Trials and Tribulations [Chaelisa]

Chapter 27

“Wh…what?” Chaeyoung stammered, moving her head back slightly in surprise at Lisa’s unexpected admission. “What did you just say?”

“I love you,” Lisa mumbled drowsily. She was facing Chaeyoung, her eyes still closed, her voice soft and raspy with sleep.

“You do?” Chaeyoung asked tentatively, her tone quiet and timid. Lisa nodded her head in affirmation before shifting her position in the bed slightly to snuggle into Chaeyoung further. She lifted her right hand which was still positioned on Chaeyoung’s left side, and draped it over her torso fully, her fingertips lightly grazing the small of her girlfriends back.

“Really?” Chaeyoung asked still in shock, distrusting her ears. Lisa nodded her head again and pulled Chaeyoung closer to her so that their hips were touching. Chaeyoung smiled at the obvious exhaustion on Lisa’s face, noting that her girlfriend was now barely awake, her whole body so evidently craving sleep, her eyes still closed. Chaeyoung sighed at the sight, desperate to talk to Lisa properly about the declaration.

She turned over onto her back, threading her right arm underneath Lisa’s shoulder. Chaeyoung rolled Lisa into her side so that her face was now resting gently on her shoulder and kissed her softly on the top of her head, her other hand reaching up to stroke Lisa’s cheek with the back of her fingers. Chaeyoung felt Lisa exhale heavily as though she were expelling every source of stress and concern from her body. She gently moved the hand which was still lightly brushing Lisa’s cheek and traced a line down the curve of her girlfriends jaw with her index finger, taking her chin between this and her thumb carefully when she reached it.

Chaeyoung turned Lisa’s face up towards her and planted a tender kiss to her forehead just over her right eye before moving down to finally take Lisa’s lips in her own. Chaeyoung lingered there for a moment, enjoying the feel of Lisa’s soft lips against her own. Lisa responded to the kiss, but barely, her body desperately trying to drift off to sleep. Chaeyoung noticed Lisa’s right hand move out of the corner of her eye and she reached up to lightly graze her fingertips across Chaeyoung’s cheek, her aim poor and imprecise. Chaeyoung lifted her own hand to take Lisa’s wandering one and began to manipulate her fingers instinctively, watching as Lisa lapses back into unconscious oblivion once again.

Chaeyoung smiled to herself as she watched Lisa, the long lost version of her, hidden away since the accident in the shadows of the night and the lonely confines of her bedroom. Here, now, as she slept, Chaeyoung could see the real Lisa, the girl that she’d been back before nightmares corrupted every dream. Lying in her arms now was the Lisa that she knew still existed, self-assured and confident in slumber, her troubles forgotten. When she was afforded the opportunity of undisturbed sleep, when her dreams are kind and her worries rested, Lisa was just like any other girl their age.

Chaeyoung knew that was what Lisa wanted more than anything, to feel normal and ordinary. When the rest of their peers were trying so hard to stand out, to be extraordinary and unique, Lisa wanted nothing more than to blend in. Chaeyoung felt a tear slide down her cheek at the thought of Lisa’s struggles, wondering why someone that she found so exceptional would ever wish to be anything less than that. Chaeyoung knew that Lisa was special, she’d felt it the moment that they’d met, but, in that brief meeting she’d never realised precisely how remarkable her girlfriend would turn out to be, how special she truly was, how great.

Watching Lisa now as she slept after having finally heard the three words from her lips that she’d so desperately wanted to, Chaeyoung tried to remember another time when she’d ever felt so happy. Every other memory that she recalled holds Lisa firmly in its core and she realised that Miss Bae’s words were true. Lisa may depend on Chaeyoung for support but, Chaeyoung was just as equally, if not more, dependent and enamoured with her. Lisa held the key to Chaeyoung’s happiness, she was solely responsible for safeguarding Chaeyoung’s heart and it would live and die with her.