Moments; To Remember

Familiar Strangers - 5

She was woken up by the sound of alarm. Before opening her eyes, she could feel something heavy on her chest and her left arm. She tried to move, but the hands encircling her waist held her tighter. She didn't realize what it was until she opened her eyes. The sight this morning had melted her heart. He was resting his head on her chest, his right arm tightly wound around her waist as if she would disappear any moment. She turned her head left to find Eva sleeping on her left arm with her baby thumps in her mouth. She drew Eva close to her body and removed Eva's thumb from her mouth smiling at cuteness of this little gift.

But she was suddenly reminded of the incidents of the past night. Unknowingly tears were rolling down from her eyes. He was woken up by her whimper. Seeing her cry made him feel more guilty. He raised his head from her chest and sat on the bed resting his upper body on the headboard. He pulled her body to him and hugged her tightly wiping her tears. 

"Sorry, but please stop crying. I realize my words were harsh. It wasn't something I truly meant. At first, I only meant to tease you, but my fowl mouth took over and said many hurtful things to you. Please forgive me." He spoke.

She almost forgave him. But she remembered his previous words and was not able to grasp this sudden change from his side. She tried to release herself from his grasp. But he held her more tightly refusing to let her go.

"Please, don't go." He pleaded. 

She cried even more.

"I do not want this. This is your guilt being good to me, not you. I'm convinced that once you realize you've repaid me with enough kindness, you'll return to the stranger you were before. So, please do not make me feel any more pathetic than I already am."

"No... You are not pathetic. If anybody is, it is me."

"Eva is enough for me. The way she smiles is enough to keep me alive. I'm not expecting anything more. I don't want to give off my heart only to be broken again."

"Again...", he asked confused.

"What do you think.... I was so kind as to toy with my life only because of your mother's request.... Even while that was what pushed me to make my decision, it was not the only reason. I liked you from the moment I saw you. That day, the stranger I met for the first time in my life had already taken up a place in my heart."

Her confession pleased him to no end. But reality hit him fairly hard. His words started to stab his heart like a knife.

"Every single word you spoke crushed my heart. I took it all. But last night..." Her sobs interrupted her words. She couldn't take it any longer and managed to break away from him before leaving the room.

He was still in disbelief after hearing what she said. She agreed to all his crap because she loved him. He could not believe what he had heard. He was overjoyed when she confessed. He was confused about his feelings for her until yesterday. The only thing he knew for certain was that he needed her in his life as much as he needed air. He felt like punching himself when he saw her cry for him. But he didn't know it was what they called love. The weight in his heart from seeing her tears let him understand what love was. When it came to emotions, he was dumb. Actually, his ignorance had created a gap between them. If he had realized his feelings earlier, he might have avoided this situation. Now that the damage was already done, he had no idea what to do.

Days passed between them. She isolated herself from him by focusing solely on Eva. She did all that needed to be done for him, but she never gave him a smile nor chatted with him like she used to. He was dying to speak to her. However, he was uncertain how to begin the conversation. He never had to or felt the need to start one in the past because she was always the one who initiated small talk with him. Because of Eva and her presence in his life, he no longer dreaded the holidays. But now that she was ignoring him as if he was never there, he couldn't take it. He was so used to having her around that he can't bear the loneliness anymore.

He had missed her waking him up. He missed them going around the streets as a family. He missed the movie nights and afternoons he shared with her. He missed her scent when he unintentionally leaned on her. He missed her giggles. He missed the way she would smile at him. He was unaware of the difference till now, but there was an obvious difference when she smiled at anyone other than him and Eva. Her grin for him and Eva was as if she were passing on all of the world's love to them.

 It was Sunday afternoon. After a week of silence, he decided to strike up a conversation. She was sprawled out on the bed with baby Eva in her arms. He approached them slowly and laid down next her. He gradually removed her hands, which were holding Eva. He took her hands in his and wrapped his hands around her, her back to his chest. He sniffed across her back, delighting in the sweet scent he had missed for a week. He rubbed his stubble on her nape, waking her up.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't reply. He continued to shower kisses on her back. But her soft cry made him realize he was almost molesting her. 

"I'm sorry. I can't stand the fact that you are ignoring me. I can't stand the thought of you leaving me one day. 

"Please, leave me alone. Your guilt will eventually fade, I cannot test the water again."

He sat up, rested his head on the headboard, and made her sit on his lap, facing him. He moved her body close to him, wrapping his hands around her neck and resting his head on her nape. His tears streamed down her shoulder. He repeated the word "sorry" since he did not know what else to say. He rubbed his stubble against her nape like a cat. He traced little kisses on her nape as a form of offering an apology.

"Please give me one final chance. I vow that I will change. Eva's papa, like Eva, cannot live without Eva's mother. Please, wifey..."

She was surprised by the nickname. Her face was adorned with a beautiful blush. Even if she tried hard to hide it, he noticed.

"Why did it take you so long to apologize again? If you showed up on the second day of our fight, I would have run back to you. I almost thought you gave up on me after the first try." She cried as she spoke.

 He took her face in both hands while kissing her lips. It began with a quick peck. He started sucking her lips into his mouth because she didn't protest. He started to plant a deeper kiss. Eva decided it was the ideal time to wake up and began to cry. However, he was not ready to let go of her lips. He delicately nipped her lips, as if to claim his territory. Eva began to grow irritated that her parents were not giving her any attention and started wailing loudly. She gave him a tiny shove this time, which caused him to pull himself away from her lips, but her lip was now faintly bleeding. With haste, she scooped Eva into her arms and held her close. After the numbness of the moment passed, she noticed a small cut on her lips from his bite.

"Bad timing, Eva...." he smirked. Hearing him, she pinched his waist and left, holding Eva in her arms. Meanwhile, he licked his lips and savored the warmth of his first kiss. She was no better, lost in the ecstasy of her first kiss.

That marked a new chapter in their lives.

to be continued....