking dick. He didn't deserve someone like Elizabeth, and I laid there wondering how they even ended up together in the first place. When we met, she was sunshine and rainbows personified. Did she not notice how terrible he was when they first started dating? Did he corrupt her or wear her down enough where she just brushed off all of the terrible things he said? I have no idea, but I can't continue listening to him to treat her like shit and keep my mouth shut.

    I heard the water shut off in the bathroom, so I scooted my body up the bed a little so that I could sit up a bit straighter. A few minutes later, Elizabeth walked out in shorts and a hoodie with damp hair and entered the room to find me already watching her.

    I watched as the faint blush rushed across her cheeks and cleared my throat. "Feel better?" I asked. She only nodded, shifting on her feet in the entrance of the doorway. "You can lay down if you want. I'll get up." I offered, placing my hands on the bed to move my body, but was halted when I saw her shaking her head rapidly at the motion.

    "No, just... stay there." She said, making me freeze for a second before relaxing back into the bed. I watched her take a deep breath before she took long, sure strides towards the bed and crawled on top. She opened the covers and got underneath the warmth of the blankets, then scooted closer to me, placing her head on my chest and her arm around my torso.

    My body tensed at the contact and I could feel my heart absolutely pounding in my rib cage.

    Great. I thought. There's no way she doesn't hear that right now. Her ear is literally pressed to my chest.

    "Elizabeth?" I asked as she hummed tiredly in response. "What are you doing?"

    "I don't know." She admitted as her fingertips moved to the bottom of my shirt and slid upwards to where they were now resting on my stomach. "I guess I'm just doing what feels right."

    I didn't know what to say to that. She couldn't truly mean that because I knew she was still with Robbie and she was still going to marry him even though he has proven time and time again why he's not worthy of that. But, I didn't tell her to stop either.

    For a second, I allowed myself to pretend that this was my life from now on despite the blaring warning alarms going off in my mind. This was not good for my heart. I knew that. For the sake of my own well-being, I should move to the other room.

    But, I just couldn't. So I allowed myself to think in possibilities of 'what ifs'. If only for a while.

    It had been about thirty minutes of her cuddled up to me in bed and I was trying to enjoy every second I could since I knew this would probably never happen again. She got hurt by her fiancé. That's the only reason she's finding comfort in me right now.  But, one question kept swirling around in my head, but I was afraid that if I asked it, it would ruin the moment. If this 'felt right' to her, why is she still with Robbie? Why is she doing what she's doing?

    "Elizabeth?" I asked softly, deciding that the temptation to know the answer was too strong, but I wasn't met with an answer. Craning my neck to look at her as best as I could, I found her fast asleep, breathing softly on my chest.

    My heart clenched at the sight in an almost painful way, knowing that I was getting a taste of something I could never actually have.

    Sighing, I scrolled on my phone and let her sleep, tucking my question away in the corners of my mind, hoping I would get a chance to ask her at a later date.