Happy summer~ My apologies for the late update; I just started a second job and I've been getting into the swing of things. I wrote this chapter AT one of my jobs as I thought it had been too long since I updated.
It's a bit of a shorter chapter than the first five, but nevertheless I hope you enjoy it!
Raeger stopped humming, looking down at the girl curled up against his chest. Annie's face was still wet from crying, and he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, ignoring the damp spots she had left on his shirt. He listened to her steady breathing which told him she had stopped crying and fallen asleep. Moonlight spilled in through the window panes, catching in her golden hair and turning it silver. When he breathed in, the calming scent of lavender from her shampoo filled his nose, and he was struggling to stay awake.
It would be easy to just fall asleep in her bed with her, warm and comfortable. He had done so before, in his bed, anyway. But they had both been drunk then, and there hadn't been much thinking involved. Now, while he was sober and looking down at the beautiful girl in his arms, he found himself wishing he could stay; But he wasn't sure how she would react to waking up to him still here, uninvited. Certainly she'd had enough surprises for one day.
Besides, he knew he should stop his affectionate behavior around her. Holding her, letting her cry against his chest, protecting her... Those were things a boyfriend would do for her, and he was uncomfortable with the idea of opening himself up to that kind of relationship with her. Even if she were up for starting something like that - which he doubted, based on her behavior toward him that evening - she didn't know how deep the scars ran from the times he had lost nearly everyone he had been close to. His mother, father and grandparents had all passed away. He had no siblings. The only serious relationship he'd been in had ended when she decided that she needed to focus on school, and couldn't give him the attention needed to maintain a relationship.
Raeger usually felt distant from other people as a result, and while he still ran his grandfather's restaurant and handled social situations normally, he just couldn't bring himself to start a relationship with someone. He went on dates, sure, but he never allowed for a deep connection to form between himself and another person.
He knew the pain of losing someone you love, and even the longing he felt when he was near Annie wasn't quite enough to change his mind; And so, he gently removed her from his arms, placing her on the bed. He ignored the way his heart beat erratically and his cheeks scorched, and he left her, safe and sound. As he let his gaze sweep over her one last time before he left, he wondered how a person could look so much like an angel.
Annie wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, admiring the smooth, brushed coat of Hanako. She felt guilty for neglecting her animals while injured, so she made a morning of giving them proper attention, and spending extra time with them. She was grateful to Raeger for caring for them, but she just didn't feel like a farmer if she wasn't the one taking care of her own livestock. She wondered how Elise, the richest farmer in town, could call herself a farmer while she had servants to do all her work.
She sat on the milking stool beside Hanako, and rested her cheek on the cow's broad shoulder. "You forgive me, don't you?" She asked the bovine, scratching affectionately on the top of her head. She let out a low moo, followed by a snort and a tail flick, and Annie smiled, rubbing her hand over the soft, short fur.
The crunching of footsteps on the dirt path outside perked her up, and she stood from the stool. She found herself hoping her visitor was Raeger; Her cheeks flared as she recalled the way he'd held her the night before. He must have left sometime in the night though, because she woke around 6:00am and he'd been gone, leaving only a trace of the enticing scent of his cologne on her pillow.
Upon exiting the barn, she saw Fritz raising a hand to knock on the front door to her house. She called his name, and he turned, startled. To her surprise, he smiled at her.
"Annie! I wanted to talk to you!" He shouted, although there was only a few metres between them as she made her way over to him, hopping the pasture fence.
"Sure, come on in," she waved for him to follow her inside the house.
Fritz perched himself on the edge of one of her kitchen chairs. She poured two mugs of coffee, bringing them and a jar of sugar over; she knew he dumped sugar in his, and didn't care to try to figure out how much. She doubted he knew how much.
"I just wanted you to know I'm not mad at you. I mean, I thought I was at first, but I'm actually pretty happy." Fritz beamed at her while pouring sugar into his coffee.
Annie cocked an eyebrow. "I'm glad, but why's that?"
Fritz took a swig of his coffee, apparently not bothered by the heat of the drink. "'Cause Raeger's my best friend, and he gets to be with you! And that's awesome, 'cause you're pretty amazing." His eyes were wide with happiness, showing no trace of the sadness she had seen when she rejected him.
