FLYING | Sequel of FALLEN (NaNoWriMo 2022 WINNER)

28.

I step towards the front of the desk, looking at him slide his computer in his leather satchel once we're left alone in the room. He straightens to meet my gaze in silence. His eyes run on me, from one eye to the other, his lips parting, until the rest of his body talks before a word even leaves his mouth.

He took three steps to join my side, his hands trapping both sides of my cheeks so that I had nowhere to run but to mould into him. His mouth pressed on mine telling more about his desperation than words could. He simply parts our lips to entrap mine more contently.

He is sorry.

He loves me.

I part from him, saddened by that thought. I step back, his hands sliding away from their hold on my cheeks.

"Why did you see no other choice than to lie to me when the call troubled you so?" The words left my mouth before I could even gather my thoughts. I was speaking from the heart, not my head. "Didn't you trust me with the truth? Why didn't you tell me what troubled you at all instead of lying to me? Do you have so little faith in me that I wouldn't understand the truth?"

My tone was soft. My eyes were analysing him. And my heart wanted to give him the chance he deserved so bad. Meanwhile, my head was shouting to stop always expecting the best out of people to shield me from feeling betrayed and disappointed again.

He looked down, and leaned his weight on the table on the front row. I mirror him. He sighs, looking down. I don't feel passionate at all. My emotions are at bay, ready to hear him out and not overreact.

"I..." He stops himself, his arms rising and falling with the weight of his conflicted mind. "Even if I want to tell you the truth, I don't think you would want to know it, and I don't know if it would be best for you to know."

"That's what I don't understand, Marcel... What could have happened for you to question this so much? I'm your girlfriend. I'm your mate. We are talking about a future together. How could you question me like that? Whether I would be distraught by it or not, your lie damaged something between us again. Wouldn't you prefer to face whatever this is with me by your side instead of fighting it alone and fighting me at the same time? I don't understand you. Weren't we a team? That's what hurts me more than the lie itself."

"I didn't think of it this way..."

"Marcel, I don't want to fight you. I want to fight with you. Whatever was that call, I want to deal with it with you."

"I can't... I can't tell you what the call was about. But I shouldn't have lied about it."

"I don't know if it's enough, Marcel. Why would you want to keep things from me at all?"

"It's not like it's fun for me to keep things from you, Grace. The last few weeks have been really hard, and I want to share everything with you. But it would be so selfish of me to burden you with it all."

"You don't have to protect me if it means pushing me away. I'd rather face hell with you than heaven without you. I've said that before."

"You really mean that?"

"How many times must I prove it to you?"

"But we've been through so much already?"

"And I still chose to be with you despite it all. I didn't just give myself to you for nothing. I've invested myself in you. I believe in us. I believe in our future together. Isn't that worth anything to you?"

"Of course. It means everything to me."

"I can see how heavy this burden is to carry, Mace. I've never seen you so conflicted before. Who the hell called you that night?"