apathy (sequel to fervor)

મ١ | ᴋɴɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴ sʜɪɴɪɴɢ ᴀʀᴍᴏʀ.

મ١ | ᴋɴɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴ sʜɪɴɪɴɢ ᴀʀᴍᴏʀ.

I slowly turned around, my heart threatening to jump out of my chest. I had tears in my eyes. A few escaped, streaming down my cheeks. I couldn't describe in a few words how I felt in that moment..right now. I was trembling, shaking in my heels. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but that didn't work. My heart still raced in my chest, like I had ran a marathon. 

Dante. 

I was standing in front of the man who I was deeply in love with.

He stood there, his eyes full of warmth. They twinkled, and I looked down, feeling unworthy of his gaze. Would he still want me, like I wanted him? He extended his hand, a bold, purple flower in his fingers. I slowly took the beautiful flower, looking up at him. He didn't look too different, his eyebrows still thick, and his hair was still that sort of nappy that was cute to me. His septum piercing was gone, and my eyes fell upon his plump lips. I had the strong urge to kiss him, but my body was frozen in place. He caressed my cheek, his lips parting to reveal his smile.

"I've been waiting for this moment for over a year..face to face, now here we are.."

I blushed, my cheeks feeling hot. He could always do that to me, even when we were writing back and forth to eat other. Dante was wearing a blue, dress shirt, the sleeves fitting him well. He looked buffer..he must've spent time weightlifting. He wiped my eyes, but I couldn't hold my tears back any longer. I had burst into tears, hugging Dante close to me. I cried into his chest, his arms wrapping around me. 

"I'm sorry, baby..I'm sorry for everything.."

Even though Dante didn't have the complete idea of what Martin did to me, his apology made it better. His sorry was genuine, something that I had never heard from Martin. Dante hugged me close, kissing the top of my head. "I didn't know that I would make you cry..I'm so sorry.." His hug was full of warmth, his hold on me tightly, as if he didn't want to let me go, and that if he did, I would disappear. His hugs were something I deeply missed..

"A-Are you going to ta-take me h-h-home?" I asked, looking up at him. He nodded, wiping the tears from my eyes. I was overwhelmed. Here I was, standing in a hotel room with the man of my dreams, who was risking his life to save me. Dante was so sweet..there was no way that I would trade him for anyone..

Dante leaned in closely, his lips brushing against mine. Our lips locked, Dante pulling me in, holding my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my lips tingling like no other. Our kiss was slow, sensual, and I felt his hand slide down to my butt, cupping it in his hand. He pulled away slowly, biting down gently on my bottom lip. 

"Baby, I'll take you anywhere you want to go."

My face lit up, and I couldn't help but smile. "What about Amir?" I asked. I know for sure that Martin wasn't going to let me go easily, but Dante wasn't giving him a choice. Dante smiled, and kissed my forehead.

"Confía en mí, eso es todo atendidos."

It took me a while to understand what he had said, as I haven't spoke Spanish in so long, I almost completely forgot everything he had taught me. When I finally understood..I knew that Dante meant business, and that he wasn't going down without a fight. "Trust me, that's all taken care of," is what he said. I believed him, too. He came all the way here, just to save me. "Now I'm going to need you to be calm," Dante took my hands, "the elevator is our only way out of here, and if we fuck this up, we'll have to go to the stairs." I nodded, and he went to go get his jacket. He slipped it on my shoulders, mumbling about how I was dressed. 

He opened the door, and I stepped into the hallway, freezing in my tracks. 

Martin.

He stood there, a sour expression on his face. He was waving a pistol around, staring at me. "I don't know what the fuck y'all thought this was. Especially you, Dante. Monae's mine. I'll kill her if that means you won't get to have her, because I don't share." He pointed the gun at me, winking at me. "I don't know who gave you that idea," Dante growled, "she ain't no damn property."