Together We Fall

Chapter 53 | Losing Our Hearts To One Another

"You idiot! I told you not to open that box!" I yelled at the phone.

And then all I heard was him whistling, the kind of whistle that was commonly used to flirt with someone, before his laughter came on to the speaker. He must've been enjoying his time there, rummaging through my closet and found something embarrassing that I'd tried my best to keep it hidden while I was here, shouting at him over the phone as I was sitting at the doorway of the patio door that led to the backyard with my legs extended out toward the grass and his dog sleeping on my lap, providing warmth on my bruised thighs.

"Don't you dare trying to bring that box over here," I threatened him through my gritted teeth. "I swear I'll break every single bone in your body if you do."

"I didn't know you wear satin lingerie for nightwear, cheesecake," Luke's laugh seemed to fade a little. This guy never really listened to me. Well, when would he ever listen to me? "Damn, I'm so glad I get to come and see what you have in here."

For all my life, I'd never worn that lingerie as a nightwear before. Never would I have a desire to wear one. All the humiliating stuffs that I kept in boxes came from Sara. They all were from Sara. The dresses, the lingeries and all the girly things that I didn't normally wear, she bought them all because she knew that I didn't perfectly grow up going to ballerina class, wearing pink dresses as much as the other girls did. Basically, I was raised by two men who had no idea about parenting.

"Just get my stuff and get the hell out of there," the annoyance I felt within had shifted to frustration.

"I'm bringing back this hot stuff," he teased.

I nodded slowly as if he could see it, "Go ahead and try. Let's see who ends up in the hospital after this."

I heard his chuckles faintly and there was the sound of boxes being stacked up, "Okay, okay. I'm going to hang up now. Need anything else?"

"No. Just get back here now. I can't stand having you in my room without my inspection."

"Aww. You miss me already, baby?"

"Oh, I'm dying here," I replied sarcastically.

"Don't worry, cheesecake. I'll be back in no time," the sound of the door close was audible, seemingly he had exited my room. Thank goodness. "See you at home."

"Drive safe and remember to put the key back under the mat," I reminded him.

His voice laced with confusion and I could picture him frowning as he stated, "I thought you got the key."

His confusion affected me and my brows corrugated as a response to what he just said. I was here, like from the moment he left the house. How could I possibly have the key with me when I wasn't even there? This guy really had a serious mental issue that I really had to deal with, 'cause he was driving me crazy.

"What are you talking about? What key do I have with me, you knucklehead?" I questioned, holding back the urge to yell at him again or I'd wake this little angel-plus-face-licker-monster on my lap.

"The key to my heart, of course," I could sense the vainness through his voice. He was obviously proud that he came up with that cringing line spontaneously...or perhaps, he had been keeping that line that he saw it on the internet and was waiting for the right timing to express it. Who knows? Guys can be tricky, sometimes.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm just going to hang up right now. So, yeah," I replied flatly to his ridiculous statement, earning laughter from him and I immediately ended the call before he came up with another one.

Luke was quite cheerful today. He laughed a lot than he usually did, he was so bubbly and he succoured me a lot even after what I previously said to him that night when he was only trying to understand me but I pushed him off instead. And now, he acted as if that fight never happened before which worried me that I might have hurt him somehow. He was great at hiding pains. His father married off to someone else and kicked him out, his mother was probably still in the hospital though he never really talked about her much, he lived all by himself with a dog and yet, he still smiled so brightly. Compared to me; I pushed people out, I built up a wall, I tattooed my wrist to cover up my scar, I troubled so many people and I thought I was the only one who'd been scarred internally.

Maybe, he'd gone through a lot than I did and instead of dwelling over the past, he brushed it off with a smile.

I looked down at Lenny, petting his head and running my fingers through his soft fur. Apparently, Lenny had been keeping Luke accompanied for the past four years ever since he adopted him and somehow, I was thankful to know that Luke didn't spend his time alone in this house. It ached me to think back every single moment I turned my back at him and walked away.

He deserved to be loved.

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"Good boy!" I petted Lenny's head when he came back to me with a ball he caught. I got so bored, not knowing what to do as I was still waiting for Luke to come back home, so I played with Lenny who just woke up an hour ago when he heard the loud squeaky sound from the television that Luke had left it switched on. Then, he ran off to somewhere to fetch his ball that made the same sound and gave it to me and that was when I figured, he wanted to play.  He was just so adorable.

I let Lenny played on his own because my arm got tired of throwing the ball constantly. I just enjoyed watching him lying on the grass, chewing on his little squeaky ball, going all crazy with it. I started to feel cold without Lenny covering my legs since the autumn breeze was blowing incessantly and I had to get the quilt that I found on the sofa to blanket my legs. I didn't want to get inside just yet. It was nice and tranquil out here, there wasn't a lot of people living in this neighbourhood and even the house next to Luke's was still empty despite it was being sold at a good price.

Three minutes later, there was a sound of key clinking and being inserted into the keyhole for the door to be unlocked, making Lenny stopped chewing his toy and barked promptly to see the owner was finally home. I turned my head around only to find Luke with plastic bags in his hands and my dufflebag that I'd told him to bring hanging from his shoulder—and gratefully, I didn't see him bringing that box he mentioned a while ago. I'd kill him if he did.

"What are you doing there? It's cold outside," he headed toward me and sat himself down beside me. Lenny came to him, carrying the ball he  played just now in his mouth then spat it out on his owner's hand. Luke chuckled, seeing Lenny wagging his tail, getting ready for the ball to be thrown. "I see you've been playing with Lenny while I'm gone."

"Because I got so bored of waiting," I replied. I glanced back to have another look at the things he brought into the house that he left it in front of the door. "And I'm guessing you've thought of the consequence thoroughly of what happens when you bring that particular box here."

Luke smirked whilst lobbing the ball and watched Lenny leaped to fetch it then played with it all by himself. "Oh, don't you worry about that. I got it in my trunk."

"You really do love joking around, don't you?" I rolled my eyes.

He shook his head with a grin across his face. "I'm not. It's really in the trunk."

My facial expression turned sullen and I clenched my hands, "You little asshole!" I almost threw over him and tore his beautiful face apart but he dodged it, holding both of my hands, entwining his fingers with mine.

"Okay, okay. I'm just joking," he giggled. I calmed myself down, glaring at him with my hands were still in his grips.

"You better be."

Luke bit his lower lip as he smiled—and honestly, it drove me insane to see him looking like that. It made me feel like I just lost my mind. Before he could lean even more closer toward me, I pushed my face forward and our lips met each other. I could feel that Luke was taken aback by my unexpected action but he brushed it away and snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. My legs were up on his lap and my arms wrapped around his neck. I couldn't believe it myself that I just did this. And I liked it.

The moment our lips parted, we looked at each other's straight in the eyes and I could see Luke's grin was still on his lips. He chuckled, "That was...new."

"Remember when you told me that you like me?" I asked.

Luke cupped my face in his hands, "More like falling deeply in love with you."

"Well," I arched my lips before they parted into a smile. "I love you too."