Next Door to Them

Chapter Sixty Seven

Aila hadn't realized how much fun she was having with them.

They were for Korean bbq.

At first she was awkward and quiet, but they seemed to be able to get to talk and laugh and joke around.

And they ate, a lot of meat.

It felt really nice.

They just.....they were perfect in Aila's eyes.

The way they smiled was beautiful, how comfortable they made her feel, how they joked and always included her in the conversation. She enjoyed all their stories. She admired how successful and supportive they were of each other.

It warmed her heart.

She was so happy for Erick.

She gave Erick many years of love and Erick gave her confidence to believe in life. So being able to witness and see the people Erick is destined to was a blessing.

"Well at least I can see why Erick fell in love." Vannozzo winked at Aila, making her look down at the table.

Were they not mad? Or jealous?

"We wanted to thank you." Antônia reached across the table for her hand, "he's told us all about you and the beautiful years you both have spent together. We wanted to thank you for loving and taking care of such a precious part of our soul."

Aila didn't mean to cry. She didn't mean for her heart to drown in the emotions she felt. She didn't mean for her eyes to become blurry or for the first tear to drop.

Fuck.

Nyala was sitting next to her and pulled her in for a hug.

"Baby, don't cry. We didn't mean to tell you this to make you cry. We just wanted to let you know, to tell you thank you for everything you have done for Erick. In a way, you helped us, all of us."

Nyala just felt so nice, her hug felt like it wrapped around her whole body.

She called her baby.

For some reason, that pet name felt the same way as if Erick had said it.

"Sorry it's just, I never imagined that I would ever hear those words from Erick's soulmates, not after... everything that happened anyways."

Aila's chest felt warm at their interaction. She looked over to Erick. Their eyes met. Erick had that dumb love struck look in his face, but Aila didn't know if it was because of Nyala, because he was looking straight at her.

They continued the night, talk in and drinking, getting to know each other.

It was nice.

It had been a long time since Aila had gone out with friends. It had been a long time since she made new friends or since she made friends so fast.

She just felt so comfortable with them.

Probably because of the relationship she already had with Erick.

Nyala looked over at Erick, finally having muster the right amount of confidence and courage to speak out.

"Aila, I want to apologize about what happened. We, we weren't expecting to find out last piece. And we met unexpected. Then of course, we had to keep in touch for a day before we could be apart. We didn't mean to bond that night. It was spontaneous. And then....what happened later... I didn't...." Nyala looked down at her hands, ashamed.

Nyala felt the worst. About everything.

Erick had always been vocal about his girlfriend.

The love of his life.