Chapter Thirty
We're not sleeping in the same bed. Hell, we're rarely in the same room. We're not touching or making love. We're not even talking. More or less, we're pretending the other doesn't exist.
It's been this way for almost a month, and I'm starting to miss him. I'm starting to miss the tender look in his eyes when he looks at me. I'm starting to miss his soft lips against mine and the way he radiates warmth. I'm starting to miss the way his arms feel around me, his laughter, his goofy grin, his wit. I'm starting to miss him so badly, and it's excruciating since we're in the same house. I don't know what to do about it, though. I can't just let everything go like he wants, and he's not willing to let me try to fix the situation at hand. He's not going to let me leave, and there's no way for me to just walk out, as has already been proven. We're at an impasse.
It gets to be too much one sleepless night. I'm in my bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about him. There's an ache in my stomach, and I recognize it as longing. I try to ignore it, but it just becomes all-consuming, and I know I have to do something about it. With a defeated growl, I throw the covers off of me and leave my room. I creep into his, but find it empty. I furrow my eyebrows and head downstairs. I peak down the hallway and see a light coming from underneath his office door. I frown, wondering why he's up so late.
Quietly, I walk down the hallway and gently push the door open. He's bent low over the papers on his desk, his hands clutching either side of his head. He doesn't hear me enter or notice as I cross the room. He finally looks up when I walking around his desk towards him. He frowns and sits back, turning his chair to face me.
"Iris, what-" He starts, but I press my fingers to his lips to silence him. I climb into his chair and straddle his lap. Burying my face in the crook of his neck, I wrap my arms around his middle and hug him tightly. After a moment of stunned silence, his arms snake around me just as tightly.
"I miss you," I mumble against his neck.
"I miss you too," he answers quietly.
"I want you to know that I want things between us to go back to normal. I want to continue on with the life we've been living, but-"
"-Let's not talk about this right now," he says, effectively cutting me off. I lean back to frown at him.
"Axel, we need to talk about this," I say intently.
"And we will…later. I just want to enjoy this moment," he replies just as intently.
"Okay," I say with a nod, resigning to at least give him that.
I don't know how it happened, but we ended up having sex that night. I hadn't intended to wind up back in his bed so quickly, but something just came over us. I suppose that's what happens when you go a month without even touching the person you love.
I wake up in his arms, his body heat making me uncomfortable. I shift out of his grasp and get out of bed. I pull on his boxers and shirt, give him a kiss on the cheek, and head downstairs for breakfast.
In the kitchen, Renton smiles at me and I return the gesture while pouring a bowl of cereal.
"Iris, a letter arrived in the post for you this morning," Renton tells me, grabbing an envelope off of the counter. I frown.
"A letter? From whom?" I ask, taking the letter from him. He shrugs and I can see why; there's no return address. "Thanks, Renton," I say and head into the dining room. I sit down and take a few bites of my cereal, staring at the envelope. I flip it over multiple times, looking for some hint of the sender, but it's a completely unremarkable envelope. Finally, I slit it open and pull out a single sheet of paper. I don't recognize the handwriting, and am beginning to think there's been some mistake until I read it:
Dear Princess,
I'm overstepping my boundaries by writing to you, and I'd probably pay with my life if this letter fell into the wrong hands. I'm tired of standing by, though, and if I'm going to risk my life for something, it needs to be something I believe in.
I have information I believe you'll find very interesting and possibly helpful. If you'd like to find out what, please meet me at the café on Main Street in Twilight Town on the 22nd of September at 3:00 p.m. I feel fairly certain you'll recognize me immediately, so I won't bother describing myself in here. I hope you'll come.
It's unsigned, but there's a post script.
Remember, you still have friends in high places.
I turn the letter over to make sure there's nothing else written and re-read the letter many times over. I have no idea who sent this or what they could possibly tell me, but a feeling in my gut tells me I need to find out.
Axel pulls me from my musings by entering the dining room. He kisses my cheek with a grin before sitting down opposite me.
"What's that?" he asks, motioning to the paper in my hands. I sigh, knowing this is unavoidable, so I hand it to him. His eyes scan it quickly, his expression blank. He sets it down when he's done. "Absolutely not," he says resolutely.
"What?" I ask loudly.
"There's no way. It's obviously a trap."
"A trap? Axel, come off it! They want to meet me in a public place in the middle of the day in the nicest town around. How can it possibly be a trap?" He bites his lip, obviously realizing I've made a good point.
"I-I don't know, but I don't like it," he says, and he almost sounds childish. I pinch the bridge of my nose.
"Axel, I just want to hear what this person has to say. You'd obviously be coming with me, so what's there to worry about?" I ask, forcing my voice to remain calm.
"Iris," he whines.
"Axel, please," I say, bringing my eyes up to stare into his pleadingly. He stares back, and I watch his gaze soften as his resolve falters. He sighs.
"Fine," he relents. I smile, reach across the table, and place a hand on his.
"Thank you," I say quietly.