King of My Heart

13. Sleeping Together

The dinner date with Chris was a candlelit picnic on the water in the same spot where they had their first date. It was positively romantic...except for the fact that she had to share the evening with CHRIS. She had more sparks with Tim when she was looking at him from across the preschool classroom earlier that day, and it was the millionth instance she found herself comparing time with the both men- but there was NEVER really a competition.

Still, the date with Chris started fine enough. STARTED. Then, he made another jab about all of the drastic changes she was making, and in her anger, Lucy left before dessert. Of course, in the back of her mind, she was nervous Chris would propose, and in her panicked state, she WAS looking for any excuse to avoid the situation, so MAYBE her exit was a little overdramatic. She reminded herself that she is the queen, and she could do whatever she wanted and have whatever she wanted.

And, she wanted to find Tim. Time with him wiped away the bad taste in her mouth left by Chris. Even if all they did was argue about which natural disaster is worse (that debate took place last week, continued until 2AM, and required 2 cups of tea), Lucy enjoyed herself. Perhaps it was selfish to want to spend her nights with Tim, but he always seemed happier after talking to her, too.

On a whim, she checked the kitchen; when they last spoke, Tim seemed uneasy about her potentially getting engaged at dinner, and he did not necessarily say he wouldn't meet her in the kitchen, but the likelihood was low. Not IMPOSSIBLE just not likely. Yet, if he was hurting as much as she suspected, maybe that would be enough impetus to be in her presence. After all, tea time in the kitchen always made everything a little better.

So, she waited in hopes that he wanted her...to be around her, she corrected. She hoped he wanted to be around her during a difficult time that he STILL had not told her about, and Lucy knew deep down why it bothered her so much that he had not confided in her.

11PM
She paced as she thought about Tim and what might be troubling him.

11:30PM
She thought about Chris and how badly she wanted to get rid of him.

12AM

12:30AM

No sign of Tim.

Lucy could FEEL that something was wrong with him- whatever had been troubling enough to cause that nightmare the night before still gnawed at the back of her mind. She wanted to give him another chance to open up. So, she decided to look in the other place he might be at the late hour, and she went to his bedroom. When she knocked but heard no answer, she still walked into his chambers just in case.

"Tim?" She asked quietly, and her throat felt tight when she saw him swaying where he was seated on the floor next to his bed; he had sweat through his light blue t shirt, his hair was damp, and the way he clenched a pillow to his chest was CONCERNING. "Hey," she said gently and sat down next to him.

He just grasped the pillow in his hands even tighter and shut his eyes.

Lucy put an arm around him and pulled him to her side. She didn't say anything; she just let him collapse against her while his body continued to shake.

Tim still did not fully realize he was being held by Lucy for several minutes as his breathing slowed, but she did not move or lessen her grip on him in all that time. Finally, when he was fully present, he cleared his throat and sat up to look at the queen. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You can leave now."