The Affair

Chapter 20

Erik laid back in his bed doing nothing but gazing at Christine, he had never seen her so peaceful, all he could even think at this very moment was God, I love this woman so much. He gently played with her soft curls as she slept. For a brief second, he felt as he did the first time they had done this, but it all vanished away when he watched her eyes swiftly flicker open and smile as she looked up at him. He felt his heart skip a few beats, I love this woman so much.

Christine quietly moaned and rolled closer into Erik. She felt as if she needed to stretch, but she did nothing to satisfy the feeling after her head fell onto his chest, she made a soft sound as she nuzzled a tad closer and tipped her head to look up at his face. Everything was almost at ease until she remembered something. Oh my god. She thought to herself and bit her lip. She moved back to nuzzle her face into his chest, trying not to think about it. Oh my god.  

"Is there something wrong?" Erik asked quietly, his voice almost at a whisper. He moved loose curls out of Christine's face and kissed her forehead. 

Christine contemplated things in her head before she decided to look back up at him. I need to get it off my chest. Tell him. She mentally beat herself up. It only took her a few more moments of doing so before she sighed and gently brushed her thumb across his face, "Nothing's wrong." she put on a soft smile and laid her head back down. You're a coward.  

Erik looked down at her with a semi-worried expression on his face. She did the lip thing though. That was such a fake smile. He thought, "Are you sure?" he asked. 

Christine nodded slightly, "Of course," she uttered. Leave and run. Run away now, right now. He's going to get angry and reject you. Leave while you have the chance. Christine couldn't shake the voice in the back of her head, no matter what she thought she should do, she knew she needed to push through and finally tell him. No, don't you dare. 

Erik blinked and propped his head up with his arm. He looked over to the other side of the room, not knowing what to do. Why is she lying to me. He became frustrated, but then kind of grew into himself when he realized his mask had been removed sometime last night, he tried to shrug it off as best as he could and just try and get the truth from Christine, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do it for too long, "Christine, just say what you need too." he mumbled. 

Christine bit her lip again, she inched away from him only to lean in and kiss him gently. She pulled away and took a deep breath, "And what is it that I need to say?" she asked nervously.

What? How was I supposed to know? Erik shifted and looked directly at her, "Are you sure, Christine? There's nothing?" he asked. Why must she prolong everything. 

Christine frowned, "I'm sorry, is there something that I need to tell you?" she scoffed quietly. Just tell him. Tell him or leave. Two options and you can only choose one. Or both. Tell him then leave. Leave... then never tell him. I like that one. 

"Well... I don't know, you tell me." Erik started to question himself. What? He became confused. 

You're such a coward. Stop stringing him along like a puppet. The longer you wait, the more he'll resent you for not telling him. Tell him. What's the worst he could do? Kill you? No, he loves you. She thought. I really think him killing you would be the better option. I mean, you waited 10 years, what the hell is wrong with you. 

There was an odd pause between the two that lasted only moments, but seemed to drag on forever. Erik became rather impatient with Christine, but he didn't want to scare her off by losing his temper. What do I do now? He thought to himself. He sighed, "It's alright, Christine. You'll tell me when you're ready." he finally said, but it killed him to do so. I need to know. I want to know.