Soul Bound (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-One

          I was left feeling unsettled by what Luca had said. I wouldn't be sleeping with Christian again. The doctors had already advised him against it, but was that the reason behind my decision? Or was it Luca?

          I shook my head, parking my car behind Christian's in his driveway. I was driving myself crazy. I wouldn't be sleeping with him. The why of it didn't matter. I walked towards the front door, my feet dragging against the gravel. I was so tired. But I couldn't blow Christian off.

          He opened the door before I knocked, stopping me short. "Saw you out the window," he explained with a sheepish smile, seeing my surprise.

          I felt my face soften, remembering when we were younger, back when Mom would drop me off at Christian's house for the evening. I'd always hear him stamping down the stairs yelling, 'Mila's here, Mila's here!" from all the way outside.

           "How was your evening?" I asked as I walked in, placing a quick kiss on Christian's cheek.

           "Hey now!" he complained, grabbing me around the waist. He pulled me towards him, his mouth claiming mine in a longer, open-mouthed kissed. His arms were still strong around my waist, but he was most definitely thinner than he had been two months ago. Or maybe that was my imagination going wild. No, I was sure that he was slighter than he had been before, my arms easily wrapping around his torso. I felt like complete and utter shit for not noticing sooner, for not realizing that something was wrong with him before now.

          Mostly, I just wanted to cry at the unfairness of this entire situation.

          I pulled back after a while, laughing light-heartedly as I swatted at him. I hated that I felt guilty. I hated that all I wanted to do when I was around him was cry and mourn something that hadn't even happened yet. Most importantly, I hated myself for keeping so much from him. For betraying him in the first place.

          Christian grinned, ducking away from my half-hearted swipes. He led me back towards the kitchen and I was surprised to see Rob, Christian's dad, in front of the stove. He had a wooden cooking spoon in his hand and was stirring something in the pan in front of him. "Hey, Mila, I haven't seen you around here in a while." Rob looked up and smiled a tired smile when he saw me. He looked different than the last time I'd seen him; older and wearier.

          It was true that I hadn't been over in a few weeks, but even when I did come over, he was hardly ever here. It made sense that he would be home more often now that Christian was ill.

         "It's been a crazy few weeks." I shrugged, leaning against a cupboard as Christian walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a coke.

           "Well, I hope you've worked up an appetite. Dinner should be ready in a few." Rob smiled, adding some chopped onions to the mixture on the stove. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Christian had definitely gotten his cooking skills from his father. He'd actually inherited a lot from Rob, including the brown hair, strong jaw line, and piercing blue eyes. Rob's eyes however were lined and crinkled with maturity, but he'd aged gracefully, like most men do. Like Christian would probably never get the chance to do. A hard knot formed in my throat at the thought.