Till I Met You (Ariana/You)

Chapter 21

^^fucking goddess😍^^

~Y/N's POV~

The slight movement of her chest beneath my palm made me look up to check if she was awake. Sure enough, she was wide awake. Her dark chocolate eyes were wide and frantic. She shot upright in bed and looked around. I remained quiet, letting the surroundings sink in her mind. After only a moment of silence, her eyes met mine and just as usual, it made my stomach tingle with sparks.

She looked at the bed and looked back at me once again. I smiled at her confused expression. She looked down at her palm and saw the cloth wrapped around it. She frowned. 

"You cut your palm. You got drunk." I said to ease her confusion. "I brought you here. I thought it would help you forget things. Are you okay no—"

 My body got lifted into the air and when I was placed down, I was sitting on her warm and comforting lap. My cheeks tinted themselves red as she kissed my cheek, hugging me closer towards her. "I'm sorry Kitkat. I'm so sorr—" 

"No. Don't say that." I said, looking up at her. The close proximity between us made my heart beat fast and she smiled widely before she reached forward and pecked my nose. "I love your nose. It's cute."  

I giggled like a lovesick teenager at what she said and she stroked my cheek before her face turned serious. I could hear the gears turning in her head. She seemed like she was trying hard not to think of something. I frowned before reaching for her cheek. I stroked her soft skin softly and she tensed at my touch. She leaned further into my palm and I felt my heart flutter at her action. She looked up at me and she sighed out a breath, looking more relaxed now.

"What happened Ariana?" I asked and she closed her eyes shut, squeezing them hard before opening them again. Her hand which was currently circling my waist, tightened around me and I saw how this issue she was having was affecting me physically. 

"It's just—I was having a very bad day." Ariana brushed it off and my heart sank at her response. There was slight tremble in her bottom lip.

"You can tell me you know." I said, seeing the reason why she doesn't want to tell me. She is scared that I would think low of her. She rested her forehead against mine and I pursed my lips. "Tell me your story. I'll listen." 

"I'm not perfect Y/N." She whispered and I smiled before lifting her head up to make her look at me. 

"I'm not perfect eithe—"

"Don't say that. You are the most perfect person I have ever met. You are the definition of perfect for me. Perfect should try to be you." She whispered against my lips. My heart flew at what she said and I almost wanted to kiss her right there and then. "I'm amazed when I look at you. Not just because of your looks, but because of the fact that everything I have ever wanted is right in front of me."

"Ariana..." I stroked her cheek, almost feeling teary-eyed as goosebumps erupted on my skin at the amazing feeling she was making me go through. My heart hammered against my chest and I wanted to stay there forever, just listening to her light velvety voice until my heart stops.

"Nobody is perfect Ariana. Everyone was born to be real. We are all damaged by the world but we come out strong and better without letting it control us. That's what makes everyone real. Not perfect." I said and she let out a deep breath before looking at my hand. Her hand reached both of my hands and she started fiddling with them. I could tell she didn't meant to do that. She was doing it subconsciously. She looked like she was thinking of something far away in her mind, in another world.   

"Yesterday was my grandfather's death day." She said, her voice cracking a little in the end and it made my heart break. I could tell how difficult it was for her to talk about this. "He was my hero. My inspiration. My teacher. My idol." She sighed and intertwined her hand with mine, holding it tight like it supported her to stay strong.

"He died a few years ago." She explained and I held onto her hand tighter. "Everything was perfect when he was alive. He kept everyone strong." I imagined her life in my mind, thinking of a happy family and a young Ariana.  

"When he died, everything fell apart. Mom completely isolated herself from me. Grandpa's death hit her hard but, it was still wrong of her to do that. Her usual bubbly self was gone. She was gone. She involved herself into work too much and forgot about me." She said and her voice broke at the end of the sentence and I felt my heart break when I saw tears filling her eyes. She was controlling them hard to not let them down. "She was not there when I won the first place cup for my volleyball team. She was not there when I made my graduation speech. She was not there on my birthdays. She was not ever ther—"

"Ariana." My heart clenched tightly when a tear rolled down her left cheek. A small one which she quickly wiped away furiously. I circled my hand around her neck and pulled her towards me, hugging her. She rested her nose against my neck, breathing in my scent, trying hard to control her emotions. My hands stroked her long silky hair comfortingly. It broke my world to see her this weak.
"A few months later..." She started again and lifted her head off my shoulder. She looked down at me. "She started realising her mistake and started talking to me again. This time, I didn't care." Her eyes turned dark and cold, yet hurt. Her jaw went rigid. She looked like how she was in the hospital. I immediately tensed, not liking the change in the atmosphere.

 "Ariana." I called and she looked down at me. Her expression calming down immediately. "What's her job?" I asked, trying to divert the topic and she pursed her lips. I remembered how there were so many guards in the hospital.  

"She runs a modelling company. She is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of women's and men's clothes." Ariana said and my eyes widened in shock when I heard that. "It is running down lately. Remember I disappeared that night? At the hospital?" 

"Yeah." I said.

"I learned that she had a heart attack when she heard about the company being closed down. It is her life's work. I went to check out more about it. I tried talking to the staff about the problems. I tried negotiating with the other company to stop ruining our company but they were just too rude. I didn't know what to do. I did postpone the date. It was the only thing I could do." She said and I breathed out a sigh. She still cares about her mother even if she abandoned her when she needed her the most. That's Ariana, the most loyal person I have ever met. I remembered what she said when I tried to remove her shirt during her drunken state and felt myself blushing all over again. 

"Is that why you have men's clothes lying around in your house?" I asked and she smiled, a sad one before shaking her head 'no'.

"Those are my brother's clothes." 

"Where is he?" I asked in amazement. Ariana has a brother? 

"Somewhere." She said. "After grandpa's death, he just... disappeared." 

"I'm sorry this had to happen to you." I said and rested my forehead against hers, breathing in her sweet perfume as she held me closer and we stayed in that position for a very long time, just appreciating each other's presence.