A/N: Two updates in one week? I must be in a pretty damn well mood. It's 3.15 AM, where I'm at right not so it's safe to say I'm beat. But I really hope you enjoy this chap. Keep on reviewing and see you next time.
The days after our little poetry-night went by magnificently. Our connection was getting stronger and purer by the day. I only saw her on two occasions though. In English Lit and in the hallways when we'd decide it was time to have a little confrontation again. I was getting better and better into understanding the poems. I used to be so superficial when it came to them, pretty much like everything else in my whole life I guess. But Alex had taught me to read in between the lines and I soon found myself finding deeper meanings into everything. And I'm not just within the countless poetic words. I still had no idea what she was to me. But she defiantly started to shape into a very important 'something'. Our confrontations where more fuelled then ever. We called out the best lines, and just when one of us thought they'd won the other would come with a dazzling comeback. In the end, no matter who'd won or lost, we'd both leave with a huge grins on our faces. Perfectly civil in the classroom, yet so hostile in the décor of the hallways. And I loved it.
The last three days, I loved less. She was absent, three days in a row. Nothing heard from her. English Lit was beyond boring. Suddenly analyzing poems wasn't that engrossing anymore. The hallways I just tried to avoid. Go to locker, pick books, go to classroom, end class, return books in locker and leave the hell out of there. It was only then that I realised how drastically my life changed over the last few weeks. I used to need her for that war of words once a week, just so that I could feel good. I couldn't care less about the rest. Now I find myself craving her and finding my life mind-numbing without her. Even if we didn't saw each other all that much, just the thought that she was in the same building as my soothed my mind. At first I thought that she was probably just a little sick or she simply didn't feel like going to school so she ditched a day. But three days in a row? Though she'll probably never admit it, I know she enjoys going to school. I used to assume that she was probably one of those brainless badasses but she proved me wrong on so many levels. As her intelligence seemed to stretch so much further than mine.
The fact that she didn't come the last few days meant that something was wrong, and I wanted to know exactly what. That's why I was in her building, in front of her door actually, standing here for the last ten minutes urging myself to knock on the damn piece of wood already. One, two, three gentle knocks on the door. One knock for every day she missed, everyday I missed her.
I heard some faint noises on the other side of the door, first of footsteps then of fiddling with the locks. And the door swung open.
"Paige?" she asked surprised
She looked like hell. Black eye, busted lip, and a slightly swollen cheek. Something was up alright. Incapable of forming any coherent sentences and without even thinking, I shifted my hand to her cheek and carefully stroked the bruised marks. I felt her lean into the touch and her eyes fluttered for a brief moment, letting her guard down before harshly snapping back into reality and griping my wrist of off her face.
"Where the hell did you get this address from?" she snapped harshly.
"I … Ms. Hatzilakos gave it to me. I tricked her in to giving it to me so we could work for our assignment." I let out hesitantly, my eyes never leaving her battered face.
"Well, don't worry Princess. I'm gonna give you my part, no need to worry about your perfect GPA." she said in her ever sarcastic mood.
"Like I said: I tricked her. I didn't came down here for that."
"Then why did you?" she grunted.
"Cause I was worried about you." I said truthfully.
"Yeah right." She chuckled.
"I was, okay. And seems I had a right to be."
"Look, nobody's worried about me okay?" she hissed as she glared me in the eye.
"Alex, that isn't true. I wouldn't be here if it were." I said.
She stared down for a second, crossing her arms over her chest. Only to gaze back at me again, with fire-filled eyes.
"Two years ago, I didn't go to school for three weeks. I had three broken ribs, a broken nose and a concussion. Nobody came to see me in the hospital and nobody came to see when I was at home. Not even a call. And when I went back to school, nobody was there to tell me where I was or how I was doing. Nobody even noticed my absence. Where the hell were you then, huh." She whispered in an iced voice. Angered eyes, never leaving mine.
Those words were painful to hear. Cause they were painfully true. Truth hurts. And it hurt badly.
"Two years ago, I was a moron who cared more about her clothing than the sake of any human being. I'm not that moron anymore." I said sincerly
"Than who are you?" she asked, voice slightly croaked.
"I'm a moron who cares about you."
I raise my hand to her face again. Gently tracing a line from under her eye, over her cheek and alongside her busted lip. She didn't lean into my touch this time, but she didn't back away neither.
"Who did this to you?" I whispered.
"Look, it's no big deal. I was planning on going back to school tomorrow so .." she said as she softly lowered my hand from her face.
"Alex, have you looked at yourself? I do think it's a big deal okay." I said worriedly.
"I don't want to talk about it. You should go home okay. We'll work on our assignment in class." She said as she slowly retrieved from the hallway.
"I'm not leaving you here." I said while crossing my arms
"What? I live here, you got no choice."
"Yes, I do. You're going to come with me."
"No, I'm going to stay here I'm not going anywhere, okay." She said annoyed.
"Okay. Then I'm staying too." I shrugged.
"What?" she asked in disbelief.
"If you're staying here, I'm staying with you. Either way, I'm not leaving you alone."
