The Greatest Obsession

Chapter Nine: Prayers & Beautiful Faces

The night of July 4th was an oddly cool one. The warm morning with its steady breeze dropped in significant temperature to the low sixties by the time it had reached an hour before midnight. The last thing Elijah Marks wanted to do was sleep with such an erratic and pounding heart. He sat on his bed in his plain gown, pressing the space between his thumb and finger in slow circles. He had begun to question his plan, but it was too late to turn back. He may not come tonight, he thought, I would worry for no reason. He inhaled deeply through his mouth and let the oxygen collect in every pathway his lungs provided. The carbon dioxide that left, Elijah imagined, was his anxiety.

His lamp was still on. He needed to turn it off if he wanted any shut-eye before three. Elijah jumped at the knock on his door but was quick to subdue himself when he heard Irina's soft voice behind it. "Come in, darling, " he quivered. She peeked inside and smiled at him, though he could tell - whether it in worry or fear - she'd been crying. His brows rose and he made room for her, beside him. "Irina? Love, have you been weeping?"

"Just a bit," she said, smiling again, and lazily crossing the room to sit with Elijah.

The man put his arm around her shoulders, and with his other hand, pushed her long red hair behind her bright pink ear. The remaining locks draped over her chest, and nearly touched her lap. Her pouty lips hid a tremble. "What troubles you?"

"Oh," she whispered, "you know I worry too much. This plan sickens me. I want to have faith that it will prove helpful, but my intuition tells me this is a bad idea."

Elijah kissed her forehead thrice before he patted her cheek. She buried her face into his neck. The warmth of her breath tickled him, and he shivered. She took notice and placed a small kiss there. She cast her eyes upwards which gave her a closeup of Elijah's face. Small dimples formed in the corners of his lips. "I feel better with you here. If I could, if this were any other night I'd be begging for your company."

"We'll be married soon, enough, and we will spend every night in each others company," Irina said, kissing his throat again.

The bed creaked when Elijah plummeted into his sheets, pulling Irina with him. Irina pressed her back against his chest and curled her legs underneath her. Her face snuggled into the pillow, and her hair spiraled all around her. Her blush spread across her neck and felted a pressure in her stomach that further validated the excitement she felt. Elijah's arms enclosed her waist, tight. "I might start calling you Teddy. You're as comfortable as one."

Irina snickered, a small snort escaping her. Her eyes brimmed with tears. "I love you."

Elijah held her as tight as he could, pressing his forehead between her shoulder blades, the cotton fabric of her gown acting as a pillow for him. "And I, you."

....

Her fiancé was soundless beside her when she woke. It felt like seconds. She'd fallen asleep with his arms around her. The small mantel clock on the vanity told her that it was nearly one in the morning. She twisted her torso to look at the sleeping Elijah. His lips were parted, slightly, his arms heavy, but undone, and so she had a chance to retreat back to her own space. The covers chafed against her dress. She feared it would waken her brown-haired lover, but he seemed too deep in sleep to notice.

What she saw when she left the bed made her sigh. Elijah curled in on himself; his fingers clutched the sheets like a baby would after a long day of innocent shenanigans. Irina leaned over him and kissed his head before she snuck away down the hall to her room.

The door closed, blocking her now tear streamed face from the people of the house. Irina wiped her eyes. She wasn't sure what made her cry. She assumed it was many things like the execution of the plan that could end in her sweet boy's death or the love that overwhelmed her. Irina ignored the heavy presence of taking on the emotions others denied (due to her empathy). Lastly, she was afraid because she slept in Elijah's bed with him and felt horrible for wanting more than she received.