The Segment (Completed)

47. Trust

(unedited)

Richard stood almost stock still as he took in her tear stained cheeks, the smudged eyeliner and mascara around her eyes. His heart was beating in a panic in his chest but instead he raised his open arms silently; offering Farrah his comfort and warmth. In a blink of an eye Farrah was in his arms and he held on tight.

He tucked her head under his jaw, as he clenched and unclenched his jaw trying his best to swallow the panic that rose in his throat as bile. He didn't know what happened in her office between the two of them, but he was sure it wasn't anything good. He was well aware of how pain looked and felt like; and pain was seeping out the pores of their skin.

Richard could feel each shuddering inhale of her breath. Farrah shifted in his arms and he reluctantly loosened his hold on her as he looked down at her. He watched as the palm of her hand glided from his waist to rest right above his heart, leaving a trail of warmth as it moved fluidly.

"Your heart...it's...it's racing...Are you okay...?" she looked up at him with worry in her eyes.

"I'm scared," Richard whispered as he pressed their foreheads together.

"Why?" she whispered again, he felt the warmth of her breath against the skin of his neck.

"He's right in all the ways that I'm wrong for you," Richard admitted in a shaky whisper. At his admission Farrah wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing him to her. Richard buried his nose in her neck and inhaled deeply.

He breathed harshly; in and out. Pushing and pulling air through his lungs, he kept a tight hold on everything that was a whisper away from spinning out of control. He didn't want her to remember him like this when she was away; damaged. He squeezed his eyes shut as he breathed harshly through his mouth.

"I love you, Farrah," he said roughly into her neck as he felt her arms tighten around him. "I don't need you to say it back to me, just let me hold you a bit longer. Let me love you a bit more ardently," he somehow managed to rasp out. She pulled her head back slightly and rested her forehead on his chin, she could feel his nose and lips buried in her hair. She lifted her head to meet his eyes, and her breath hitched as she looked into the depth of his glimmering blue eyes.

Her hands moved on its own accord as they cupped his face, her fingers gently brushing away all the terror, all the anxiety he was feeling.

"How do you do this Rich? How do you love me so much, and yet want to love me more?" she asked with wonder. How did she get so lucky?, that was what she had really wanted to ask. How did she get so lucky to have someone who was this in love with her; he was petrified of losing her, yet he supported her and her dreams. He never asked her to sacrifice her dreams so that they could be together. Hell, he never even asked her to reciprocate his feelings. He was just there, and he just loved her with passion, with kindness, with sincerity.

"How can I not, Farrah? How do I not love the person who sees the real me?" he murmurs into the palm of her hand as he kissed it. He was etching every stroke, every brush of her fingers into the memory of his skin. She was giving him something special tonight; she was allowing him to hold her, to touch her, to pull her close to him and give her comfort in all the ways he had been desperate for before. This thought made his heart race, not in fear or in panic but in sheer exhilaration of being able to hold her in his arms.

She was looking at him with a promise in her tearful eyes, and Richard felt weak in the knees. He wanted to bend down and press his lips against hers to coax out the promises he saw in her eyes. He wanted to kiss her tears away with whispers of his love for her. But instead he took a few steps back, breaking embrace. He took in her face, it was full of confusion tinged with a small amount of hurt.

"I'm sorry," he croaked roughly. "If we had kept...I mean...If I hadn't moved...I want to kiss you. So badly. I...respect you, your faith...," Richard brokenly, he once again clenched and unclenched his jaw trying to quickly sort the mess his thoughts were in.

Farrah smiled a small smile at him and nodded in understanding. She thought about the promise that she made him, of spending the night with him before she left for the airport. She couldn't help but wonder if it was even a good idea to begin with. Would she be weak and allow Richard to touch her and kiss her? Today he was the stronger one to pull back when it became too much to handle. Could she be strong enough to pull back from Richard after spending hours with him alone?

Mentally she shook her head; No, she had been weak today because she was tired and vulnerable after a long day of work, emotional drama and she had needed comfort. If this was all she would have in the vault of her memory, she would treasure it. As from tomorrow she would need to keep her distance.

"Don't," she heard Richard croak roughly, he was looking right at her.

"Don't, what?" she murmured a bit breathless, her fingers somehow found their way into the ends of her hair; twisting and turning it.

"Don't put that wall back up. Trust me. Trust me to know my limits. Trust me to take a step back when I need to. Trust me to spend the night with me. Trust me to know that I'll do whatever I can to never break your trust. Just, trust me," he said taking a few steps closer until her stood in front of her. His eyes bore into hers willing her to trust him.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded, as she whispered a shaky, "I trust you."

***

I am back from the dead! 

And please continue on to the next chapter!!