Tired of Waiting

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Before I knew it, two days had passed and it was the day of Greyson's funeral. The previous two days had passed like a flash of lightning, and the realization stung as much as lightning did the Earth. I woke up early that day, getting very little sleep. What sleep I did get was light and unfulfilling. I tried in vain to fall back to sleep, seeing as the sun was still well below the horizon. I ended up lying in bed until the sun rose.

Sighing, I sat up and got out of my bed, hoping to find some form of comfort in doing, well, anything. I wandered through the halls, suddenly needing to see someone. To interact with another living being. I looked for Lilliana first. Upon not finding her in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the inn, I figured she was still fast asleep. It was only just barely sunrise anyways.

Unsatisfied and craving seeing anyone more and more, I ran down the hallways until I found the door I needed to see the most; Kristopher's. I let out a breath that I had been holding for quite some time and bolted to the door, tears welling in my eyes. I reached his door and was about to burst in when I heard quiet snoring. No. Please, I don't want to be alone.

Frustrated and utterly stuck, I slid down the wall next to his door and began crying What is going on with me? I wept on the floor for a while and I hadn't even noticed Kristopher had left his room until his arms were wrapped tightly around my body. I threw my arms around him and wept. He held me close and stroked my hair. I was more than grateful for his affection and acceptance of my random crying. He squeezed me until my breathing turned from harsh hiccups to my normal inhale-exhale. We sat there on the floor for a while, him just holding me, and me trying not to burst into another sobbing fit. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss atop my head and I leaned into his chest. I closed my eyes and calmed myself listening to his beating heart and feeling the rise and fall of his chest.

"What happened?" he asked finally in a soft tone.

I shook my head against his chest and clutched onto his shirt, never wanting to leave his embrace. "I don't know," I croaked out, "I needed to see someone. I needed to know I wasn't alone." I cuddled closer to his chest as if to make sure he was truly there.

As if reading my thoughts, he pulled my face away from his chest and looked me in the eyes with love and adoration, "Cindy. As long as I live, you will never, ever be alone. Okay?"

I nodded, "Okay." I felt my face get hot as more tears formed in my eyes. I kissed Kristopher quickly to fight back the tears. There would be plenty more to come and I didn't want to waste a perfect moment like this.

Kristopher got up from the floor and helped me up afterwards. I took his hands and pulled myself off the floor. We walked to the kitchen hand-in-hand and found Lilliana working away at breakfast. She was scrambling some eggs and my stomach grumbled in response. She turned around and immediately knit her eyebrows in concern. She placed down her spatula and ran to embrace me. I hugged her back and squeezed her tightly, grateful for her unspoken comfort.

She pulled away and cupped my face in her hand with a tender smile. I nodded my head as a gesture of thanks and she went back to the stove to finish breakfast.

The room was silent but for the occasional pop and sizzle of eggs cooking or Lilliana scraping the pan. She quietly spoke after a while, asking, "Cindy, I know that you don't have too much right now in the way of clothes, so my niece offered to let you borrow one of her black dresses, if you'd like."

I smiled kindly and nodded, "Yes, I suppose that would be a good idea. Tell her thank you for me, please?"

Lilliana nodded, "Anything you ask, dear. She is right around your size, as far as I can tell anyways, so it shouldn't be too much of an awkward fit."