Fly Away

34 - memories and the sound of ringing

"Why?" In my peripheral, I see him step closer and his scent of burnt musk and fresh morning mint wafts up my nose.

I shrug and inconspicuously breathe in, a mix of the dewy grass smell and him washing over me.

My eyes are still trained on the house, and I try to imagine Zeus running around after a tennis ball, yapping happily, his golden fur gleaming in the morning sun.

I feel a longing emotion curl up inside me, but push back the tears in my eyes not wanting to seem weak. The last thing I want to do is cry that I'm missing my dog in front of my emotionless husband.

I gulp down the feeling, a shaky breath leaving my lips as I try to regain control of myself.

A rough hand grips my chin and forces it up to meet a fiery gaze, intensity brimming inside above a layer of coldness.

"Tell me why." His voice is low and warm, but still manages to kick a small shiver out of me.

It's probably the breeze.

There is no breeze you idiot.

I internally roll my eyes and focus on his, the dark eyelashes low on his lids as he looks down at me.

I feel the urge to tell him about my attachment issues to my dog, but I don't want to seem petty and weak, especially in front of someone who's so hard and focused.

Goddarn it, I want cherries.

"And don't shrug again."

My shoulders sag slightly, and I know that I won't be able to get out of this easily. Anyway, it's not like he can put Zeus on a flight and bring him here is it? I can live for what, three days without him?

"I miss Zeus." It comes out as a small whisper because I don't want to make the fact that he's not here, real.

Rocco looks at me for a moment, and I almost think he's going to start laughing at me, but then I remember that I've never seen him laugh and the chances of that happening are very, very low.

When he doesn't say anything, I move away and wave my hand in a dismissive motion.

"Haha, don't worry it's nothing major. I can live, you know, It's only a dog at the end of the day, not like a human being or anything, yeah. I'm totally fine." I feel tears brimming and quickly turn away towards the house to hide my face, but a hand grips my arm and stops me from moving any further.

A gently tug and I'm turned around, face to chest with a certain tattooed man who's looking at me like I'm going to break.

Well, maybe I am.

"Don't run away from me."

I blink my eyes to stop the tears from leaking and lower my head, staring down at the grass under my bare feet. I try to hone in on the soft feeling, the thin strands tickling my soles.

It doesn't help one bit.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"And stop apologising." He forces my face to his with a warm hand at the back of my neck, and I give a defeated smile.