Finding You.

CHAPTER 35

SOMILA

It's a beautiful day, the weather is cloudy and a cool breeze fills the air. I've got a beautiful view - especially him - all around me; the quiet water, birds churning from above the trees that line either side of the banks, separating the wide waters.

Aya's eyes are on me the whole time. I love how this environment has made them more emerald than hazel. "What?" I finally ask when I can't handle his stare anymore. "What?" he asks with an arched eyebrow.
           "You're staring at me."
"How could I not?" he replies, and I don't have anything to say, instead I just blush and he smiles at me before looking into the distance behind me, from where we came from.

He seems to be deep in thought as he sits across from me, I can't help but wonder what he's thinking about... but something tells me it has to do with the cousin he mentioned earlier. "Did you and your cousin do this together back then?" I blurt out before over-thinking it.

"No... This is something I liked to do on my own. He would usually be out with friends by the time we were in our teenage years, experimenting on alcohol or cannabis." His voice is low, up until I ask,."And Sara?"
      "What about her Somila?" his face goes rigid, and I regret asking this question already, but I can't just back down now that I've asked. "Have you done this with her?"
       "No!" he shouts in his deep voice. "Can we not talk about anyone right now? I want to know what happened between you and your mother."

My stomach is in knots as he asks this question, and I realize it's probably the best time to tell him now, since I've been avoiding this subject by all means. I sigh and close my eyes to recollect my voice before speaking.

"On that Monday when I... when I found you with S-Sara." His body tenses and he rows slower than before, attention on me, prompting me to continue. "I had just come from an appointment with Doctor Brown. My mother was invited to that session and that's when I found out that my f-father... he isn't my biological father."

His eyebrows are furrowed with worry lines . "I left the session before it was over because I just couldn't bare hearing all that. I think I was in denial... It was all so confusing and painful that I wanted to be nowhere but in your arms, crying into your chest... So that's when I went to your office only to find..."

My voice jams as the memory courses through my mind fresh, and I can see his flushed face as I walk in his consulting room. "Fuck! Baby I'm so sorry... I'm such an idiot." His hand is slowly raking his hair in frustration, his eyes rimmed with red. I immediately know that he made a mistake and he's really sorry.

I have forgiven him, even though the thought of him in her mouth still hurts. "Anyway, on the night you came to pick me up... I had a fight with both my parents, and my mum told me very hurtful things about my real father. I couldn't stand being near them anymore. I couldn't look at my sisters with the knowledge that they're only my half-sisters, and how I've always questioned some things, such as our skin complexion or eye colour, which is why I packed up and came to stay with you. I needed to clear my head for a while."

He has completely stopped rowing, an empathic expression has taken over his face. He stands to move towards me then sits next to me and wraps me in a hug. My face is buried in his chest, his one hand on my head and the other on my back. "Your hair is wet." He points out. I immediately know he has that crease between his eyebrows from the frown I know has taken over his face.

I tilt my head to look up at him, and laugh to discover that I was right. "What's so funny?" he asks, confused. "Your face looked exactly as I imagined it would when you discovered that my hair is wet." I continue in laughter as he rolls his eyes and ties my locs into a messy bun, with a band that was already on his wrist.