"Wha- No, no, we aren't together, Fritz," Annie said, laughing nervously.
Fritz looked at her, his eyes wide. "Why not? You like him, don't you?"
"I do," she answered, beginning to regret telling him about her feelings for Raeger.
"Well there ya go!" He grinned again, then slammed back the rest of his coffee. He stood and babbled 'goodbye's and 'thank you's for the coffee while Annie tried, unsuccessfully, to talk over him and explain that they definitely were not together. Giving up as he flung her door open to leave, she got up and shut it behind him.
Annie sighed. Just being around Fritz' energetic personality wore her out; She didn't know where he got his energy from. Guess opposites really do attract, she mused, thinking of the contrast between his personality and that of his best friend, Raeger, who was calm but still friendly.
I still haven't thanked him, she realized, remembering how he had punched a man in the face to protect her. She also remembered how those same hands had felt as they gently rubbed her back, and felt her cheeks heat up.
She shook it off, and grabbed her rucksack.
It was another beautiful day; The sun shone warmly on Annie's back as she made her way to the west part of the town square, toward Raeger's restaurant. As she put a foot on the steps in front of the building and began to reach for the door, she felt her heartbeat speed up. She hoped things were okay between them now, and that he wasn't still angry at her for pretending to be injured longer than she was. She assumed he was over it from the way he'd tenderly held her the night before.
As her hand made contact with the handle, the door flew open, surprising her, and she stumbled backward to avoid taking it straight to the face. Fritz stood in the doorway.
"Oh, uh... Sorry, Annie!" He stuttered apologies until she held up a hand to stop him, saying it was alright. She paused. Fritz was staring at her, looking nervous.
"You okay?" She asked him suspiciously.
"Yup!" He said too loudly. "Er - gotta go. See ya!" He sneaked a quick glance to the restaurant, looking panicked, then gave her a lopsided grin before rushing past her.
Annie watched him go, amused. He could be so quirky. She turned back to the restaurant door and went in.
Raeger was at the front as usual, wiping down the counter between customers. Two girls sat at a table in a corner, but besides that it was empty. The chef's hair had grown a bit long, and a few strands hung over his eyes as he looked down behind the counter. He glanced up with a smile as she came up to the counter. His smile widened a bit when he recognized her, and she found herself grinning back at him.
"Hi," she chirped, sitting across the counter from him.
"Hi," he mimicked her. Annie noticed a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"So," she began. She opened her mouth to thank him for helping her the night before, when he interrupted.
"So I hear you like me."
Annie stared at him as he continued smiling at her, still looking amused. Her mouth hung open as she tried to process what he had just said. There was no way he could know how she felt. Was there?
She snapped her mouth shut and cleared her throat nervously before replying. "Of course I do. You've been a great friend to me."
Raeger was obviously biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. "Ah, that isn't what it sounded like though."
She stared at him. "What are you talking about?"
He nodded toward the door. "Fritz came by."
Suddenly she realized why Fritz had been acting so nervous when she had bumped into him outside the restaurant - he had blabbered to Raeger about her feelings for him! She shoved thoughts of pushing Fritz into a pile of manure to the back of her mind, and tried to think of a way to defuse the bomb he had set.
"Oh, I-I don't... He's been weird today. Yeah. Hah. I d-don't..." Annie said, flustered. She knew her cheeks must have been bright as cherries.
He laughed softly, and she attempted to glower at him, though it was difficult when his face was so handsome when he laughed.
"Fritz doesn't know what he's talking about." She stated stubbornly.
"Be that as it may, I think he did today, actually." Raeger leaned forward against the counter, smirking at her. "You looove me, eh?"
She could have smacked him. "I do not."
He only laughed harder at her response. He grabbed a paring knife and slid it across to her. "Here, you can carve our initials into one of the tables - I won't tell the owner," he teased, winking at her. He reached out a hand toward her - to grab her hand?
Annie stood abruptly, shoving herself away from the counter, and Raeger. She spun and walked toward the door, all thoughts of thanking him gone.
"Hey, wait, Annie!" He called after her, but there was still laughter in his voice.
She looked over her shoulder, turning slightly so she could glare at him. "No wonder you're single. You don't have to be such an asshole," she spat, then left despite hearing him call out her name again, letting the door slam shut behind her.