Questions for Answers

Chapter Twenty Two

He smiled, kissed me on the forehead, and handed me the flowers he'd been holding, "Surprise!"

I wanted to be happy, but the only emotion I could feel was nervousness because I knew that we could be attacked at any moment. I scratched my head, "Wait, I'm confused. How are you here right now? I thought Harlem just got out of surgery. It's a ten-hour flight from Michigan."

He made his way in and shut the door behind him, "Alright, before your head explodes, I need you to take a deep breath. It's been months since we've seen each other like this. Can you give me a hug?"

"Of course", I said as I sank into his arms. For the first time in a long time, I felt at ease with just one touch. Despite all that was going on, it was really good to see him. I missed having him around. I got so caught up in everything that I forgot to enjoy what was in front of me. I let our hug linger before finally pulling away and looking him in the eye, "Alright, now explain yourself. Because either you lied to me...or you can time travel."

He chuckled and took a seat, "Okay, I'll spill. Yesterday, when you called me? I didn't pick up because I was asleep. I don't think you realized our time difference. You called me at 2 am, which would've been 8 for you. I didn't wake up until 10 in the morning, and by that time I had to start getting ready for work and didn't get off until 5. And yes, I did lie about my dad. Truth is, he'd already gotten surgery almost a whole week ago. I was waiting until he recovered before I booked a flight to come surprise you."

"Wait, so he's already been at home?" I questioned.

He nodded, "Yeah. Anyway, once I got off work I packed a light bag because I was planning to fly to Italy early the next morning. I knew you called, but I truthfully forgot to return it—sorry. So I woke up mega early today and got on my flight at two. I had a connecting flight, so we stopped and landed after only flying for three hours. That's when I returned your call and told you about Harlem. Due to the weather, the flight kept getting delayed and I didn't get back onto another plane until 10 am. I arrived in Italy around five in the afternoon. But Natalia's place from the airport is about an hour's drive, so I took an Uber of course. The traffic was so bad, I didn't get here until 9. I would've gotten here earlier, but I stopped at one of those markets to pick up some flowers and snacks for you. So yeah...now I'm here."

I sucked my teeth and tried hiding my smile, "You're sneaky. So that's why you didn't video call me. I knew something was off."

"Oh, right", he said in a sarcastic tone.

I laughed and then reality hit me again. We were sitting ducks in Natalia's house. I looked him in the eyes, "As much as I really enjoy you being here with me right now, I can't feel anything else but scared."

His expression softened, "Does it have anything to do with what we talked about on the phone?"

I nodded, "Yes, I'm scared that they're gonna get me at any second and I don't want you getting caught up in it. I'd rather it be just me who got hurt."

He stood up and cupped my face, "Hey, don't say that. I am not gonna let anything happen to you ever again. I made a mistake leaving you. But this time, when I catch a flight back home, you're gonna be right there next to me. I'm not leaving without you."

I held onto his hand, "Okay, but we need to get out of this house for tonight. Please tell me you got a hotel or something."

He nodded, "Yeah, let's get out of here, rest up for the night. We can look up the earliest flights back to Michigan tomorrow."

I didn't know why his words shocked me. Of course, we needed to leave, but it wasn't over yet. It would only upset him if I said anything, so I kept it to myself. But I didn't plan on leaving until I could figure out what those rooms were and where they were located. I also didn't want to keep dragging it out, so I expected to find an answer in a matter of days. I was confident that I would be able to. I just needed more time.