The Story Never Ends (Book 3. of A Beautiful Distraction

10) Hand Holding

When I woke up I felt his arms still wrapped around me. Opening my eyes, I took a breath before slowly pushing him off of me, not really looking at him as I walked out the door. Not bothering to check out the time, I headed to the old library as if that would fix everything.

Tracing my fingers on the wall, I made sure to pass by the kids room. Peeking in through the door, I saw them all fast asleep. With Rachel tossing and turning, I knew her worried mind was racing again. Mia was barely two feet away from Blaise, seeming close to be kicking him in his sleep. Just a few feet away from them Hayden was laying beside Luna, his hands in hers like they were together.

Hand holding.

I love hand holding. It seems to be one of the purest acts of love. Nothing is expected back but for you to keep your hands together. It's safe and can be done basically anywhere. It can be romantic like Aris and I, platonic like Newt and I, motherly like Luna and I, or somewhere between the first two like Lune and Hayden.

When was the last time I had truly held her hand? Before now when was the last time I gave her that small act of love?

I don't know. It kills me to admit it, but I don't remember.

ᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗ

"Where were you?"He asked quickly as I quietly came back in the room.

"I just had to clear my head and check on the kids,"I explained, holding back a smile as I thought about how well the "timeout room" had actually holden up.

"You need to tell me before you just run off."

"I'm completely fine, Aris. It's Luna we have to look after,"I reasoned.

"Y/N, if new things can happen then maybe something can happen to you too, and I can't have something happen to you. You both need to be with someone."

"Aris-"
"Y/N, I will not let something happen to either of my girls,"He said firmly, standing directly in front of me.

"I'll be fine,"I repeated.

"Y/N-"
Cutting him off, I held his face and lightly brushed my lips against his. Putting his hand under my jaw, he kissed me back for both a moment and a thousand eternities until I broke our world by pulling away.

"Don't worry about me, okay? If something was really wrong would I kiss you like that?"

"Yes. You would. You actually did a few times,"He pointed out.

"For your sake, no I didn't. Now I'm going to take a shower, okay? I'll be out soon,"I promised.

"Okay,"He sighed. Grabbing his hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze. Doing the same back, he held it for a moment longer than needed before letting go. Giving him a small, hopefully reassuring smile, I left to get ready before actually seeing the little ones. If they find out I'm breaking even just a little bit, if any of us are, it'll dishearten them until there's nothing left.

ᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗ

Meeting them all in the kitchen, I kept my hair in a bun and made sure my face wasn't puffy before actually joining them. Seeing them all just sitting there eating oatmeal, I kissed Luna's temple before sitting next to Aris. As he offered me a plate I shook my head. I would be avoiding Right Arms food for as long as possible. They helped ruin everything, and I'll be damned if I just enjoy what belonged to them.

"Eat right now before you end up hurting yourself,"Aris whispered.

"I'm not hungry,"I shrugged.

"We have a lot to do today. Now eat your breakfast so you actually have energy."