The Stars Above Us

-•𝐂hapter 𝐒eventeen•-

Everything went great but now it was just us family sitting in the lounge with fire cackling in the fireplace and music running on tape. Jonah and Julie stood in the center wearing PJs and dancing on the tune playing. While we all sat on couches and rugs sipping wine and laughing along them.

They both looked happy and content laughing to the jokes they must have told each other thousand times, Ryan held Coco from her hand and then they both too were dancing in the center. Arms wrapped around one another and clumsily moving back and forth they enjoyed their company.

"Ian bring Lilian and dance with us" Julie screamed as Jonah swirled her around causing her laughing out loud. My eyes fell on Ian, he looked so calm and at peace and relaxed with a small very small smile playing on his lips. This monster look so good with smile.

"Ian" Ryan screamed and it snapped him out of whatever haze he was in making him stand up and holding his hand for me. I slipped my small and delicate hand in his large and gruff one. He pulled me on foot and in a moment we were in the middle of room, his one arm wrapped around my waist while with other hand held my hand. My free hand was around his neck.

Tunes of classic music played and Ian moved back and forth with me swirling me in his arms. Slowly everyone and everything in the back disappeared into a blur and for me it was only Ian and me dancing in each other's arms. He swirled me rather fast and I fell on his chest, my hands both clutching his sweater from his shoulders, my hair falling over my face and him so close to me that his minty breath mixed with the smell of wine hit me.

"Lilian" he mumbled.

"Ian" I took a harsh breath standing still and stiff in his arms.

Laughter.

High pitched laughs brought me back to Earth and I realized we were not alone in this lounge. This was not our home, this was someone else's. Someone else had filled it with so much love that it felt so good staying here.

"C'mon let's go out" Ian held my hand and sneaked us out into backyard and wrapped his arms around me to protect me from cold. He was warm, so warm that I didn't feel the need to wear something warm.

"Why did you bring me here"

"It was so good in there. I was feeling suffocated" his words shocked me. Who the hell feel suffocated or bad between the people who are so good and loving.

"Why did you feel suffocated in between so much love"

"Maybe all this love suffocates me" my heart shattered. In million pieces. He craved love, he needed it but got nothing l. The yearning so long that it kills.

"Love can never be suffocating we just need to learn how to accommodate it in our heart"

"I don't have any heart for that matter" his eyes held. . . Pain and yearning.

"No, no,no. Ian no. We all have hearts, no kid is born cruel or heatless and cold we just turn out to be like that. We all have hearts behind the case of our ribs, even you have one" I placed my hand over his chest and felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest.

"Do you think I deserve love?" His voice broke at the end and my heart squeezed in my chest.

"Yes you do deserve love"

"Ian, Lilian c'mon dad is playing the piano" Ryan popped his head out of the door and called us in. When we walked back in we found Jonah sitting beside the piano, Julie sharing the seat with him while Ryan sat with Coco wrapping her in a blanket on a sofa.

Jonah played the tunes in the piano, slowly the tunes started to rise and we were captured in the tunes. I leaned down over Ian resting my head on his shoulder and before I could understand I fell asleep there wrapped in the warmth of his arms, before I could fall into unconsciousness I felt him wrapping me in his arms so that I lay comfortably on his chest.