Beautifully Disturbed | ✓

[43]

Laila's POV

"I'll be there in just a moment!" I yell.

I towel dry the rest of my hair and slip on a robe. I put my phone in my robe pocket because I plan on taking pictures soon.

When I walk down the stairs, I notice Alex has already changed into different clothes. His hair seems slightly damp, so he's probably showered as well.

He's leaning against the wall as watches me walk down the stairs.

"You called?" I ask wanting to know why he asked me to come downstairs.

He grabs my hand and pulls me into the dining room.

I gasp. "Oh my God, how—when did you get time to do this?"

The table has different types of South Asian food scattered around.

There's rice, butter chicken, samosas, tandoori chicken, garlic naan, chicken curry, palak paneer, etc.

My mouth is literally watering to the point I was close to drooling.

"Wait, but where did you find Indian food in the middle of nowhere?" I ask.

"Is it that obvious that I didn't make it?" He asks.

I let out a giggle. "Dr. Romano, I can't possibly believe you made all of this considering that I was only gone for an hour and have you forgotten that you don't know how to cook something as simple as pasta?"

"Fair enough." He places a kiss on my forehead and slides out a chair for me to take a seat.

He was about to take a seat across from me but I stopped him.

"Sit beside me." I pat the seat beside me.

He raises a brow.

"I'm sure I need to teach you how to eat some of this." I laugh.

He does what I say and takes a seat beside me.

So, then, I spend the first 10 minutes showing him how people eat using their hands, instead of utensils. I can tell he's never touched meals with his hands in his life. The man looks like he probably eats pizza and fried chicken with a fork and a knife.

"This is nonsense. I can't grab the chicken with the naan." The butter chicken pieces keep slipping from his naan.

"You can't just call a whole cultural tradition nonsense, Alex."

He rolls his eyes. "Just give me a—"

"Awe, is Dr. Alexander Romano giving up on such a simple task?" I tease him.

"I am not! I would just prefer my usual eating utensils, if you don't mind." He says.

I sigh. "You're impossible, Dr. Romano."

I swoop up the chicken into a naan piece. "Open up."

He doesn't argue.

. . .

Alexander's POV

"Open up."

I'm sort of taken-back by this. I don't argue with her though, anything that will bring her closer to becoming more comfortable with me.

She carefully takes turns between feeding herself and me. I watch as she gracefully handles the food, unlike my uncoordinated movement.

Well, obviously she's more graceful. Eating like this is part of her culture, I've only ever used forks, knives, and spoons.

But the fact that she's giving me enough attention to make sure I eat is something no one's every done for me before. Yes, I've had Sophie who's always making sure I eat but she probably does so because it's part of her job.

I almost couldn't look away from Laila. I, Alexander Romano, am in absolute awe from this. This is very unlike me.

I didn't want any of these feelings, it's not something I want to waste my time on. But no matter how much I try to emotionally distance my attraction to her, it seems to grow. No matter how much she irritates me or how many mistakes she makes in my already perfect life, I still feel a pull towards her.

She has something about her that brings everything around her to life, every dark corner lights up when she walks in, she can bring a smile to anyone's face. She manages to lift up my mood even when I hurt her multiple times. I know I'm in deep, my attraction to her is more than just lust and desire now. Her sweet smile and bright eyes are what runs through my veins, making me an addict.

She's everything I want, everything I need, yet I know I can't have her because I'm unable to handle fragility, I'm not stable enough to give her anything without crushing her to bits.

But I can't—no—I won't let her go, I don't fucking care if it destroys us both. I will never let her leave me.

Maybe once I get to my way with her, all these unnecessary emotions will disappear. It must be all the lust and desire for her, it absolutely cannot be anything else.

I watch her happily put more food on my plate, not complaining one bit.

There's a storm coming and she'll be unaware of it until it shatters us both, leaving only a few pieces of ourselves behind to survive.

• • •

Laila's POV

Alex is so fit and muscular but he has an appetite of an elephant. He didn't bother telling me to stop giving him more food or he might have been busy just staring at me because that's literally all he did during dinner.

He'd answer my questions or stories with a "Mhm" or "Hm..." His mind is drifting off somewhere else and I don't blame him, that's just how he is. He's always thinking about work or something more important to him. It's tough keeping his attention on our conversations sometimes.

"I can't believe you ate more than me. You technically finished everything. Your appetite is as big as your ego." I tease him.

"And yours isn't?" He smirks.

"Oh, alright, alright." I put my hands up in defence. "No need to bring down the confidence I don't have."

He suddenly brings me into his arms, holding me quietly for a few seconds. "We should go to bed. We start our day early tomorrow."

At moments like these, Alex completely and entirely takes my breath away. I literally can't breathe because of all the butterflies that flutters in my stomach all at once.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He rests his chin on top of my head.

"Just tired. I haven't had time off like this in years. If you haven't noticed, I'm not relaxation type of person." He answers truthfully.

Is Alex... is he actually being honest with me? In a nice way? I should've asked for this vacation weeks ago.

I nod. "I understand."

• • •

That night, as I was drifting off, I noticed how Alex didn't sleep. I knew he was tired, I could tell from his sunken features. But something kept him up just a little longer.

Work maybe? Maybe he's worried about the hospital? He did say he hadn't had an actual break in years.

Whatever it was, I couldn't stay up to find out no matter how much I tried. I was too gosh-darn tired to even think.

- - -

A/N: any of you guys watch the documentary "Abducted in Plain Sight" on Netflix (if not, I 110% recommend you watch it if you can stomach it)? It was soooo crazy! I just couldn't fathom how freaking dumb the parents were! I was sister shook!

Please vote and comment and let me know how y'all feel!!