On the day martial law is announced and put into effect, the whole city of Nova Aria is on fire.
Lou is stuck on her way home from work. She calls Robert, her distant ex-boyfriend for help, right before a bus crashes into her car. Little does Lou k...
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Robert lifted his head and looked straight into my eyes.
"So I buried myself in work. After the accident, mostly, it was just rerunning tests and writing reports, but the project continued evolving. At some point, I didn't recognize it anymore. Maybe it was intended to be that way from the start, but I was just too caught up to see it... Either way, I quit. Castillon wanted me to come with him. I was not going to, but I went to his office just to hear what he had to say one last time. There, he slipped his tongue and told me about your dad's situation. I thought you guys might be in danger too..."
"So you decided to come all the way here."
"I know, it is stupid, but I couldn't sit back and do nothing. The address Vince gave me is the only thing I have, so I thought might as well come for a quick look. I made Castillon promise to look for your dad. Sorry... I wish I could do more."
"You've done more for us than anyone else has, Bear," I leaned back on the door and looked at the yellow light above us. I felt terrible. "I'm so sorry... I was caught up in my own emotions and said things that were disrespectful and unfair to you."
"I don't blame you. You've been through a lot today."
"No, I should've trusted you. I've known you for half of my life for God's sake. You were always there when I needed you, but when you needed me the most back then, I was gone. If I could just stop for a second to think, I would've known something was wrong, but I didn't. I left. Then I treated you like crap again after you'd literally just saved my and Vince's lives..." I shook my head. Waves of guilt drowned me.
"Stop blaming yourself," Robert lifted my face. "I broke up with you, remember? How could you know? Our relationship had not been the same for a while after what happened and I did things to make you hate me... I might have overdone it."
"You think?" I scoffed. My eyes swelled up with tears.
"Blame it on my foolishness and overgrown confidence," Robert pulled me in his arms. "I thought I could have everything how I wanted it, including you. I thought you would always be mine, no matter what. Just like before, but I forgot we were not kids anymore. I couldn't hurt you and expect you to stay and wait for me. Life went on and before I knew it, you slipped so far away from me..."
"Yes," I picked some lint off his shirt. "That's some risky game you play, Robert."
"I regretted it," he held me in front of him and looked into my eyes. "That afternoon, when I came back from work, I saw how thoroughly you cleaned out your half of the closet and every little thing you owned. It hit me hard. I sat down on the floor and didn't get up from that spot until the next morning. Yes, It was me who pushed you away, but I didn't fully imagine the devastation... I kept staring at my phone every waking second for the next few days, hoping you would call, or text, so I would have an excuse to beg for you to come back, but nothing," Robert chuckled and rubbed his eyes. "I didn't go to work. Didn't clean up. I ate when I remembered. It was like I got stuck in a loop. Castillon sent his assistant over every other day just to check if I was still alive..."
"His assistant?"
"Yes, some lady."
"Blond, around thirty, driving a blue convertible?"
"Yes... How do you know?" Robert squinted his eyes.
"It might have been the same chick I saw with you in front of our old apartment that morning..." I bit my lips. My voice died down with embarrassment.
"Well, it could seem that way," Robert smirked. "But I can tell you I wasn't in a suitable state to be with anyone back then. Even just casually... Anyway, eventually, Vince was back in the city. He learned about how I had been living and, let me tell you, your brother was not a gentle person in any way, shape, or form. He couldn't care less about my fragile broken heart. He forcefully yanked me out of those dark days," Robert laughed.
Vince was the one who had brought Robert back to our family's farmhouse one Thanksgiving out of the blue, starting that tradition. It felt like an ambush to me, but I didn't get to see my brother very often after he dropped out of college, so if Vince wanted to include his best friend, which happened to be my ex, in our family's functions once or twice a year, I could bite my teeth.
Three of us at the farmhouse and, suddenly, it was high school all over again.
That had resulted in the most painful dinner of my life, with my dad glaring down from the head of the table, torturing us with his usual probing tactic, my nervous-wrecked date, Colin, who sweated profusely as if he had just finished a marathon, Vince's cheeky comments and lame-ass jokes, and Robert. I didn't remember if he had said anything the whole night, but it was all the same.
I learned to never bring another date over on Thanksgiving. Not that I had anyone serious enough after that anyway.
"Vince saw through me," Robert pulled me down to sit next to him on the bed. "All of my pretenses, he knew I was miserable. That's why he asked me to come that Thanksgiving and every one after. He would rather camp and watch the sky somewhere, but he came back every year and drag me to the farmhouse because he knew I needed it. He knew that was the only thing I looked forward to the whole year," Robert stopped playing with my hand and looked up. "I needed to see you, Lou."
From his heart, which banged loudly like a drum in the quiet hotel room, to his warm hand, I never thought I would feel this way again.
Throughout the years, I had tried so many times. God knew I had. Some of my relationships were good while some were bad, but none of them lasted. None of them lived up to my expectation. Maybe the problem was me. I kept searching for the same thing in different people. The thing I only found once in a person...
"Lou," Robert muttered my name again. "I miss you."
*** The man whispered something low in his chest, nibbling the curve of my ear.
"It's ticklish..." I laughed sleepily, burying my face deeper into the pillow.
"Uh-huh."
I moaned as his hand left my breast to travel down the depth between my thighs. The sensation fired up every cell in my body, making me want more.
"Mmm..."
I turned around and met his lips in a fervent kiss. The air was damp like we were caught in a drizzle.
The phone's vibration startled both of us. Robert groaned and rolled away to grab the device.
"Hello?.... Yes, I'm fine. Everything's fine... I found them."
I shuddered as the cold air replaced his warmth. It was a long silence before Robert spoke again.
"I understand. Thanks for letting me know. We'll talk."
I felt his hand on my hair before his whole body wrapped around mine again. The feeling made me smile and drift off, but what he said next sobered me up quickly.
