Inspired

Chapter #25

Yuri's pov

The next morning I woke up to the faint sound of whimpering, along with someone trying to soothe the distressed voice. The instant I heard it, I knew that there was no use turning over to check if Victor was still by my side; I knew he wasn't. 

Somehow,I wished I could comfort Chris as well, but then again, there was nothing I could say to Chris that Victor hadn't already told him. Stretching all the crinks out of me, I crept out of bed and into the shower to wake me up and prepare me for what lied ahead.

 Once I got out of shower and draped a towel around me, I sort of hoped that Victor would be on the other side of the door. However, the person I saw was not who I expected. I must have been in the shower longer than I thought because when I laid my eyes on Chris, he looked...anxious. 

As I drew closer to him, I noticed that he kept rubbing his hands up and down his leg pants; what is he so anxious about telling me? Sitting down on his right side, I looked down at my own hands and patiently waited for him to speak. It was definitely a good while before he said anything. He could just be feeling guilty, and what he wanted to express was overwhelming for him.

"Chris, you can talk to me, you know that, right?"

Ever since Victor and I arrived in Russia, I've really wanted to be empathetic, be the support system that I needed to be, and even though it hasn't been that long, I haven't really helped anyone. I didn't want to pressure Chris into revealing to me what was in his heart, but if he didn't, then I would remain in the dark.

"Yuri, Victor told you what's going on, right?" Chris said suddenly, interrupting my worried train of thought.

"Yeah, h-he told me," I stammered, still unsure of how this talk was supposed to go.

"I never meant to stop your training, or to haul you all the way here from Russia, but I just really needed someone here with me. Victor being here has helped me immensely, I really appreciate you coming with him. I just hope you don't think that I was being rash in asking him to come, I just..." cutting himself off, I heard him choke on his words, like he would break down right in front of me.

 I wanted to hug him, let him know that that I was there to console, but I was also in a towel at that moment. Grabbing a pair of sweats from my suitcase, I quickly retreated to the bathroom to pull them on, then I returned to Chris' side. 

Standing in front of him, I gestured for him to stand up. After doing so, I slowly raised my arms up to his own before wrapping my arms around his waist. Mirroring my action, Chris silently sobbed into my shoulder.

"Don't feel guilty,Chris. We want to be here to support you, me included, in any way you need us to. I know it seems impossible to overcome this," I consoled him, wrapping my arms tighter around his body. "and maybe some small part of you wants to remain in a deep, damp hole,wallowing in sadness; I know what that's like."

I created some space between us so I could look into his eyes that reminded me of fresh grass dew drops.

"We would never leave you to feel like that. I'm not going to lie to you and say that the pain is gonna go away, but eventually, with time, it won't hurt as much.

 I know that Victor is here, and it's made the hurt relatively less painful, just know that I'm here too," I added quietly,squeezing his hand and holding on to it. Curling his fingers right around my own, Chris rested his head on top our mine as he pulled me into a hug. I heard a sigh of solace come from him, and for the moment, I almost..... felt envious. 

Not of Chris, but of Victor, which was strange. Shrugging it off, I offered to take a walk with Chris , which he quickly obliged to.Pulling a shirt on and a pair of shoes, I let Chris know I was ready to go. Victor wanted to come, but Chris said that we would be OK by ourselves.. Once we left the building, we walked a couple of miles to a cafe that was situated among many other stores. 

Preferring to sit outside, Chris waved a waiter over and ordered his usual. Looking around me, I realized that it was a lively environment. I  saw people walking their dogs,mothers pushing strollers,kids playing hide and seek as the spring leaves settled in around them. It was all so picturesque. I must have not been paying attention because when I looked back at Chris, he had this worried expression on his face.

"Were you saying something?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was asking if you wanted to eat anything. Are you feeling alright? I called your name three times. I even called you Victor, and that didn't even work," he replied, slightly peeved, even though I knew it was his own personal way of teasing me.

Feeling my face getting warm, I quickly glanced down at the menu I now held in my hand. Making a quick decision, I closed it and ordered a muffin and some coffee.As the waiter retreated to the kitchen, I tried to think of something else so my face would somewhat cool down.

"Yuri, you're not embarrassed, are you?"

"Why would I be? You just caught me off guard, that's all." And I wasn't, now if only my face would stop heating up...

"You shouldn't be anyways. Soon you two will be betrothed, it won't just be something to talk about anymore; it'll actually happen."

It may have been the way Chris said those words, but somehow, I felt calm again. Reaching to touch my face, it didn't feel hot anymore. It must have been the conviction of what he said, how final it sounded. Looking down at my fingers, I rolled the lucky charm around my finger, smiling at it. I hadn't thought of it till now, but it was the second most precious thing in my life.

Once the waiter returned with our orders, I grabbed my coffee and tasted it.

"Mmh....this is really good!" I exclaimed.

My lucky charm must have reflected the light from the sun because the instant I put my coffee down, Chris grabbed my hand, which took me by surprise. Holding my hand gently in his, he let his fingers brush against my lucky charm.

"You're very lucky, Yuri," he said solemnly.

"I know," I replied." And I meant it. I don't think they'll ever be a time when my face won't get hot or my breathing won't get shallow at the mention of Victor's name, and I'm ok with that; that's the kind of effect he has over me, and he knows that.

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