Chapter 45: Chapter 45

When I went back to Atham City, I knew there was no point in staying since the reason I’d gone there in the first place had turned out fruitless. Emrys had come to see me one last time to ask for forgiveness but I refused to talk to him when I knew I would turn into a crying mess if I looked into the eyes of the man that broke my heart.

It was good to know that Brielle had beat him up for me as much a pregnant woman could and apologized for shipping me with her “dick of a brother” in her words. She even begged me to stay until she gave birth but I couldn’t no matter how much I considered it and promised instead to come visit her the moment she had her child. She was okay with that.

Hiro knew I was going back to Westhaven since she was one of the first people, I told and she was okay with it considering she had also decided to stay in Qethen with Milo. I knew I was going to miss her especially when we had just started getting closer.

Havana and Valparaiso would have come back with me but we had no idea how to explain to our parents that their dead children were suddenly alive so they decided to stay back in Qethen. I felt a little bad since I had wanted to salvage the moments, I had missed with them but I understood the reason for their decision.

Then Leon…well, he was adamant on not going back with me. He was so sure he couldn’t do it and as much as it hurt me, I knew there was no way I could change his mind when its set on something.

As for Ryker, let’s say he was the least excited when I told him I was leaving. He didn’t tell me outrightly but I could feel it especially since he refused to see me off on my way to the airport. I had the good sense to not leave without talking to him so instead of going to the airport like I’d said, I found myself in his house.

Linn was the one that opened the door when I rang the doorbell. She gave me this look as though she didn’t remember who I was then it clicked and opened it wider for me to come in.

“Where is Ryker?” I asked not wanting to waste more time as I was already late. She it her lower lip and glanced towards a door. “He’s there, isn’t he?”

“Remember I said nothing,” she said with a casual shrug as she walked upstairs to do whatever it was teenagers did when they weren’t at school.

I kept looking at her until she was out of sight and walked through the door that led to

Ryker’s favorite room in their entire house. He wasn’t hard to find since he was sitting on the floor arranging and rearranging things all over the place.

“You know, I’m disappointed you didn’t see me off simply because you want to have your ‘I’m the neatest guy in the world’ moment.”

He looked up and his frown deepened. “What are you doing here?”

I crossed my arms and sat on the floor, Indian-style, beside him. “Is that the right way to greet your friend who abandoned her flight just to see you?”

“You didn’t have to come,” he said with a shrug and went back to arranging the vintage records he was piling up.

“I don’t get why you’re being this way about it. You know well why I think it’s necessary to go back. I had a life before I came here, you know?”

“I’m not stopping you.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not an inconsiderate person and you clearly aren’t happy that I’m going so we have to talk about this before I leave.” He didn’t say anything. “Stop shutting me out, Ry.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, well, I shut everybody out. Don’t take it personally. It’s just easier.” “Can you just say this so we can talk about this really?” I pleaded.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked, finally looking up at me.

“I know why you don’t want me to leave and I want to tell you that you can stand on your own. You don’t need me.”

His voice cracked slightly as he asked, “What if I do?”

“I’m serious, Ry, you don’t. You are a great person on your own and you don’t need people’s validations or presence to make you shine,” I said with a soft smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes, you meet people because they come to help you find yourself. That was all I did.”

“I’m going to miss you,” he said with a sad sigh. “You gave me a life. I needed someone to talk to, someone that would actually listen, and without knowing, you became that person. I…I really needed it.”

“Phones were created for a reason. We will have a lot of time to talk and I can visit you guys whenever. I promise you that.”

“I feel like I should just carry a bomb with me on a plane and detonate it on Westhaven after kidnapping you so you can move to Atham City forever.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s extremely illegal,” I said with a worried look.

“Not in some countries,” Ryker said with a shrug. “Let’s just pretend we’re there.”

I smacked his head. “How many times to I have to tell you that Western Sahara doesn’t count?”

“It was worth a shot,” he said with a chuckle. “Do you need someone to follow you the airport?”

“I do need a ride.”

