His Sunflower

31

"Five more minutes, tesoro", he mumbled.

"I-I'm hungry", I said, but he didn't move.

"L-Luca", I tried again and he froze.

"Say it again", he said, his eyes fixed on mine.

"Luca", I whispered, the word feeling foreign coming from my mouth.

He smiled. Like a full on, cheshire cat smile. As if someone had told him that unicorns exist type of smile.

"I love it when you say my name, amore", he whispered in my ear, making me shiver.

My mind must have been malfunctioning as when I looked back up, he was out of bed and standing in a pair of grey joggers smirking at me. He had brushed his teeth and washed his face by the time I had snapped out of my daydream.

"Take your time to get ready. I'll have breakfast ready for you when you come downstairs", he said, giving me a smile and heading downstairs, leaving me as a blushed mess on the bed.

I eventually decided to get up when my tummy wasn't having it and groggily made my way over to the bathroom to do my business before making my way downstairs.

Looking towards the table, I could see that he had already set out two plates and cutlery, with the rest of the table filled with breakfast.

There was so much food, including toast, cereal, yoghurts, fruit and most importantly, left over pizza from yesterday!

"Come and sit down, tesoro", he said whilst bringing over a glass of orange juice for me and a mug of coffee for himself.

"T-this looks delicious, t-thank you", I said, trying not to whisper like I always seem to do.

"Anything for you, amore", he winked, taking a sip of his coffee.

I swear I nearly passed out.

"Sof called whilst you were upstairs. She was asking if she should bring some college work for you?", he questioned.

I was ready to go back. I was itching to have a pencil and sketchbook in my hand to release all the weird emotions I was feeling, and I bet I had missed out on a lot of work. Sofia had dropped off work last week for me but I think I needed to be in the classroom environment to actually get some work done.

"I-I think I'm r-ready to go back", I said, trying not to project how hesitant I was feeling, even though I knew that my father and his friends wouldnt be able to find me now.

He seemed to have sensed my nerves and came round over to me. He pressed his lips against my forehead and looked at me.

Cue the blush.

"You don't have to go back if you're not ready yet. I would love to have you here around me all the time, but I have a feeling that you want to go back. I'll support you in whatever you decide, you know that", he said, brushing a stray piece of hair off my face.

This man really knows how to make a girls heart melt.

"I'm ready", I whispered, mostly to convince myself that this is something that I need to do.

I had to go back. I needed to get my degree so I could go and get a job to be able to support myself. I can't keep relying on him to provide me with the things I need. Even though it will never happen, I need to get a job so I'm able to pay back even a small fraction of what him and his family have given me. I will forever be in their debt. It's not going to be long until he realises that I'm not worth keeping.

Just a bit longer and then I can rid him of this burden. I just need a little help to get there. I know that its not fair on him, to be weighted down trying to keep me safe.