Before us...

Chapter Twenty

Lila awoke not long after the fireworks ended with Milo lying in between her legs, his head resting on her chest allowing her to run her fingers through his soft hair. Zar was in a similar position, lying across Milo's front with his snout blowing warm hair into their faces as he slept soundly; she was the only one awake. The silence outside forced her awake having become accustomed to the banging going on outside after spending the last few weeks in New York. The loudness there was torturous and to her the fireworks were almost a reprieve however, she knew that it would not be the same for everyone.

She was not completely aware of what she was doing when she had grabbed the dog, marching him towards Milo's house. All she knew was that something was telling her that it was time to see him, that he needed her. The feeling scared her if she was honest, but lying here, with her poor back digging into the harsh wall, she was glad that she listened to it because she had never seen a look of such terror on a grown man's face in her life.

Her fingers halted in their path as Milo began to stir beneath her, his hand leaving Zar's soft fur to reach up and rub his eyes before lifting his head, making eye contact with her. She watched as his eyes clouded with embarrassment as he came back to reality only to then jump back, pushing his body away from hers he kept his eyes to the ground scratching his nails along the back of his neck in uncertainly.

"Sorry." He muttered; his voice thick with sleep. Zar stretched out his tired limbs before shaking himself to life.

"Don't be." Lila whispered softly, accepting the warm hand that he reached out to her, helping her to her feet. Her aching muscles whined. She watched as Milo trailed behind Zar in silence, releasing the pup outside to do his business before settling himself down in a chair at the dining room table.

Sensing his distress, Lila moved into the kitchen deciding to make a pot of coffee to help spring some life into them both before an awkward conversation took place. As she filled the transparent pot to the brim with tap water, she glanced out the kitchen window to watch as Zar ducked in and out a pile of snow that had built itself up higher and higher with each passing snow fall. The snow was dirty, melting slowly and what seemed to be a million broken firework carcases littered the white ground like fallen soldiers. From the corner of her eye, she glanced over to see Milo remained in his seat, unmoving and hollow as she replaced the pot back into the machine, waiting for it to finish its process. When the unfamiliar beep sounded, she began to potter around the kitchen in search of adequate mugs for their beverages, filling the white mugs halfway before carrying the hot vessels over to the table, taking a seat beside the silent man, sliding his drink over to him.

With the energy of a sleepy sloth, his hands removed themselves from his lap to wrap around the mug for warmth, steadily lifting it to his frozen lips to take a large gulp before setting it back down. Cold from the open back door began to sweep into the room, which was filled with silence, covering a thick blanket of itself over the sad man's shoulders who began to shake as it surrounded him, gripping him tightly.

Lila jumped to her feet and called out Zar's name eager for him to join them inside so she could close the door behind him. He skipped happily towards her and she locked the door behind him with a flick of her wrist. Her seat welcomed her once more and she focused her gaze on Milo as Zar made his way to the living room to settle himself on the couch out of the way. Milo glanced up at her showing Lila his hollowed face and pale complexion, his face bluing more and more in a desperate need to hold something inside.

"Milo?" Lila asked unsure about whether or not he would respond. His eyes remained blank as if he was alone in a white padded room. "Are you okay?" Silence for a moment, and then;

"Am I okay?" Milo repeated slowly, quietly as if shocked by the words, "I should be asking you that... how are you?" Milo enquired, eager to move away from himself.

"I'm better than I was I, I just needed time I guess, to get my head around it. It doesn't seem real... the idea of never seeing him again-" she stopped abruptly as sadness crept into her chest, her eyes hazy; unfocused. With a shake of her head she remained on task. "What happened last night Milo?"

"Why are you here?" He continued to dodge her questions confused by her desire to comfort him.

"I... I felt like I had to see you, Li-like you needed me... I don't know..." Lila looked down and stared into her coffee cup as Milo continued to stare at her. He scoffed before he spoke;

"I needed you? Your father just died, and you think that I'm the one who needed someone." He laughed lifelessly as he shakes his head towards her. She felt her face begin to heat up.

"You don't think you needed me?" she asked, feeling angry at his mockery.

"Oh I did. I just find it ironic that when I wanted to be there for you, I was shoved to the side." He retorted, his lips quivering as he glared unconvincingly at her.

"I never wanted that... I... I just-" Milo interrupted her,

"What? What did you need that I couldn't give you?" Lila stopped peering up at him pitifully. He was sad, she recognised that. She felt the same. She paused in thought as he waited for her to speak impatiently.

"I just needed to be alone." She finished simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And what if that's what I need?" Milo countered unconvincingly causing her to shake her head towards him.

"We're different people. We need different things. I... I wanted to try and deal with it on my own and I couldn't. That's why I came here last night." Her voice was but above a whisper as she spoke to him unaware of the look of regret that washed over the broken man's face as he listened to every word she said. Steadily, he slid his large, cold hand towards her and rested it lightly on the soft skin of her exposed fingers, squeezing them in comfort.

"Thank you for coming. I think I would have lost my mind if you hadn't." He claimed. Lila sucked in a tight breath, squeezing his hand back.

"Ae you okay?" Lila asked once more, evoking a small grin from Milo at her concern.

"I wasn't... But I am now." He stated simply causing her to roll her eyes at his vague response. Milo's eyebrows raised in amusement at her reaction. "What?" he asked innocently.

"That is such a guy response."

"Oh is it now? Well what response would satisfy you Miss Lila?" he asked mocking her desire for details.

"I don't know maybe something more-"

"More... what?" Milo interrupted with an evil grin on his face. Lila to release a frustrated sigh.

"You're annoying." She stated, pulling her hand back with a small pout on her lips.

"You're mean." Milo retorted. Lila snorted in derision. He paused briefly in seriousness before he spoke again. "I... Can't handle loud noises like I used to okay?" He was anxious but calmed when he saw a lack of judgement on her pretty face.

"I thought that might be it," she paused unable to comfort the man adequately, "Zar doesn't like them either." She blurted out and Milo released a bellowing laugh that shook his whole body.

"Did you just compare me to a dog?" He was amused as he spoke feeling more like himself again. Lila nodded sarcastically.

"Yup, that's exactly what I did." She smiled sweetly at him allowing a peaceful silence to settle for a few short seconds.

"You know you still owe me a second date, right? I expect to be wowed, pampered and spoiled!" Milo insisted humorously. His eyes brightened as Lila giggled at him.

"I guess I'll have to think of something special," she paused, glancing to her watch as her cheeks deepened in colour, "I should probably get home and feed Zar before he gets cranky. I'll call you later about that date?" Lila asked uncertainly as she rose to her feet, Milo following suit.

"Definitely." He responded, leading her to the front door where they said their goodbyes. He shut the door behind her and Zar, each of them feeling an exhilaration that neither of them had felt since before Christmas. A pure smile filtered itself onto Lila's face as she embarked on the short journey home with her friend in tow and for the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to something spontaneous.