Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 14: World Of Green

Her blue eyes glinted behind her glasses as she studied him.

"I do not understand the sadness lurking inside you," she murmured, "and I won't ever attempt to pretend that I do understand it, but for what it's worth... the warmth of home has a tendency to make my sorrows fade a little. If you wish... you may think of this place as home, for now."

He stared at her, at the earnestness behind her eyes, at her pretty smile and glossy brown hair.

And he couldn't comprehend her kindness.

He wondered, vaguely, if he was partially insane. 

Her offer made him question everything, his life, his existence, what was real and what wasn't.

It made him feel small, panicked, and completely meaningless.

It took him time to smother those feelings down, but smother them he did.

"Home?" he eventually asked. "What is home? Is it where your body is? Where your heart is? Where your heart wants your body to be, or the other way around? I don't know, anymore. I haven't felt at home in a long time. Nothing makes sense, and nothing feels right."

For several moments, Amelia merely stared at him, taken aback, then she withdrew her hand, looking at him with an even softer smile than before, if that were even possible.

"I don't particularly understand why you would say so, since it truly seems right no matter how hard I think about it," she sighed, rising to her feet. "Sleep well, Phil. Oh, and... if you truly wish to go somewhere, please, at least let me know first."

Xaphile's face went blank for a moment as a wave of unexpected surprise swept through him, but then his numbness returned and he nodded. Amelia primly clasped her hands and started walking down the hall with a yawn, but he was hit with an urge.

A last-minute question burst out of his mouth, unprompted.

"Do you know what love is?" he quietly inquired, making her pause mid-step. "Have you ever truly devoted every part of your being to someone else?"

She looked at him over her shoulder with a startled expression.

"Of course I know what love is! And yes, I devote myself to everyone, all the time!"

"That's not what I meant," Xaphile hoarsely rasped. "What I'm asking is if you know true love."

She turned back around and tilted her head yet again, looking at him with a concerned expression.

"What brought this on?" she inquired, hooking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I have to admit, a question such as that... it's quite unexpected."

She didn't.

It was obvious.

He let his head thump back against the fireplace and gave a small sigh, slightly shaking his head.

"It's nothing important," he croaked. "Really."

"Well, then... I'll be off to bed," she murmured, giving him a worried look. "Are you sure you're all right, though?"

He forced a smile, small and fake.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about a few things, that's all."

When she returned his smile with a relieved one of her own, for once, he was actually grateful that she was so naive since that naivety prevented her from seeing beneath the surface of his feelings.

"Goodnight, Phil," Amelia chirped, turning and heading to her room. "Sleep well."

Then she was gone, with nothing but the quiet sound of a door shutting to mark her departure.