Falling For You

016

My eyes fluttered open, and I immediately remembered I wasn't home.

Zuri.

She was the first thing to cross my mind. I sat up immediately, and Luna walked in, a small smile on her face, "Hey, you're awake. Did you sleep okay?"

"Did you sleep okay?" I asked her instead.

Last night when I fell asleep with Zuri, I was awoken few hours later by my phone going off nonstop. It was Luna, and she was in pain. Now, I knew Luna struggled with stomach ulcers, and I'd always been there to ensure she was doing okay. So, I wasn't all that surprised when she called, but I was alarmed at the level of discomfort in her voice.

"I did," she nodded, "thank you for coming."

"What happened? Have you been taking something you shouldn't be taking?" I knew the list of things she had to avoid in order not to trigger the pain; soda, spicy food, citrus fruits, alcohol, to name a few.

"No. No, I haven't, " she shook her head, but I saw through it, "You're lying."

"I haven't," she shook her head again, and I rolled my eyes, "Be honest. Have you been drinking?"

She let out a breath before she eventually responded, "Yeah."

"Why, Luna? You know you should avoid alcohol."

"I know..." she nodded. "I know, I just-"

"You can't be drinking. You're going to make it worse, and that won't be pretty."

"I miss you, Bailey," her eyes were soft when she looked at me, "I miss you so much. And I know I treated you like crap. I really am sorry, I just want to make it up to you... please."

"That won't be necessary, Luna," I got off the bed, knowing that I had to go back home. I wondered if Zuri was awake already and possibly looking for me.

"Please, Bailey," I avoided Luna's teary eyes. "I haven't been the same after what happened, and I just know-"

"You hurt me, Luna," I stopped her. "You really hurt me. You don't get to do all of these. I'm leaving."

I walked to the door of the bedroom before remembering that I hadn't taken my phone, so I walked back to the bedside table to grab it.

"Uh, Zuri called," I heard Luna say behind a sniff and my eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "You were asleep and your phone was ringing off the hook."

"Okay? And what did you say to her?"

"I told her you were asleep."

Ah, shit.

*

I swallowed, walking into the home I shared with Zuri and my stomach felt like they were twisted in knots. I walked into her bedroom which was where we fell asleep last night, but she wasn't there.

"Zuri?" I called, walking into the room she would probably be in if it wasn't her room.

Her painting room. And I wasn't wrong.

"Zuri, hey," I let out a breath, my eyes focused on her. She stood in front of a canvas, her had tilted to a side as she eyed it.

"Hey," she gave me a once-over before turning back to her painting. "What do you think about this painting?"

Eyebrows furrowed, I walked to where she stood yo take a look at it. It was beautiful, and I said exactly that. "It's beautiful. You should take it down to the gallery if you can."

"I will," she side-stepped me, walking out of the room.

I couldn't say anything as she walked into the room because I was mostly confused. However, by the time I was able to gather my thoughts, I followed after her, "Zuri."

She continued to ignore me as I called her name, following after her. By the time I got into her room, I called her again, "Zuri."

"What?" She snapped as she turned to look at me. My heart broke to see that her eyes were wet.

"Listen, I'm sorry-"

"What are you sorry for?" She cut me off.

"I was at Luna's," I sighed, "she was sick. She called me when we were asleep. She has ulcer."

Zuri's eyes went soft before sniffing, "Is she okay?"

Now, this was the type of person Zuri was. Genuinely kind. And this was one of the reasons I was fast, fast falling for her.

"She's doing better," I took a step closer to her cautiously, "there are foods you should be avoiding if you have ulcer, and she just had it. That was the trigger. I promise, nothing happened."

"Why did she call you?" Zuri asked softly as she raised her eyes to mine.

"I- I don't know," I replied softly as well. "I guess she got so used to doing it."

"Do you still like her?"

"No, no, I don't," I shook my head before looking straight into her eyes, "Zuri, I want you."

"Are you sure? Or are you just passing time with me? Will you still be leaving me all by myself and running to Luna every time she calls you?"

"I'm not just passing time with you, Zuri," I cupped her face, "I really am not. I mean it when I say that it's you I want. I want you, Zuri. And I'll make every effort I can to show you that it's you I choose."

God, she was so beautiful.

"I don't want to hurt you, Zuri," I told her.

She had an uncertain look in her eyes, which caused me to add, "I need you to trust me, please."

"I... um, I just need a little time," she swallowed.

"I understand," I nodded even though it hurt because I really did. Zuri really was scared of getting hurt. She had faced it quite a number of times, and I could understand her fear. She had always been the one who romanticised love a lot more. She was a sucker for all things cute, sweet, and romantic. She didn't believe that anyone should struggle so much all in the name of love, and she was too peaceful for any type of drama. I, on the other hand, was the embodiment of that.

And I hated it.