And that was how, I settled everything with Ryker and out of the kindness of his heart, even though he refused to believe that, he drove me to the airport. The car ride was just what I needed as we talked about a lot of things. Ryker was still the same person he had always been who minced words but I felt it was enough.

When we got to the airport, he refused to open up the doors because he wasn’t still sure he wanted to let me go. It took me about ten minutes to talk him out of his daze which I was already late for my flight. It was literally the last call for my flight.

“Flight AD3204 Atham City to Westhaven, this is your last call. Flight AD3204 Atham City to Westhaven, this is your last call.”

I didn’t think I’d be able to make it but it seemed like luck was on my side when the flight was delayed for fifteen minutes. With that little incident, I was able to get myself checked in before the flight began. I didn’t have time to call anyone since I was in such a hurry but I managed to send a quick text to Brielle which I thought was enough.

Settled in my seat, I stared out the window and sighed. The feelings were different. I had no idea this was how everything was going to turn out. If anyone had told me when I was leaving for Atham City that I would return, I would have laughed in their face. Now, I felt like I had simply deceived myself and was learning the biggest lesson in my life.

At first, I wasn’t super sure but I was ready to go back.

***

The moment my flight landed; I sent another quick text to Brielle to let her know that it was a safe flight. I called for an Uber to take me back home and decided to inform Teagan of my arrival while in the car.

She picked on the fourth call.

“Sorry I haven’t been picking your calls. Miss Small has been on my neck ever since she

found out that you aren’t there to listen to her deepest desire for the perfect wedding,” Teagan said with a groan and I chuckled.

Miss Small was one of our constant customers and I knew how unbearable she was. She got married almost every year and was always so sure that he was the right one so the wedding had to be perfect. It was just her luck that she always scored the richest men. How they fell in love with her despite all her previous marriages was beyond me.

“Isn’t this like her seventh wedding?” I asked with another chuckle when Teagan kept on complaining about her lack of patience.

“It’s actually her ninth wedding but she told me that she’s sure he’s the one and it has to be perfect,” Teagan said and I could just imagine her rolling her eyes.

I laughed. “That is what she says every year. You just have to be used to it.”

Teagan joined in my laughter. “I’ll assume you didn’t call me to hear me complain about the stress I’m going through.”

“Not exactly,” I said with a sigh. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m back in Westhaven but I still need like a week off to regain myself.”

“I take it your escapade in Atham City didn’t turn out well.”

“You can say that again,” I said with a deep sigh, “but on the bright side, I have more time to take care of my work and everything else.”

Teagan was quiet for a while and I was about to check if she’d hung up on me when she said. “I know we’re not friends and you’ve never liked me but can I say something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“When you said you were leaving for a year, I was actually happy for you because, despite how I behave around you, I look up to you. You’re the kind of woman any girl would want to be and any man would love to date.”

“Thank you but where is this coming from?”

“Just hear me out.” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “You work too much and it’s not healthy because you don’t really build the relationships around you. The only time you’re not working, you’re stuck in a fairytale dream of what you want your life to be when it shouldn’t be that way.

She sighed. “I really do like Leon and you know that. Hell, everyone does but he wouldn’t be happy with me no matter how much I want him. He’s going to be miserable without you because you’re all he’s ever seen and all he’s ever wanted. He needs you. Scratch that, you need him.

“The reason I never liked you wasn’t because Leon did. It was because you were too blind to see that his world revolved around you. And when I heard you left Westhaven to find love, I wondered why you were looking for something that you had always had. I thought immediately that you were greedy. It didn’t dawn on me that, for some reason, you just couldn’t see it.

“I know you might not listen to me because we’re not friends but please, I’m literally begging you, don’t break Leon’s heart. He’s a great person and even though he might not be the kind of guy you’re looking for; Leon is the kind of guy you need. Trust me on that.”

I was stunned into silence because she was literally the least person, I expected it from. I mean, everyone had said thing similar to what she said but Teagan wasn’t someone I thought would want me with Leon. I even thought she would do anything to fight it.

“T-Thank you, I guess?” I said not even sire what to say anymore. “How long have you known he, um, liked me?”

