More Than Love

Chapter Seven

Arthur looks at her while her back is to him. “Need help?” 

“No, I am almost done, and you won’t know where to keep them either way.”

“It can’t be that hard.” He stands up and starts helping while sneezing his way.

She continues to quickly set everything back in its place. “I’ll be right back.” She goes to the back of the counter. A few sounds of rummaging flows through the diner. 

“Arthur?”

His head goes up. “Yes?”

“Can you come over here, please?” Her voice straining at the end. He runs for it, thinking she got hurt. Running so fast that he ends up so damn close to her. “What’s wrong?” He asks out of breath. “I can’t reach for the keys, can you get them, please?”

He looks up the counters of the back diner where cooking goes on. He quickly swipes them off the shelf and hands it down to her. She starts moving faster than expected as she moves . . . and there she goes slipping her foot and falling. But before she could Arthur moves as quick as a flash attaching her body flesh against his. They both are  shocked more than ever before as Alexis has her hands holding Arthur’s shoulders while they both bend low. Both so close that Alexis could breathe in his cologne. His breath fanning against her lips, he’s going to kiss. And there and there . . . she closes her eyes, tilting her face to kiss him.

Suddenly a sound echoes in the diner, she opens her eyes flustered as

Arthur pulls them back to standing. He clears his throat. “You should go check that.”

“Hm, yeah, yeah, I should.” She lost, not knowing what to do.

Arthur had walked Alexis home, just like he had said, though nothing mattered at the very moment when he did a little action, which had spread the warmth around her, just watching him do that took her breath away. He, being the one which was soaking wet because of the very rain, went again outside in the rain just to get an umbrella so Alexis wouldn’t get wet, not caring one bit about himself, was it just her or his every action looked sweet and caring, like he truly cared about her. Alexis was obsessed with his actions, the way he held the umbrella on her side more and got himself even more drenched, or the way he smiles at her every time she blushed, or the way his bright grey eyes notice her every single move, she just didn’t know what to get out of it. And now she was stuck taking orders from the customers, but still lost in the world where those eyes looked at her, smirking. “Excuse me?” 

She shakes her head, looking at the petite girl sitting and patiently waiting for Alexis to take their order. “I apologise. Can you please repeat?” 

The petite girl repeats the order, done, and leaves to give the order when suddenly Renda comes and ushers Alexis to the back to take an early leave, promising that she will take care of everything. On her way out, she notices that Arthur was supposed to meet her at her place, she walks thinking once again, when her phone blinks signaling that she has received a message.

Jack: I NEED THE MONEY. YOU DON’T WANT TO REPEAT LAST TIMES THING.

She looks at the capital letters and sighs out, refusing to let go of herself. He is probably looking for a way to get back daddy’s brat named Amanda. She leaves the message as it is, not bothering to answer, walking back to her apartment, on the steps of her door, she notices the dull-looking light peeking out from the bottom of the door on the storey of the building, with one broken light blinking on and off. Her shoes touched the floor and made the tapping sound. As she unlocks the door of her apartment, peeking her head through the door. She gets in, clicks the door shut, as she looks around her while dropping her purse on the floor, shoulders sagging as a sigh escapes her mouth. Squinting at the darkness but still walking into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, as she walks and walks, abruptly all her breath gets knocked out of her, as she hits the door of her fridge, gasping she clutches the hand on her neck, when denied any freedom to breath, she starts hitting it, trying to loosen the grip of the unknown hand. A weird stinking breath fans her breath. 

“Money.”

Jack.

That’s Jack to be exact. His stinking breath of alcohol keeps on fanning her face, however, the deathening grip on her neck doesn't help any better. 

L—leave.” Her voice comes out less than a whisper as she tries to get herself free from his clutches. Soon her feet aren't touching the floor any longer. She keeps on hitting her feet on the fridge’s door. 

“Ple—” 

“Alexis.” A faint sound is heard far away, way too far for her right now. Her eyes start to drop, as she starts to go somewhere in the middle of nowhere just in the middle of death and life, her body shutting down. 

“ALEXIS.” She can’t hear anything, ringing irritating her ears as she gets knocked away again. Alexis’s body coming in contact with something hard as she breathes once again. Like all of the oxygen that went, came into her all at once. Leaving her breathing to be shallow, yet still alive. Odd sounds roam around her while she tries to get herself together. Getting enough of trying she leaves herself as she is. Harsh sounds roam around as unknown things collide or crash and groans to be heard that so far aren’t to reveal themselves to Alexis, not that she can be at the state she is right now.

She doesn’t realize when or how a rough hand touches her face as she leans into the touch, trying to sooth herself from that touch. She groans, as her body gets moved by someone.

“It’s okay, relax, just relax.” 

She leaves the hold of her body letting that voice take control of it. Moulding herself into the body that she had to know. As the soothing voice that was once heard by her takes over her, making her seep into darkness, yet this time completely. 

Laying on the warmest thing ever, her soft body adjusts against someone, the comfort of the heat provided lulls her to sleep again, but before she could, a firm hand comes in contact to the very side of her waist. She tenses against it, slowly dwelling on what’s happening. Alexis feels the arms of it wrap around her, she peeks open one of her eyes just to prepare herself, but then the person’s face that comes in front of her releases all the tension she had earlier, his embrace calming than none other. 

Arthur. 

Her gaze follows to notice of who she is in the arms and goes to his actual face, scarred with a wide blackish bruise on his left cheek, and a bloody lip. “I am sorry,” she rasps, realizing who did this to his face, realizing that he would have never gotten hurt if it wasn't for her, realizing that this all was a mistake, that she shouldn’t be here in the arms of a man when she doesn’t deserve it. She tenderly touches his lips with her fingers swiping them back and forth, knowing that his gaze is on her and that he is awake now, she blankly keeps on stroking his lips. Arthur's lips lift into a smirk, but she still doesn't say anything. Arthur gently puts her back flush against him knowing she would need it more than the talking, he carelessly breathes in her smell, not caring what she would think because after this, they were close than any other times, he rocks her soothingly with her in his hold while she sobs as a child would. Her low wails cut deep through the silent apartment, he still keeps on rocking her, hushing every now and then as her wails quieten down slowly."I'm so, so, sorry. You shouldn't have been there at all."

Arthur was craving for answers, answers that needed time to come, and he knows that. He just gives her time to keep on rambling as she keeps apologizing for the events that weren't even her fault. Slowly silence seeps into the air, but then her low raspy voice speaks again, 

"He left me after our parents' death, I was mourning, he didn't care. I was just a kid, Arthur, a kid. And he just le—" hiccup escapes her mouth, and then another, she chokes on her words but gradually continues "he left without any word or any information about his whereabouts. . . he just left. And, and . . ." She takes in a deep breath, fiddling with her fingers, "I kept on looking for him, thinking something bad might have happened to him.”

Alexis looks up, their eyes meet, she slowly mutters, “He went after some rich girl.”

Arthur watches her slowly, leaning both of his arms on his knees, wondering, lost, and out of mind to even imagine the scenario. Everything lulls to sleep, leaving them in a deafening silence. Arthur looks back, gently cradling Alexis on his lap, while his arms hesitant to go around her. Thinking would this be too much. However, the sweet shy woman, who was on the verge of crying, couldn’t hold herself back and embraced the very first comfort she had in a very long time.