It all started with a dare. A stupid, damn dare!
Challenged to slap a stranger, Skylee Kingston wasn't the one to fall back from saving her dignity. She was about to leave LA forever. So, striking her hand against a stranger's face and disappearing...
I got startled at the loud banging on my door. Putting a hand over my heart, I looked at the clock. It was 2 AM. Damn, was I awake for that long?
DUM! DUM!
This time the banging came along with a panicked muffled voice, "Skylee, please open the damn door for God's sake!"
Upon hearing Eric's voice, I jolted up from the bed in an instant and rushed to open the door. The next second warm yet strong arm wrapped around my waist as he pulled me to his chest. I was caught off guard. I didn't know what to do since we had not talked for days. But the warmth that exploded in my heart made my arms automatically locked around his torso.
I felt him practically breathed in relief. "Oh, God! Are you alright?" He pulled away and held me an arm away to examine my face before he again hugged me and buried his face in my neck. I gulped at our proximity as a delicate shiver ran down my spine. But I was also confused. His face was as white as a ghost with his sleepy eyes wide open. He seemed freaked out.
"God, you scared me. Thank god it was just a dream." His breath tickled my skin as he whispered. I frowned at this. He had a nightmare?
This time, I pulled away and pushed him inside the room, and closed the door. When I looked back at him, he had his eyes closed and his hands were fixed in his hair in a frustrating way.
"What happened?" I asked.
He looked at me and asked, "Are you alright?"
I sighed and motioned him to sat on the bed. He followed quietly. I gave him a glass of water which he drunk in big gulps. His freaked out state was actually freaking me out too. I wonder what had he seen that made him so restless?
Putting the glass aside, I sat beside him and looked at his tired face. "Are you alright?" I asked.
"No." He replied without missing a beat. I felt a tug in my heart. The dreading look in his eyes made me unable to speak. I didn't know what to do so I just looked away.
Silence prevailed for a while before I felt him scoot closer to me. I didn't move. He didn't move. The situation was weird and compelled.
When his silence became unbearable for me, I looked at him. He was looking at me. I decided to speak first.
"Eri..." And he cut me off by placing his lips on mine. Nothing about the kiss was slow and soft. It was full of passion, urgency, and full of fear. We both were scared what if the other person vanished somewhere?
His arms snaked around my waist, pulling me to him as my arms went around his neck. When we pulled apart, we were totally out of breath. He rested his forehead against mine and spoke softly, "I miss you. I miss you. I miss you so much that it's killing me."
I felt tears stinging at the back of my eyes. Afraid they would fall, I didn't open my eyes.
"I miss you too," I whispered.
"Then stop hurting me. Stop doing this to yourself. Tell me whatever it is that is pulling us apart. I promise we will get over this together. Don't fight alone. Let me be a part of your fight too."
"Please stop talking like that. I can't..." I actually cracked. I gulped and clenched my eyes tightly.
"Oh, Sky, it'll be fine." He pulled me to his chest and I buried my face in his chest. His heartbeat made me warm and calm.
"I'm sorry," I whispered against his chest, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.
"Don't be. Just remember I'm always here for you whether you need me or not." He whispered softly, caressing and kissing my head.
After a while when I calmed down, I didn't know how we ended up lying on the bed. His arms were wrapped around me from behind, our legs intertwined and his head in the crook of my neck. I was looking at the wall aimlessly as it stuck at 3 AM.
"What happened earlier when you came here?" I asked him.
"We kissed." His breath tickled the skin of my neck. I chuckled.
"Idiot!"
"No, for real. You had a bad dream?" I asked. He hummed in response.
"What did you saw?" I asked, turning towards him.
He sighed and opened his eyes to look at my face. His gaze held so warmth that I found myself melting with it.
"I saw us, happy and dancing. We were smiling so wildly. Then suddenly the beautiful atmosphere exchanged in a blur by darkness. But we were still dancing and smiling. We seemed to be lost in each other. And then..." He paused and closed his eyes.
"When I spun you around, you fell off into the darkness. I saw you slipping away and felling into the black in front of my eyes." He shuddered as he spoke, "You died in front of me. I tried to hold your hand but you just slipped away. I... I don't know... It was scary. I thought I lost you." He opened his eyes and looked at me.
"I'm so glad you're fine. It was just a nightmare. I'm so relieved to see you and feel you alive. You scared me. I can endure your ignorance because in that case, at least you are in front of me. But watching you die. I can't. It's too much. Just don't leave me. I've never said this to anyone but it's true. I need you. I love you." He caressed my cheek with a smile.
I was speechless. My eyes filled with tears. No one had ever said this to me before that they needed me. How could someone be so selfless like that? He just confessed despite how much I had been ignoring him. He just simply didn't care about anything else other than loving me. He was scared because he saw me dying. How could I let anything happen to him? How could I not love him? How could I not protect him?
I would love him and protect him till my last breath. Even if this moment would end soon and I had to again play cold shoulder but I would always love him. And I had to tell him that.
"You stopped me from confessing that day because you said you had plans," I said, smiling back at him.
"Well, change of plan. Life is too short to plan and then do things. We should just say everything right at the moment. Who knows what the future holds?" His hold on me tightened, making my heart flutter like butterfly wings.
I smiled as I pulled him closer and attached my lips with his.
"I love you," I whispered against his lips. I felt him smiled as we deepened the kiss.
He was right. Who knows what the future will hold?
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