Undeniable Truth- Dino

He felt so lost. He couldn't do anything but stand there as she silently cried in front of him, and he wanted to go over there and hold her tightly, rub her back, and gently tell her that everything was going to be alright when it really wasn't, to reassure her that there's nothing to cry about, that he was going to protect her.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't do all those things he wished he did, because his body would not move. The sight of her shoulders trembling and sobbing hiccups made him think; a lot. Questions appeared in his mind every time.

What happened to her?

Is she okay?

Why is she crying?

Did I do something wrong?

Did someone else do something to her?

Is she hurt?

What is wrong?

And he wanted to ask her these questions but his lips wouldn't form those words, and his voice refused to escape his mouth to comfort her. He wanted to go over there and hug her tightly, as if he had her all to himself when he knew he didn't, and just tell her everything was going to be alright.

And the silence between them, excluding her cries, was deafening and tense and heavy. He knew he must do something quickly, he just knew that she was waiting for his arms to wrap around and comfort her, but he had yet to do anything. His eyes glanced at the shine from her ring finger, and he should be used to this since a few years had passed, but he couldn't get use to that cursed object when he knew that he wasn't the one that place it there.

He was just one step behind.

Then his mind reverted back to reality, and he realized that she was still crying, still waiting for her childhood friend to comfort her in her time of need. His hidden feelings for her erupted inside of him as he rushed over there quietly, and looking down at her hanging head and hands covering her face, he could only gently whisper to her.

"Shhhh, shhh, shhh, it's okay, it's okay,"

And his own hands carefully touched her shoulders and hands and tried to pry them away so he could look at her face and see the damaged done.

"Everything's going to be alright. Don't cry now, don't cry. Shhhhhh, shhh."

And he kept repeating that noise to calm her down, and he heard her cries soften and felt her hands go limp. He pried them away from her face, held her chin, and gently lifted her head so he could see.

He saw alright.

He saw her everything. He saw the frown upon her bleeding lips, once so pink and plump. He saw the small bleeding cut on her forehead and kissed it, hoping it would soothe her pain like it did when they were little children. He saw her runny nose and the bruise beginning to form on her red cheek and knew that she would have to go through the humiliation of walking around with a bandaged face…again.

And then he saw her eyes; dear Lord, her eyes. A dark mark was forming around one eye and he hid the anger and remorse behind his words as she stared at him underneath her eyelashes. The look she gave him held so much pain, conflict, and sadness, but he saw something; he saw her eyes seeking for his temporary warmth, for a love that was not his, and for something better than this.

But he kept thinking to himself 'Dear Lord, why? Why her eyes?'

And he only thought of this because he saw; he saw the change in them over the years and how they were once a bright and innocent shade of blue. He saw how over time they begin to dim and how she was frequently crashing at his place to escape his wrath, only to see them back together the next day. He saw how her eyes turned into a crystal clear, almost a tear-drop clear, blue. He saw the fragile way they plead at him on certain nights when she appeared on his doorsteps, feeling inferior as she waited for his 'yes'.

He saw them break.

And throughout this, he only kept feeding her false hopes that everything was going to get better, that she wouldn't get hurt anymore when they both knew that this was a lie. He wished that it was only him getting hurt instead of them both, but he couldn't interfere with her life. He just couldn't.

And then he hugged her, gripping her small shape, and buried his face into her hair, smelling his scent and not his own.

"Shh, shhh, shhh. It's okay, there's nothing to worry about, shhh, I'm here, I'm here."

He felt her arms wrap around him like they always do, because that's the only thing he could do, and just held her until she calmed down. He hugged her tighter and felt her flinch from the pressure; he grimaced, knowing that she was hit here too, and he couldn't help but shed a tear for her.

And just like the other times she ran to him for shelter, they just stood there, hugging each other. They were lost in their own safe world, away from everyone else (especially his), and only with each other as if they were the only two people left alive. And once again, certain feelings resurfaced every time, only to leave him in doubt, regret, and reality afterwards (not that she knew). Doubt: 'Was he doing the right thing?' and Regret: 'I should've stolen your heart, but I didn't.'

And the only truth he knew was that she wasn't his, and never would be, not when that ring was on her finger, not when she belonged to some bastard that didn't know how lucky he was, and not when she was still faithful to him. He only wished that he had made the first move and that she was his, and if so, none of this would ever happen.

If only this reality was a lie.