Matches: Why We Burned Out

sixteen // fears

The boy wakes up at 2:30 AM. He wakes me up too. "Mia..." his tired, raspy voice seems scared. He sits up and gets out of bed, strolling out onto his balcony. I follow him. He leans against the railings and takes several deep breaths. His dark hair dances in the night breeze. "I'm scared. What if your Hodgkin Lymphoma comes back? What if I lose you, too?"

"That won't happen," I assure him, hugging him from the side. His body is warm and heats me up. The panic really must have gotten to him. He's tense.

"I love you, Mia. Very much. And I don't care if it's too soon to say it or whatever because I know that I feel it. And you don't have to say it back. I just wanted to make sure you knew. You're my oxygen," he mutters, planting a kiss on the top of my head. My heart flutters and the butterflies return.

"I love you too."

***

Romeo and I wake up at 11 AM. I figured that today would be a good day to treat him to something nice. Once I get dressed, I go downstairs to get something to eat whilst Romeo's in the shower. I come across a middle-aged lady who I'm assuming is his mom. She has no eyebrows and dark hair which Romeo told me was a wig.

"Good morning," she says kindly as she sits at the table, "you must be Melanie."

"Mia," I correct her. She apologises.

"Sorry Mia, I'm not very good with names," she says. I pour some milk into my cereal. "My son told me you'd be sleeping over. I've got to hurry off to work soon, so I won't be able to connect with you for long."

I sit opposite to her at the table and she smiles warmly at me. She looks very tired due to the heavy bags beneath her eyes. "Romeo tells me that you've been working really hard lately. I'm sure he'd appreciate if you took a day off or something," I suggest. I don't mention that he told me about her cancer.

"That's very sweet, and I do get very tired... in fact, I'm not sure if my boy told you, but I don't have long left. Staying here all day would force me to think about what's going to happen to me. Work gets my mind off things." She tucks the brown hair behind her ear and she stares down at the table. I can see where Romeo gets his openness from.

"He's worried about you. One day couldn't hurt, right?" Romeo's mom sighs softly and nods, standing up from her seat. She comes around the table and wraps her arms around me, holding me in a tight embrace.

"Thank you for helping me see the good in my son." She pulls away and smiles kindly at me. "He's been very angry and distant lately. I thought he was mad at me but really he was just worried. I think I'll take that day off. Thank you, Mia." Just at this moment, Romeo walks into the kitchen with his shirt flung over his shoulder.

"Mom? What are you still doing here? I thought you had work," he says, becoming bitter as he says the last part. His mom just smiles.

"I'm taking a day off," she replies simply, happily walking off further into the house. Romeo stays completely still, staring at the ground where his mom last stood. I stand opposite him.

"You okay?"

His colourful eyes meet mine. "She's taking a day off... It was you, wasn't it? You persuaded her." I shrug slightly as I tilt my head to the side.

"I opened her eyes a little bit-- oomph!" Romeo's so fast to pull me into a hug that I can barely process what's happening. His face is buried in the crook of my neck and he lifts me off the ground.

"You're an angel!" he exclaims happily. As he puts me down I notice the redness in his cheeks. Wow, he must be so darn happy. After cooling off, he puts some bread in the toaster. "So what were you planning on doing today?"

"I wanted to take you out to do something super fun, but I think you should spend the day with your mom instead," I suggest. His expression falls slightly, but he nods understandingly nonetheless. I raise an eyebrow. "But if you come over tomorrow evening, I'll have something very special planned."

I want to take things further with him.

***

Romeo appears at my bedroom door and closes it behind him as he enters. He bites his lower lip as he inspects what I've done with the room. There are scented candles everywhere and rose petals (artificial, of course) spread over my bed. His eyes land on me. Slowly, I take off the robe to reveal my black, lacy lingerie. I let his eyes scan hungrily over my body. I help him take off his leather jacket and unbutton his shirt. He drops them onto the floor.

I lay down on my bed, and the boy leans over me, our bodies not yet touching. He holds intense eye contact with me for a good few seconds before proceeding to kiss my neck. My breath hitches before being released with a long sigh.

His lips feel insanely soft against my skin. His hands explore my body's surface, causing me to grip onto him tightly. His lips then leave a trail of kisses from my neck down to my stomach. He pauses just above my area. I wait for him to continue... but he doesn't. He stays frozen in the same position for several seconds. I become nervous. He looks up at me to meet my eyes as he whispers, "I'm sorry, petal. I can't do this."

***

If you can't handle this chapter, you won't be able to handle the rest of the book lol

— sarah xox