Stained Recovery

Empase || Chapter 19

Warmth was the first thing I felt as I came into my consciousness. That, and the thousand needles prickling my arms.

I groaned slightly trying to move my arms, stretching a little.

"Baby, stop moving." A familiar voice made me open my eyes abruptly. For a second, I thought I was dreaming.

A bush of unruly, curly hair welcomed me as I looked down at my chest. Ariana was snuggled comfortably beside me, her nose buried into my chest.

Her long eyelashes fanned across her cheeks. She was breathing regularly as if she was deeply sleeping.

My arms were dead asleep, it looks like she was using it as a pillow the whole night. I hated moving and waking her up, but my bladder didn't want to cooperate.

"Baby, I have to go pee," I whispered softly.

Ari groaned and protested like a little girl, making me smile at her antics. "Go do your thing fast and come back to bed."

I moved out of bed in a flash, not wanting to poke the bear anymore. I knew she was tired, from all the rehearsals and the dinner last night, she needs to sleep some more.

After relieving myself in the toilet, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before going back beside Ariana. She was peacefully hugging my pillow as if she couldn't sleep without my scent all over her.

Man, this girl doesn't even realize what she does to my heart — even with the simplest things.

I sat on the edge of the bed, silently watching Ari as she slept. She looked so beautiful even with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted. She could even drool excessively, for all I care — she would still be the most beautiful woman in my eyes.

Last night, my parents were super thrilled that they got to meet Ariana. They were very fond of her — which was pretty surprising, given the history if my ex-girlfriend.

I was half-expecting that my mom would give her a hard time. Instead, she welcomed her like she was an old friend! Dad even suggested that I ask her to be my girlfriend fast. He said that he saw how we looked at each other — and that is something that I can hold onto for the long haul.

After dinner, mom practically hounded Ariana and told me to go with my dad for drinks. Of course, my dad being a big pussy and sucker for my mom, he obeyed without even questioning.

We talked about what happened and he explained the situation with Ariana's management team. He said that he will take care of it, together with my mom's team. He said that I didn't have to worry about anything and just enjoy being with Ariana.

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FLASHBACK

"So how are things going with Ms. Popstar?" Dad asked after the bartender left us with our McCallans. He wasn't particularly happy about the info leak, but he knew that it wasn't Ariana's fault.

"We're good... I mean... yeah, we're taking things slow." I answered skeptically. Dad and I never talked about my love life before, this interaction was pretty strange to me.

He nodded and smirked at me playfully. "Hmm... I know those looks, Cleo. You're in love with the girl?"

I almost choked at the burning liquor — what did he just say?!

"What?" I asked as I wiped the droplets of the whisky that spluttered all over the table top.

"Dad, you're thinking too advanced. Besides, Ari knows we're both not ready for that yet." I tried to deflect his question. It's too early for me to feel that way — that's why I was doing my best to not over-do things with her.