Interlinked

Chapter 19

Next update tonight because I am super excited!

Chapter 19:

     Did you ever wake up feeling peaceful and blessed, in a place that is not your home? Because you know that your home is not a home but just carries a family that brought you to life and supported you through the ups and down so that you become someone who might slay the world just by existing?

   Well, what if you woke up, feeling belonged? In a place that is not even your home, you feel belonged for once in your lifetime; your heart is normally beating, and your lungs inhale air that you never believed you’d welcome inside your body.

Brightness floating through your soul although you know that lightning bolts are shredding the grey sky outside, because – because that’s how I feel now, I feel calm – calmer than I've ever been in my life and belonged, like this place is mine in a way.

   “Morning,” Zayn says while tying the shoe lace of his running shoes.

    “Good morning,” I mumble the minute I rest my feet on the first step case, rubbing my eye since I've been up for five minutes now and I just need a new cup of coffee to revive. I watch him slide on a grey jumper from his head and then bouncing up and down quickly, avoiding eye contact with me.

  “I’m going for a run, I’ll be back in 45 minutes.” He says, reaching his hand for the door knob, “Oh, and uh,” he slowly says, looking around me as his eyes scan me and my body’s temperature rises up after I realize I’m still in those absolute short shorts. “There’s some coffee, if you want some, you know.” He mumbles, and then bites his lip for reasons only the Lord is aware of.

  “Thank you,” I shift uncomfortably as I clasp my right hand on my left forearm. “Have fun.” I tell him, and he sends me a soft smile in which I awkwardly return.

   After he closes the door behind him, I rush to stand in front of a window to the front door’s left, and take a quick glance from behind the curtain to see him placing his earphones in his ears and warming up before running under the pouring rain. I have to admit, this view, precisely took my breath away.

   “You’re up early,” I jolt when I hear Laura’s voice from behind me.

“Oh God,” I gasp, placing my heart on my chest, “You scared me,” I nervously chuckle and feel welcomed by her when she offers me one of her beautiful smiles.

   “Good morning,” she says, smiling but her voice is as tired as mine.

 “What time is it?” I foolishly ask, my eyes are in a struggle between falling asleep on the floor or stay awake and have some of that coffee Zayn mentioned to me before leaving me to check how he actually runs.

   “Almost 6:30,” she says as we both enter the warm kitchen and a sigh of relief leaves my lungs at new oxygen mixes with the smell of grinned coffee beans and insert my lungs.  “We need to leave soon, before we get in trouble.” She whispers after taking two cups out and pouring some coffee for the two of us.

  “Yeah,” I sigh and plop my buttocks on the same chair I was seated on last night and lazily rest my chin on my palms.

My mind travels to a place where I imagine how Zayn is running, and how heavily he is breathing. With the hoodie hiding most of his messy hair to rest above his eyes. I wonder of which type of music motivates him to run. How does he control his breathing when running? Or how does it feel to run under this pouring rain? What does he think of when he runs like his life depended on it?

   “Here,” Laura places a cup coffee in front of me, bringing me back from that wild imagination of mine. I pause for a second as I regret thinking this way of this guy, because I know I should not – it is none of my business and I really need to take a few steps backwards and away from him because after yesterday’s embrace... I felt wanted for the first time in my life. Wanted for the right reasons but I know that he wouldn't take a step closer to what I have in mind.