“Ever since the day I met both of you and tried to flirt with him,” she said with a humorless chuckled. “Oh, and Paris?”

“Yeah?”

“I never knew he liked you. I knew he loved you. He still does.” “He never stared at me with love like they do in the movies.”

I knew it was silly to base my life on what I saw in movies but I wanted that for myself. I wanted to love and be loved. A love that would sweep me off my feet and leave me begging for more. I craved that. I craved all of it.

“What if he stares at you every time you look away because he’s scared to see how you’ll react if you find him staring.”

Teagan’s reply had me thinking and I knew the possibilities were beyond something I could imagine. She was right and I knew it but I also knew that there was nothing I could do at that point. It would take a lot for me to let a guy in after Emrys.

“Thank you for this call, Tee I guess…I actually needed this. Thank you.” “No problem. Just know that friends or not, I have your back.”

“And I have yours.”

With that, she hung up and I leaned in the seat waiting for the car to stop in front of my house which happened in less than five minutes after the call. I paid the driver and got out of the car with a sigh and my bags in my hands. I saw Leon’s other car parked there and I couldn’t help the sigh. I was going to miss him.

I opened the door to the house after struggling to get the key out of my handbag and sighed the moment I got in. The house was so empty without Leon and I couldn’t help but let my mind wander to the possibilities of what Leon was doing in Qethen.

I knew he was miles away but there I was still holding him close to my heart.

I shook my head and walked further inside to get my things upstairs when I heard a crash sound come from the kitchen. I took a deep breath in and reminded myself of the first rule in a robbery: do not panic.

With that in mind, I picked up a vase and slowly walked to kitchen so as not to make any sound that would alert the criminal of my presence. The moment I got to the kitchen, I made to hit the criminal with the vase until I realized who it was.

“LEON?!” I shouted and he turned to look at me with wide eyes, dropping the saucepan on the floor in shock. “W-What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean by that? I live here. What else would I be doing here?” he asked me with a raised brow.

“But you said…”

He sighed. “I can’t let you go, Paris. I just can’t. I’m okay with being just your friend if it means that I don’t lose you.”

I smiled and pulled him into a hug after placing the vase on the kitchen table. “You never lost me. You never will.”

When he pulled away, Leon looked at me with hope filled eyes. His dark hair was still a mess as always, but under the florescent light, he looked more handsome than he had ever been. He sighed again. “So, I guess I'm asking you to trust that I won't break your heart.”

I was about to say something when my curse of a stomach decided to react to the goodness of the moment as always. I had forgotten to ask Havana what the cure was and now, it decided to destroy me. I couldn’t help the bloodcurdling scream that left my lips.

“What is it?” Leon asked with the most panicked look I’d ever seen on his face. “My stomach hurts!” I cried.

“Just take a deep breath or something!”

“TAKE A DEEP BREATH?! It feels like my insides are being RIPPED OUT!”

Leon looked like he didn’t know what to do as he lifted my blouse up. His eyes widened and I thought I had a cut but when I looked at it, it looked normal to me. “You told me you were okay. You promised!”

I clutched my stomach fighting the tears that threatened to fall. “But I didn’t want you to worry about me. I can handle myself.”

“How long have you been covering this?” “Since the kidnap.”

He raked his hands through his hair and began to pace before stopping and placing his hands on me, shaking my entire body. “Why did you lie to me? We could have prevented it from getting worse together! If you didn’t want to be a burden, you should have at least gotten it treated.”

“I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“You didn’t think it was that bad? Are you looking at it?!” “It looks okay to me.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

I rolled my eyes as he went into Papa Bear mode and pulled myself out of his tight grip since it wasn’t really helping the pain, I was in. “I’m fine.”

“You are not fine.” Then he muttered something that sounded almost exactly like, “Humans will never understand.”

Leon took my hand and kissed my fingertips. At first, I didn’t understand why he did that but a cool feeling spread throughout my body and to the pits of my stomach. I suddenly felt limp and before I fell, Leon caught me and pulled me into his body that exuded warmth onto mine.

“You’ll be fine. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”