"You can't stay here. You have no idea- .. You can't stay here, okay?" she said, the ast part being barely audible.
"Then come with me." I whispered soothingly.
I left her no choice. And I knew, for some reason I might not want to know immediately, she was never going to let me stay here. She brought her hand into her tousled hair, before letting out a loud groan.
"Fine. Let me just get some stuff."
I smiled slyly and followed her into her living room, and further into her bedroom. Her bedroom was nothing like mine, that's sure. Whereas mine was pinkish and filled with kitsch, hers was dark and extremely simplified. Her bed was unmade which led me to think that she was sleeping until I spotted an opened book with the cover up. She was reading. I inched closer to the bed to take a quick glance at the cover, trying hard not to look like a nosey person, when in reality I was one of the worst.
'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho, it read. It was one of those titles you'd heard about in class. You know, those books teachers would rave about and ensure us it would boggle our minds if we read it. Off course we all would think the teacher was mad. I mean, who reads books titled 'The Alchemist' out of own interest? Well, nobody. Nobody except Alex it seemed.
I glanced back up and I found Alex frantically searching through her drawers. I leave her doing her thing and take the chance to take a further glance of the room. There was a bookshelf in one corner of the room, filled with dozens and dozens of books. Large books, booklets, magazines, every thing you could possible read was cramped in that small space. Needless to say, Alex liked reading. I looked a little further and found another intriguing piece in the room. No reading-material this time. But an acoustic guitar. Alex played the guitar?
"I'm done. Can we leave now?" she said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I look at her hand and I find her barely holding her backpack. What was she looking for so long, only to leave with her backpack?
"Okay, we can take my car."
She nods, and steps out of the bedroom. I follow her as she was about to open the door.
"Aren't you going to leave a note?" I asked innocently.
"Like they'd notice I'm even gone." She muttered bitterly under her breath.
"Do you wanna eat something? I make excellent microwave-meals." I said in a sing-song.
"No, I'm not really hungry." She said expressionless.
"Okay. Do you want to catch a movie then. I got some very cheesy dvd's if you like?" I chuckled.
"No, not really in the mood."
"Do you want talk about it," I asked more hesitantly.
"No … Not now." She said while fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
"Okay." I said with a sly smile, happy about the second part of the sentence. Well yeah, 'happy'. I'd probably not be too happy about the continence of it.
"Would you mind if I just went to sleep a little early. I'm just really tired right know, I haven't really slept the last few days." She asked
"No, I'm okay with it. Actually, I think I'm going to hit the sack too. I'm pretty much beat myself."
"Okay, um I'm going to sleep on the floor." She said while motioning to the ground.
"Alex, you're not going to sleep on the floor." I chuckled.
"No really, it's cool. I'm okay with it."
"Alex, you're my guest. I'd be a terrible hostess if I let you sleep on that back-breaking floor. I'm gonna crash on the couch downstairs, you can take the bed."
"No, no, no! You take the bed, it's yours." She urged.
"Look, why don't we just both take the bed? It might be a little cramped, but it sure as hell will be more comfortable than the cold floor or the minuscule couch." I laughed.
"Okay." She let out shyly. This was a whole new Alex I saw in front of me. Unsure, fragile and very much breakable.
"Alex, you can relax you know. I'm not going to kill you if you breathe or whatever." I said, trying to lighten the mood.
She simply nodded as she went to sit on the edge of the bed. She looked terrible, really. Every movement and every word she let out was hollow. A zombie had nothing on her right now. I walked up to the bed and kneeled in front of her. Her eyes were piercing a hole through the floor. I doubted she even noticed me. I moved my hand up to her face again, and moved the auburn tresses from eyes to behind her ears. Her eyes were still fixated on the floor. I stand up head to the switch and turn the lights off. Dim light of the moon, peeked through the blinds and filled the room with a faint glow. I take her hand and lift her to her feet, in order to remove the sheets off properly. I tuck her in, like a mother would tuck her 5-year old child. I walk to my side of the bed and gently enter in between the freshly washed sheets.
She's trembling. She's trembling and her breathing was at anything but a normal pace. I shift closer, not sure whether I should take her out of bed and bring her to nearest by hospital, or simply be there for her. I realise, that no doctor in the world could possible help her at this very moment. What she needed was comfort. She needed to know, that somebody did care about her. And I was about to show her that. I moved as close as I could get. Her back was now into my front. Our bodies moulded in each other perfectly. I was spooning her, and God did it feel good. I swung my arm around her waist and threaded my fingers with hers. She didn't back away, nor did she lean into the touch. But it soothed her. Her breathing found a normal pace again and the tremble left her body. I grazed my thumb over the palm of her hand cradling her into sleep. Soon, I felt her heart-rhythm slow down and her body fall heavy into mine. I waited for a while until I was sure that she was sound asleep. I then leaned in and placed a kiss on the velvety skin of her shoulder, before snuggling into her even more. Lost in the scent of her skin and tangled in the beauty of her body, I followed her into a different world.