Pages of You

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I felt lighter and even happier after a pleasant evening with his mom. When Lily accepted me with Chiron, it felt as if a heavy boulder was lifted off of me, and I could tell it meant a lot to him, too.

I glanced at him, his fingers lacing mine and resting on his lap, "Did you have fun?"

"I did," He said, smiling. "Did you?"

"Yes," I laughed, my thumb caressing his. She's different from how I remembered her to be, though—more vibrant and exuberant."

Chiron nodded in agreement, "I guess that's what happens when you leave someone who treated you as awful as my dad did."

I was quiet for a bit, letting the soft music from the radio fill in the silence as I tried to form the right words to ask. "Chiron?"

"Yes, Rose?"

"What happened?"

I understood the general idea of what had transpired. He didn't attend the graduation ceremony because he was visiting his dad in jail. However, I had a feeling that he could have made it that day but chose not to due to embarrassment, avoiding becoming the day's gossip. I couldn't comprehend why he had become so angry with me aside from my decision to involve the police. Or why was his dad beating him up in the first place?

Chiron sighed wearily, "Rose, this day has been going so well. Can we avoid ruining it by bringing up that day?"

"I'm just trying to understand," I explained. I wanted to know why he was angry. He knows everything about me and my family. I trusted him enough to confide in him about how my dad and Tristian had treated me. Is it wrong that I wish he'd share his feelings about his dad with me in the same way?

His jaw clenched in annoyance. "Rose," He warned, keeping my mouth shut.

Let's communicate! I wanted to scream. But I didn't want to ruin this day for us. He's still not ready to open up about what happened. I won't force him. So, I shoved my feelings aside and focused on him.

"Okay," I murmured, glancing down on my lap before looking at my window.

After a few minutes of silence, I heard him sigh.

"I love you," He softly reminded me.

"I love you, too," I said back, a drop of pain gripping me.

*-*-*-*

I was feeling lost. The following day, I confided with Adeline about my abrupt conversation with Chiron after dinner with his mom the other day.

"I understand he's not ready to talk about it," I continued, "But I don't know. I feel like there's still a part of him that still feels resentment toward me."

"Resentment?" Adeline frowned, looking up from her phone at me as if I was crazy. "Girl, anyone can see how crazy he is about you. I'm sorry, but you can't convince me there's any resentment there when I've caught you two eye-fucking each other every minute."

I playfully threw a pillow at her, "You're so annoying. I'm being serious."

"So am I," She scoffed, setting the pillow back on the couch. "Why do you feel that way?"

"I don't know," I groaned, shaking my head. We have this thing where we say, 'Let's communicate,' and we say what's on our minds and be open with each other. How can he be open with me if a part of him is still closed off?'

Adeline looked thoughtful for a minute before sighing, "I'm afraid you need to talk with him about that. When he's ready to talk, I'm sure you'll be the first to know."