Chapter 19: Chapter 19

ROYCE

Nelina was stunned by what I did; we locked stare once more. To my surprise, she wasn't mad nor even annoyed. I softly rubbed her temple; she closed her eyes like it was a relief from her pain. "Nelly, let's get back to my quarter; you can rest well there. We can talk if you want to," I said, rubbing her temple.

She slowly opened her eyes and nodded at me. She hasn't spoken yet since the time I saved her. I feel guilty for probably taking things too fast for her. It wasn't the right way to overcome someone else's fear. "Wait here," I nodded and hurriedly stepped out from the car to open her door.

"Let me help you," I said as I bent over and helped her get out of the car. I held her hand in my right hand while shutting the door behind me with my left hand.

"It's gonna be okay," I whispered in her ear. Transferring my right hand to her waist to assist her while the other is in her arm. I'm trying to make her feel secure in every way possible. The walk to my quarter was quiet until I sat her down on the sofa.

"Nelly, can I get you something? Do you want a drink?" I said, slightly squeezing her hands.

"Just water," she said as she bowed down, looking at our hands. Her cheeks flushed again as it quickly did. I didn't know if it was due to the thick racing suit or the fact we were so close to each other, holding hands.

"I'll get you water but first. Would you like to change your suit? It's too thick; you need a breathable dress to help you cool down a bit. You are bathing with your own sweat," I said, wiping her sweat slowly dripping in her temple.

She nodded. "I'll change," Nelly said as she stood up and headed to the walk-in closet.

I got her cold water on the table when she was out of the walk-in closet. Wearing her white polo shirt and faded ripped blue jeans.

"Here's your water." She grabbed the glass of water from the center table and then sat a distance from me.

"You should drink more; you're sweating a lot. I'll lower down the AC here to help you cool down," I said, grabbed the AC remote, and switched down the temperature.

I drew nearer and sat close to her. "Do you want more water?" I said as I took the glass from her hand to replenish it.

"No more. Thank you," Nelly said, rubbing her hands together.

I took a tissue on the side table and then held her hands to wipe the moisture from the glass of water. "Your hands are cold."

"The glass of water, it's cold, that's why."

I placed the used tissue on the center table and held her hand again. "Nelly, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. We could have done this a little bit slow. I'm taking all the responsibility."

"No. Don't blame yourself. You're right; I badly need to overcome this fear. I feel like this anxiety controls my life. Some things might be better; I missed many opportunities because I always think of my past. I wish I could just sleep with it, and then the next day, it's all gone. But no. I'm still living in my past. I'm scared of things. I'm scared of..." she paused and looked away, avoiding my eyes. She pulled her hands and rubbed them again.

"Nelly, what are you scared of?" I asked, looking at her head bowed down. She was silent, looking at her lap. I didn't wait for an answer and lifted her chin, meeting my eyes. "Don't be; I'm here for you."

"You don't know me; you won't understand. My life is a mess. You'll never want to get entangled with my messy life," she said, fighting back her tears forming in her eyes.

I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arms around her. No protest on her side, she leaned her head on my shoulder. She was quiet for a few seconds until I heard sobbing. I slowly stroked her back to let her out all the pain she had inside. "Let it go, Nelly. It's okay, it's gonna be okay. I'm here."

"I'm trying to be strong for mom and dad. I thought I made it. But still, I am weak," Nelly cried; her voice was brittle halfway through.

"Hush, don't say that; the fact that you've made it this far proved that you are strong. That anxiety is normal, but you can defeat that. I can help you. You don't have to keep this to yourself. The more you suppress it, the more it gets worse."

She wrapped her arms around me until it was tighter enough that her soft chest touched my ribs. As she was sobbing, her chest pressed in my ribs even more. I was only wearing my shirt because I had pulled down my racing suit on my waist. My body heats up, thinking of the soft part that touched my ribs. It was hard to control myself, but I had to think of Nelly's well-being first.

We stayed in this way for a couple of minutes. She was silent and only sobbed a few. "Nelly, would you like to lay down and rest?" I said as I continued caressing her back.

She loosened her arms around me, so I pulled her away from me, searching to meet her eyes when her face was near mine. I wiped the tears on her face and trailed my fingers on her soft cheek; she didn't protest. She even placed her hand on top of mine. "Do you want to lay down, or do you want me to get you home?"

"Royce, I wanna go home now."

"Sure, if that's what you want. I'll just have to take this off," I said, pointing at my racing suit. "You sit here; give me a minute."

She nodded and settled on the couch, her back on it.

I checked on my closet, and my eyes landed on my white polo shirt. An idea came to mind, so I decided to pair them with faded blue ripped jeans, the same color as Nellys. I smiled at my thoughts that we're like a couple. Nelly shifted in my direction when I stepped out of the walk-in closet. She frowned. She must have noticed the shirt and jeans I wore were matching hers. I winked at her, showing my wicked smirk. She nodded no but didn't show a trace of annoyance on her face.

I drew nearer and held out the towel I got from my closet. "Let me put this on your back to help you dry your sweat."

She was slightly hesitant, probably that I would fully view her sexy back. I showed her my wicked smirk. Nelly rolled her eyes, but she allowed me to put the towel on her back. "Sexy Back," I complimented.

"Stop it," she reprimanded me, but I heard a giggle in the end.

I feel lonely on our way to Nelly's condo, thinking we will part ways. We're not even close yet. How I wish we could still be in each other's arms for the rest of the day. However, recalling what had happened in my quarter brought back a smile on my lips.

"Nelly, I still want to show you my collection of cars. Would you consider going to my place next weekend?" I said, glancing sideways.

"Let me see, I have to check my schedule. If it's favorable for me, I'll go," Nelly said and then pressed a thin lip smile when I shifted back to her.

"Good enough, at least I have something to look forward to."

We were five minutes close to GRAND VILLA RESIDENCES when her phone rang. Upon looking at her phone, Nelina immediately swiped the screen on her phone to answer. "Hello, Marie? What's up?"

Nelina paused and listened to the other line as she did not put the call on speaker mode. I knew that it was her best friend. I also hinted that the woman was asking how our date went. Nelina told her best friend how she was mesmerized looking back at the racing field after two years of not visiting the place. But she refused to mention to her best friend her anxiety attack. She told her that we were on our way home a little earlier than expected.

The phone call ended, but Nelina didn't utter a word with me until we reached the GRAND VILLA. "Nelly, I want to talk to you first," I said as we unbuckled my seatbelt.

She shifted in my direction, our eyes met. I drew nearer to her and held her hands, still locking my gaze at her. "Hey, I understand that this is hard for you. But, know that I am here," I said as I trailed my fingers on her cheek.

"Royce, you're confusing me," she said in a conviction. "I told you, you don't wanna get entangled in my messy life," she added, shutting her eyes.

"Nelina, don't make assumptions that people will never like you. No one will ever want to be with you because you think you're in hell. If only you could see through my eyes. Trust me, I understand your fears. I don't ask too much. We can just hang around and enjoy each other's company if that's comfortable with you."

Something tells me that I needed to tuck her hair into her ears and watch her beautiful face as her eyes were still shut. I didn't ask permission when I leaned over and kissed her forehead. Nelly slowly opened her eyes; they sparkled. This time something has passed between us again, attraction.