Disclaimer: I can't believe how long I've been doing this. I hope you guys aren't bored and confused yet.
Chapter 54: Preparing for Japan
The next day didn't come as quickly as she had thought. Gwendolyn continued to slumber until the sun finally became too annoying to bear. Turning her body around, she opened her shielded eyes and looked towards the clock. It was still early enough to where Gwendolyn could go back to sleep if she wanted to. Instead, she chose to pull the covers away from her body and get out of bed.
Giving her body a good stretch, her vision was drawn to the mirror that was reflecting her. Looking down, she stared at the shirt that she still chose to wear rather then something else. Shaking her mind back to reality, she headed towards the door.
As she made her way to the living room, she could hear Dave's voice coming from downstairs. "Well if you want to, then that's fine with me. I'm sure she would love that. Okay, see you later."
She watched from the top of the stairs as Dave placed the phone back on the receiver. She couldn't help, but stare at him standing there in his boxers. She felt a bit warm and she wasn't so sure that it was coming for the sunlight outside anymore. It seemed as though he sensed her presence because his eyes found hers. He couldn't help but be amazed by how beautiful she looked with the sun shining brightly on her, reflecting each of her detailed features.
He was brought out of his reverie as he heard her speak. "So who was that?" She asked as she descended the stairs.
"It was Patricia." She stood next to him, seemingly comfortable despite what they were wearing.
"I told her about what was going on and she said that she wanted to come with us." Gwendolyn had a small smile cross her face.
"She said that she wanted to help you get ready for the festival since she has gone to it many times before and is going to let you have one of her old kimonos…" He found her wrapping her arms around his bare waist.
"You know, a 'thank you' would be just as good." He let out a soft laugh as he wrapped his arms around her. In the back of his mind, he knew that she was still upset about the news he gave her last night and no matter what he did; he couldn't change what was going to tear them apart again.
She noticed that she was hugging him a bit longer then necessary and pulled away. "I'm glad. I think it will be a bit more fun with someone else to join us." A thought then crossed her mind and a look of worry crossed her face. "What about your house? Who's going to take care of it?" Dave shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess I can leave it alone as long as I make sure to lock everything up, it should be safe." Gwendolyn eyes darken a bit at the comment. "It wasn't safe before." She said with a slight lump in her throat. Dave pulled away from her and framed her face so that he could look into her eyes.
"Jake is gone now. If he has done the things that I think he did, he will be behind bars for a long time." Gwendolyn wanted to believe him, but her heart was still afraid of that monster. "How about I get ready to go?" She pulled away from his embrace and went upstairs without saying another word.
With Gwendolyn gone, Dave let out soft sigh. I wish that I can have her believe me. Hell, I wish I can believe myself. Hopefully this trip can take her mind off of some things. When he heard the shower, Dave thought that he should get ready too. He got to the top of the stairs when he heard the water stop soon after. That was quick he thought and went to his own room to get cleaned up.
After he finished getting everything ready, he remembered that Gwendolyn didn't have a bag of her own to take. Going into his closet, he found an extra travel bag that he grabbed. Walking out of his door, he headed across the hall. He then knocked on the door. After a few minutes, Gwendolyn appeared to him dressed in a silk cream shirt, jeans, but not shoes.
"I forgot to tell you that we will be leaving around four." Saying that she didn't have something to use, Dave lifted the bag into view with a smirk. "I figured you would need some help too." She let him inside and shut the door behind him. He could already see that she had picked out what she was going to bring on the bed.
"So you already packed?" Dave nodded his head. "That was fast. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. You are probably used to doing this kind of traveling all the time." She joined him at the foot of the bed.
"Yeah, I do it all the time that I guess I've gotten used to it." Dave put the bag on the bed and opened the zipper. They folded the clothes in silence, unable to start any sort of conversation with each other. After a few minutes, they finished putting all of the clothes she had picked inside along with some other essentials like a toothbrush.
"I guess I'm all set. I thought it was going to take longer to get everything to fit." She took her eyes away from the bag and looked at Dave. "Thanks for doing this and bringing me along of course."
Dave brushed off the comment like it was no big deal. "I figured you could use a bit of fun since you've been through a lot." Gwendolyn sighed a bit, remembering everything that Dave had done for her. She was shaken out of her thoughts by his voice.
"Huh?"
"I was asking if you were alright?" All she could do was nod, not wanting to voice her fears or concerns to him.
"So what's going to be the plan once we get there?" She asked as she took a seat on the bed.
"Well…" Dave sat down next to her, causing the mattress to dip a bit. "I would say that we will just relax in the room for the first day since the time it takes to get there will drain us a bit. Then I'm hoping that we can go out a bit during the day and then head to the festival during the night."
Gwendolyn listened in to the plan, wondering if it would be that simple. "How is the festival celebrated?" Dave began to think back to the last time he went to Japan. "Well there are different stands set up where you can do different things like buy animal masks and play games. I always had a problem trying to win a goldfish. I guess it's just not my game."
Gwendolyn chuckled out loud. "Still, it must have been nice to be able to remember a fun time like that." Dave looked at her now saddened face. "I wonder if I have good memories like that?" He put his arm around her shoulders, thinking of ways he could help her in that department.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of your problem. I was just trying to help you with your questions." She pulled herself away from him by standing up and walking a bit forward.
