Code: 16B

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Twenty-Nine

    After the front door closed, it got eerily quiet. We stared at each other for an immeasurable moment. I know that I desperately didn’t want to be the one to break the awkward silence. I ran a hand through my hair nervously from root to tip. My eyes began to dart around the entire room, looking everywhere, but at Cyrus’s eyes, fearing that he would be mad that our promise had been broken.

    Finally, he sighed. “How have you been?”

    I shrugged, my eyes staring at the shoelaces on my Converse sneakers. “Been good. You?”

   “Pretty good.” He shrugged his shoulders, but his eyes weren’t meeting mine.

    Again, it got quiet, and it was pretty obvious that it was going to turn into an awkward silence. I tried thinking the words I wanted to say, but I just couldn’t get them to form on my mouth. So, I decided to sit on the same sofa Cyrus is sitting, but just on the opposite side of him, thinking that maybe the words would come to me if I were sitting closer to him. Unfortunately, it only did the opposite as I fiddled with my thumbs, and occasionally looking at him out of the corner of my eyes.

    He looked back at me each time I look back at him, but I couldn’t decode the emotion that he was displaying. I couldn’t tell if it was anger, happiness, passion, or indecision. It was then, that I couldn’t take another moment of silence.

    I took a deep breath.

    “Okay, I’ll ask, why did Violet and Garrett bring you here?” he asked before I could get a word in.

    I stared at him, mouth gaping open, and no words came out. When his gaze never faltered, I finally gulped. “They said you weren’t…yourself.” I mumbled, afraid to meet his gaze, and afraid to see his reaction.

    He surprised me by laughing, and it caused me to look at him. His expression seemed amused, but my gut was telling me that he’s anything but that. I bit down on my lip, preventing me to say another word.

    “Is that what they said?” he asked, his tone sounded amused.

    I nodded. “What did they tell you?” I asked, already curious.

    He didn’t say anything at first. He broke his gaze away from mine, and begins to stare at the wall. “They told me that it was important, and I thought that it was something from the boss. I never expected anything like this.” He laughed, but I couldn’t help but notice how dark it sounded.

    I swallowed past the lump in my throat to pull off a laugh that didn’t match his. My eyes didn’t move a fraction away from him, and he doesn’t meet my gaze. So, without thinking, I scoot myself closer to him.

    “You know what they say, life is a box of chocolates you never know what you’re going to get.” I said, and already I feel stupid for quoting Tom Hanks. He laughed again, but this time it was a little lighter. I also noticed that he was smiling, actually smiling.

    I take the opportunity to scoot a little closer, this time his gaze returns to mine, but he doesn’t flinch away like I thought he would. I squeezed my eyes shut momentarily, and when I see that he’s still there and not cringing away from me, I couldn’t hold back my smile.

    “I suppose you’re right about that.” He said, and I noticed that he began to scoot toward me. My heart began pounding even harder as he got a little bit closer.

    “I miss you.” I whispered, my eyes heading toward my hands, fearing the worst would happen if I ever meet his gaze. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I’ll understand.” I add, already hearing the desperation in my tone before I could stop it.

    Then, without any warning, his hand was placed on my cheek, turning me toward him where he surprised me with a kiss. My eyes were still open in shock at the unexpected gesture. Then, I closed them quickly, and got lost within the kiss. He gently pushed me back on the sofa to where his body covered mine without breaking the kiss. My hands were already tangled within the confines of his hair, but I don’t even bother to stop. He pulled away, and stared at me. His dark, eyes bored into mine with the same unidentified emotion that might be…love. But I couldn’t tell for sure.

    “I miss you too.” He whispered before pressing his lips to my neck.

    “You have no idea what I’ve been through the last few months without you.” I said in between gasps, already feeling the tears escape from my eyes.

    He looked back at me, meeting my gaze. “I think I do know what you went through.” He murmured, his eyes never leaving mine.

    “What do you mean?” I asked, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion as we both got to a sitting position.

    He was silent for a moment, and my expression didn’t change as well as our gaze didn’t falter away from each other’s. Finally, he took a deep breath.

    “After we dropped you off at your home, I thought that everything would go back to way things are supposed to be. You would try and live out a normal, happy life.” He said, his eyes already filling with regret. “It wasn’t when after we left the country for a mission in Thailand where I haven’t been…myself, as Violet and Garrett have probably told you. At first I thought that I was having a rough day with the jet lag, but I never imagined that it could be something more than that.”

    “So…when someone mentioned my name…” I trailed off, waiting for him to finish the sentence.

    “We were in Venice at the time, and Garrett and I were at our rented apartment while Violet went on a solo assignment. I was cleaning out my gun when he said, ‘Amanda would definitely love this place.’ I didn’t know why I acted out like I did, but he was just lucky that my gun was taken apart, and not loaded.

    “ ‘Whoa, chill dude,’ he said, but I remained impassive, even when he tells me something about you being part Italian, and how it was just a weird coincidence. I didn’t know what I was thinking at the time. I thought that I was losing my mind, but I didn’t think anything of it…until now.” He finished.

    And when he looked at me, a smile forming on his face, and I couldn’t help but smile back. Then, without even thinking, I kissed him, with tears streaming down my face, but I don’t care. He kissed me back with the same urgency he had a while ago.

    After pulling away, I find myself in a loving embrace with his strong, tan arms wrapped around me as I wrapped my slim, beige arms around him. I didn’t know how long we were like this, but I didn’t want it to end, not even when I whispered, “I love you.”

    “It feels good to know that you do. Because I love you, too.” He whispered back, his lips at my ear. I breathed a sigh of relief after hearing him speak those words.

    I looked up, at the back sliding glass door, and I could see Garrett and Violet smiling before they begin jumping up and down with glee. I quickly gave them a thumb’s up before I close my eyes, and lived in the moment. A moment where there’s no one to ruin this perfect moment. I smiled to myself, glad that I finally said what I’ve always wanted to say, and I was happy to know that Cyrus felt the same way about me.

    I was right to trust the fortune cookie, and for that I was finally, for the first time in five months…whole again.