"London" - Vanessa Carlton
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She thought that I was asleep, but I wasn't. I heard her whisper to my presumedly unconscious body
"I love you. I love you so much."
My heart leapt forward, glad for the darkness because I couldn't help but smile. God, I loved her too. Hopefully she would be able to say it to me when I was awake. I would try not to push it. She had showed me her intentions and I wouldn't ignore them this time.
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I had woken up to her staring at me. She hadn't said a word, just smiled. The under part of her eyes puffy and tinged lilac. She led me into the shower with her, the water steaming around us. Head to chest we stood in silence for minutes, tension as thick as the air. I poured the shampoo into my hand and washed her hair, the scent of honeysuckle and rose filling my nose. The conditioner was the same scent, but it made her skin slick and gave off a shine where the light hit it.
"Let me do it for you" I suggested when we got out of the shower and she began to towel dry her hair.
She began to object
"Quinn, you don't need to take care of me."
I took the comb out of her hand and assured her in what I hoped was gratitude, not condescension "I know I don't have to. I know you are capable. I want to take care of you, just like you did for me"
Her expression softened considerably. She sat down on the floor by my feet and patted the bench. I carefully ran the comb through her tangled hair, kissing her shoulders and neck. I ran some styling cream through the semi dry tendrils, she didn't like to dry her hair with heat. When I previously asked her why, she said it was because she wanted to resemble a human being and not a golden doodle puppy.
She stood up, her knees cracking. Taking the comb she coated it with gel spray, parted my hair on the right side, swept it up off of my forehead and kissed my temple.
"I need to get downstairs. I have a car scheduled to pick me up in ten minutes" she murmured with what sounded like regret.
"Truth? Are you alright?" I tried to tip her chin up to look at me but she jerked her face away and marched out to the other room where she began to get dressed.
"I'm fine, are you walking down with me naked, or are you going to get dressed too?" she called out sharply, zipping her suitcase shut with more force than I deemed necessary.
Once we were outside, a black cab was already waiting for her.
"Will you let me know when you land?" I asked in what I hoped was an undemanding tone as I was opening the door. Something was off with her and I couldn't put my finger on it.
She tossed in her purse while rolling her eyes at me
"I'm going to let you suffer. Did she die in a freak pigeon in the propellor accident? Did the pilot go nuts and kamikaze everyone out of the sky? Did the landing gear fail? Oh what, like you haven't thought those things while flying?"
She was trying so hard to keep my spirits up, to pretend like everything was normal before I had to go back into the hospital and make a will for my mother. When I woke up next to her that morning, I had to remember what had taken place. My brain was swimming in a deluge of information.
YOU ARE READING
The Truth of the Matter
RomanceTruth graduated magna cum laude from her masters program, landed a job that keeps her up to date with her Netflix subscription, and keeps her best friend grounded. But when she finds someone who can keep up with her caustic wit and crack into her s...