"It's alright. It's my fault because I can't seem to remember things faster. Ugh…" She grasped at her head again. Dave noticed this and was at her side. "Come on, you better lie down." He moved the bag next to the bed on the floor and helped her lay down. "I'll go and get you something for you head, kay?" She nodded and watched him leave the room.
Gwendolyn brought her hand up to her face and rubbed her forehead, trying to dull the pain. Dave closed the door behind him and went to the bathroom to get some Advil for Gwendolyn. As he was filling up a cup of water, his concerns went back to her. He had hoped that the headache wasn't something to worry about when they got back, but it seems like that wasn't the case anymore.
She had it back at the orphanage too. Could it be that she is starting to remember? He smiled a bit to himself at the thought that she could possibly be making some more progress. He grabbed everything and went back to the room. He opened the door and went inside. As he moved closer to the bed, he could hear her deep breathing. He put the pills and water on the side table and kneeled next to the bed.
All he could do was watch her which brought a smile to his lips. It was a relief to him to see her taking it easy, even if it was for a minute. It seemed like he was trying to burn the sweet image into his mind, remembering how lonely it was going to be when he went back on the road.
Hearing her stir, he pushed the thoughts of leaving away and watched as her eyes opened. "You're that tired?" he asked. All she did was nod her head as she continued to look at him. "I brought something for your head and some water. How about you go back to sleep and I'll let you know when it's time to go?"
"Okay" was all she said as she rolled her body to the side and closed her eyes again. Dave then took his leave and closed the door behind him, listening to the faint sounds of her slow breathing before heading downstairs. I guess I can go to the weight room for a bit to pass time he thought to himself as he saw the time.
It didn't take long before Gwendolyn woke up from her nap, feeling much better. The light outside the window seemed to be a bit dimmer, but not by much. Looking at the bedside clock, she saw that she had only been asleep for a few hours. Getting herself out of bed, she went and looked for Dave. Leaving the room, she could hear a faint noise and went in search of the source.
She began to feel a sense of déjà vu as she went downstairs. Gwendolyn could hear the sounds getting louder as she reached the bottom. It's just like before she thought as she stopped in front of the familiar wooden door. Taking a firm grip of the doorknob, she twisted it open. She saw the weights lying on the floor like before and could hear the loud grunts coming from the next room.
As she watched Dave from the doorway, his back towards her, she began to feel warmer. Her body's reactions to him cause her to giggle, drawing Dave's attention. As soon as he saw her, he put the weights down and grabbed a nearby towel to dry himself off. "It's good to see that you're up and around but what's so funny?" Gwendolyn got scared again and said it was nothing, still wondering what was going on with her.
"I'm sorry." What he said threw her off to say the least.
"What for?" She intertwined her hands in front of her. She watched as he put the towel down and stood in front of her. "I feel like such a fool. I never thought about your feelings for what I did when I kissed you. I didn't know what I was thinking." Gwendolyn heart began to flutter, remembering the moment again.
"You didn't do anything wrong Dave." She moved her hands and wrapped them around his neck. "I think that I've grown a lot closer to you in the time I've been here and I don't want to change that" she whispered. Her heart was beating faster then she thought was possible. Is this what she truly felt?
"I don't want to be alone anymore, but I don't think that anyone could ever compare to you." Dave wrapped his hands around her and intertwined them in the middle of her back. Hearing her words, he thought he was imagining what she was saying. "I wanted to let you know that I'm going to miss you."
She pulled his head to her level and kissed him. Her tears flowed slowly down her face as she thought about her fears of being alone. After they pulled away, Dave wiped the tears away as he chuckled softly. "At least I have a reason to call here now with you being here." Gwendolyn pulled away from his body and sat down near the bench press, her head bowed.
"Dave, I want you to train me." He thought that he heard her wrong and asked her what she meant. "I mean that I want to be able to protect myself somehow when you're not here." She raised her red eyes to him. "Being stuck somewhere that I don't want to be in and being attacked like that, I want to be a little bit safer even though you will be away from me." Dave nodded his head. "No problem. I'm sure that there are a few things that I can teach you." Gwendolyn expressed her thanks and sighed. "I better go upstairs and clean myself up." She got up and walked to the doorway before she was stopped by Dave grabbing her arm. Bringing her back to his chest, he placed another kiss on her lips. Gwendolyn closed her eyes, feeling the kiss even more as she felt Dave pull her towards the bench.
Breaking the kiss, Dave sat down on the bench holding her hands in his. "Do you remember what you did before you left?" A red tinge began to appear on her face. "How could I forget?" Gwendolyn moved closer and straddled him, a smile on her face. "So I guess you're feeling better?" Gwendolyn nodded as she felt Dave wrap his arms around her back. "I feel like I'm me and no one else."
Dave was confused to say the least at her comment. "Well I guess I better leave you alone and get cleaned up like I said." She stood up and walked out of the room. When Dave heard the door close, he laid his body back on the bench, an arm draped over his eyes. He started to curse himself for letting her go so easily, wanting to do a bit more to her then just hold her. His hand moved towards his heart and he had a smile on his face. I'm can't believe how much I'm in love with her. He got up, grabbed his things and went to his room to wait for the time to leave.
A/N: I am so sorry for the terrible updates. My muse has been directing me to another man that has stolen my heart. Fear not though. I will not give up on this so please stick with me^^
