Limoncello

Chapter 4

"There is peace even in the storm." ~ Vincent van Gogh

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Blinding rays of late morning sunlight reached through the curtain-less windows and caressed Maeve's eyelids. As her eyes fluttered open she squinted at the harsh light and brought her arm up to cover her eyes. As she looked to the side she realized her vision was blurry. Her glasses weren't on. She hadn't remembered falling asleep, so she was happy to know that she, or someone, had enough sense to take her glasses off. As she sat up, she squinted her eyes and looked around, straining her eyes in an attempt to locate them. Once she found the blurry outline of them on the side table next to the arm of the couch she had been resting her head on, she grabbed them and slipped them onto her face. Her vision now clear, she looked around, realizing that Nick was curled up, asleep, on the opposite side of the couch.

She shifted into a sitting position before pushing herself off of the couch. She took the blanket that had been covering both of their legs and carefully moved it up to fully cover Nick's body, trying not to wake him up. When he didn't stir, she deemed the action successful and tiptoed into the kitchen. Glancing at the clock on the oven, she noticed that the time was 11:30. Her eyebrows shot up. She almost never slept in that late. She let out a deep sigh before leaning up against the counter, looking down at the cold tile floor as she tried to finally process the situation that led her there.

She had awoken to violent pounding on her front door and the doorbell chiming over and over again. She knew it was probably Tanner. Him showing up in the dead of night, drunk and angry, had begun to increase in frequency. It was exactly the reason she had broken up with him 6 months ago. He would get drunk, convince himself that she was cheating, and rush to her home to pick a fight. Now that they were no longer, he would come yell at her because he couldn't handle the fact that she had left. She had cautiously approached the door and slowly cracked it open.

"Tanner," she sighed. "Go home." She tried to shut the door in his face but his hand caught it and pushed it open, easily overpowering her.

"We need to talk," he muttered, voice eerily calm. He then tried to walk into her house. Maeve was not about to let him inside, not when she knew how violent he could get. If something happened to her, she wanted witnesses, even if that was in the form of home security cameras that adorned most of her neighbors homes. "Outside," she mumbled. "We can talk outside."

To her surprise, he stepped back so that she could come outside. The minute she was outside, he was in her face. "I know you left me because you were fucking someone else. How fucking dare you? I gave you everything."

"No I wasn't," she said firmly. "I left because of this right here."

"Let me fucking talk," he growled, fists balling up at his sides. She knew it was best to let him get his way, he would be less intense if she just stayed quiet. So she let him talk. He mainly just repeated himself, but it was still terrifying. That had been the worst he'd gotten in a while. She swore he was going to hit her as the tears streamed down her face. Luckily, Nick had come outside before he had the chance to.

She didn't realize she was crying as she recalled the event until a tear hit her chest. She reached up to wipe the tears away and get them under control before someone woke up. She easily cut off the waterworks within seconds. She heard light footsteps moments later and looked up to see Nick with the blanket draped over his shoulders. "Good morning," he mumbled as he shuffled over to her. He leaned against the counter right next to her.

"Good morning," she whispered, a ghost of a smile manifesting on her face. She loved his morning voice. She considered herself blessed having heard it a second time. "How come you didn't sleep in your bed?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to make sure you were safe." He said it sheepishly, like it was frightening for him to admit.

Maeve felt heat jump to her face as she bit her lip to curb her growing smile. "Well aren't you a gentleman," she teased. She looked at him before continuing. "I'm okay. I promise," she said gently. "But thank you. I really appreciate it."

Nick just stared at her for a moment, barely processing what she said as she looked up at him. His heartbeat sped up and he nearly forgot to breathe. Maeve tilted her head slightly when he didn't reply. She felt the flush of her face spread to her ears and chest. "Earth to Folio," she teased, internally cringing at the way her voice nervously shook.

He snapped out of his little trance. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. Then, with a sudden boost of confidence, "I just didn't realize someone could be so pretty first thing in the morning."

Maeve couldn't help the giggle that slipped and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Stop it," her words were slightly muffled as she lightly nudged the side of his body. In a flair of dramatics, he pretended to wobble around before throwing himself on the floor. Maeve started to laugh at him as she looked down at him.

"You pushed me!" he teased, "That wasn't very nice!"

"Oh, please forgive me," she laughed, playing along.

"Only if you help me up." He held out his hand. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, but before she could even attempt to pull him up, he pulled her down. She fell right onto his chest in a fit of laughter, which he returned as he wrapped his arms around her in a big bear hug.

"You tricked me!" she squealed. "Let me go!" Her words were riddled with genuine, amused laughter. The sound was so beautiful that Nick wanted to keep her laughing for as long as he could. They were so caught up with each other that they didn't hear the soft footsteps approaching the kitchen.

"Get a room," Jolly mumbled, walking past them to get a bottle of water from the refrigerator and retreating back to his room.

Maeve and Nick quieted down until he was out of view. When they looked at each other again, they both bursted into another fit of laughter. When they did finally calm down they just stared at each other for a little while, still lying on the kitchen floor. Maeve spoke up after a while, "Do you wanna come over for some coffee?"

Nick smiled brightly, "Yeah. I'd love to."