Nathalie stood before me, her hands tightly holding mine as she quietly wiped the drying blood from my fingertips. Her knees digging into my blue rug. My back faced the moonlight from the windows surrounding my bed.
"He... said he could help..." I mumble, trying to break the silence. My throat stinging as I did so.
Her big, blue eyes look up at me. Her thumb slides across my face. "You don't have to explain, I know you were just trying to help." She gives me a tender smile.
"I just... don't want you to be mad at me..." I look at her glistening eyes as she stands.
"I'm not mad at you.." She whispers as she heads to my wardrobe.
Her fingers wrapping around the silver handle. I coughed into my tightly curled fist. Her hands still rummaging around my things. "It's my job to look after you. Let me help." I push my body up and Nathalie faces me. Her arms cradling my folded clothes.
"Just relax, I'm only getting your pyjamas." She looks into my worried eyes briefly.
Her face darts back to my clothes and she approaches. She stares at the clothes for a moment before looking back up at me. Her face filled with thought. "Next time I-" I begin.
Nathalie interrupts quickly, her voice like a burst of anger. "Next time? There won't be a next time! You're not doing that again."
She takes a deep breath, calming herself down. "But, Nathalie..." I pause, choking into my hands. "The next time will be the last... I-"
She doesn't let me finish again. "I don't want to hear it. If you do this again... I- I don't know what I'll do..." she glances down at the clothes, her face filled with sadness and anger. Her emotions taking over.
I nod in response, gripping my clothes. They fall from her hands and I place them on the bed. I glance back at the tall woman, her face suddenly making an expression I hadn't really seen. It was as though she had an idea, or remembered something important. I gaze at the new expression on her face. Her eyes reflecting the stars in the sky as the clouds wiped across the deep, purple night.
I look at the bed before carefully untying my ribbon and Nathalie's eyes dart to my face. The bow falls apart and the ribbon falls limp between my fingers. I gently put it on the bed, pulling my hair to the side, my neck exposed to the cold room. "Could you help with my zipper?" I mumble as I glance back at her pink face.
Nathalie nods at me. "Of course." Her warm fingers catch my neck as she pinches my zipper. The only noise between us was the zip sliding down to my waist. The shoulders of my dress falling to my elbows. I turned to see Nathalie's pink cheeks turning away from me.
"Thanks..." I say, a nervousness filling my lungs. "You don't have to look away like that... I-" I pause, considering if this is a good idea. My fingers grip the cuffs of my sleeves as they sit against my collar bone. "I don't..." I glance down at myself, my voice trembling. "I don't mind you looking..." I chickened out. My heart beats fast as my dress slides down my arms.
The silence rings through my ears, my throat uncomfortable. you could cut the tension with a knife. It's so awkward now! Why did I say that?
As my dress falls to the floor I pick up my pyjamas. Nathalie had picked out a loose, silky vest with matching shorts. The pale blue shining in the moonlight. White lace traced the edges of the pyjamas. I slipped the top on, it loosely covered my chest. "Nathalie..." I looked at the shorts on the bed. "You really don't have to worry about me... I think the roses just scratched my throat a little." I murmur as I lift the shorts from the bed.
"I can't help worrying, you mean a lot to me." she responds, still facing away from me.
But not enough...
I slip the loose shorts over my hips, they hardly stayed at my waist. I looked at Nathalie, her back facing me. I gently tugged at her bun and watched it fall down her back. Her head whipped around to face me.
I leant close, our foreheads pressing together. I closed my eyes as Nathalie pulled me into a tight embrace. My chin resting on her shoulder. My arms limply wrapped around her. Her hands held me close as we stood in silence. Her hot breath blowing against my neck.
"I'm tired.." I mumbled, pulling Nathalie onto my bed suddenly, the net draped above us, it swayed as the mattress creaked. My star-shaped fairy lights lighting up my face as she looked at me. The purple light of the night sky reflected in her crystal, blue eyes. I gazed up at her. "Stay here tonight.. please.." I said, my arms sliding to her shoulders. Her glasses slowly reaching the tip of her nose.
"Okay, but just tonight." She smiles softly and rolls to the side of the bed. "I'll go get something to sleep in." She says, sitting up.
"I don't want you making yourself worse, take something from my wardrobe." I look at her long hair as she turns to me.
"Thank you, but I'm feeling well enough to go to my own room."
"Last time you said that you started coughing." I insist, sitting up, staring into her eyes.
"fine, I'll use some of yours." she pouts at me before sliding from the bed.
I spun myself around, looking out to Paris through the blue net. I watched the clouds crawl across the starry sky, the only sound was the rustling of clothes. The moon shun brightly through the window as I flopped onto my front. Burying my face from the beautiful view of the city. My fingers spreading as my arms sprawled across my pillow.
I felt a weight hit the bed as Nathalie threw herself beside me. I flopped onto my back, my hands resting against the blue satin across my stomach. I stared up at the silver, metal hoop that held my blue net around my bed. It's shiny surface reflecting the elegant moon.
The white moonlight taking on the pale blue hue of the satin fabric, surrounding my bed. It slipped through the glass that surrounded our tired bodies. My fingers curled against the fabric as I stared up, the moonlight grazing my eyelashes.
Nathalie's glasses basked in the light that hit my bedside table, along with a hair band and a pale vase of blue peonies. I gazed at the glasses, the feeling of longing invading my chest. My lungs tightening.
Nathalie's fingers curled into my pillow as her hair draped across her cheek. The red streak looked closer to pink under the starry night sky, and fell like a waterfall of wine. Her body scrunched up beneath the covers as her breathing relaxed. The cool air of the night soon heating up as my eyes began to tingle. Sleep almost taking over my tired gaze.
The dark pyjamas she had borrowed loosely hung from her shoulders as she fell into the blissful arms of sleep. I looked at her tired face as she slowly closed her eyes. My lips parting as a thought crossed my mind.
I quickly shut my mouth, my teeth crashing together. I pressed my lips together firmly as my gaze slid back to the silver ring. The room lit only by the light of the moon. I felt the painful tingle of my throat fade away as my eyes tenderly closed. Everything fading to black as I fell into the land of dreams.