Repeat
A NaruHina Ficlet
x0x0x0x0x
One, two, three, four.
The number of steps it takes to get from the porch to the door.
Her hands shake, the words she'd gone over and over in her head seeming to lose their mantra. She holds her breath, waiting, ready, terrified. What if she forgets? What if he walks through the door and everything goes back to the way it used to be? Before the lies and the secrets and the world started to look sour.
One, two, three, four.
The number of seconds it takes before the knob turns plus two more.
Stand your ground. Not the words she needs to remember, but the words that make it easier for her to hold the wrinkled paper in her hands, reeking of perfume that isn't hers and marked with lipstick in a colour she's never worn. Her heart thuds in her chest, threatening to break loose and force her to tears.
One, two, three, four.
The number of times she's waited like this before.
Trembling and terrified, she doesn't feel she looks angry. He opens his arms and asks, 'what's wrong?' She wishes she could yell or scream or do something to hurt him, but she knows that expression of worry and guilt. Something inside her chest bubbles with enjoyment. She doesn't know what it means, but it straightens her back and stands her ground, forcing the page into his hands.
One, two, three, four.
The number of hours he spends drunkenly knocking on her door.