Healed By Love

CHAPTER 42

AUDELIA'S POV

I let out a sigh at the sight of my dim room. The curtains are pulled close, not letting any light enter the room and submerging the entire room in a dull feeling. The usually soothing pitter patter of rain on my window sound depressing to my ears, causing me to dive deeper in my pool of sorrow.

At least, I am not the only one grieving this morning. Just like the dense clouds get saturated with droplets of water, I keep getting saturated with grief and similar to the raindrops that start falling on the ground, a lone tear escapes my eye, rolling down my cheek before getting absorbed in the covers pulled till my lips.

I take in a deep breath to push away the gnawing feeling but I am only hit by with another onslaught of emotions. My lower lip curls into my mouth as I try to pull myself together only to be unsuccessful as I feel tears pooling in my eyes.

I am momentarily pulled out of the whirlpool of conflicting emotions by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Unknowingly, I stop breathing, straining my ears to hear properly. I find myself fisting the cover around me as I realise that the footsteps are heading towards my room.

Just when the knob of the door is twisted, I pull the cover over my face completely, praying that the person walks away as soon as he takes the first step in the room. Apparently, it does not work since the door closes back but instead of hearing the footsteps retreating, they get closer in my bed's direction.

Trying my best to keep up the act of being asleep, I keep my breathing as normal as I can. After a moment of silence, I am nearly convinced that he is about to leave, given that he did not say anything or tried waking me up. Alas, he proves me wrong.

"I know you are not asleep, Smeraldo." The pounding of rain on my window accompanies Lorenzo's low voice.

I hold back from releasing a sigh and stay in my position. Even if I love having him around me, I keep hanging on to the thread of hope that he might leave because I don't want him to see this side of me- the vulnerable side.

I hear him release a sigh of his own and footsteps are heard in the room again. Instead of moving towards the door, they move closer to the side of the bed. The footsteps cease and I feel the bed dip behind me as he gets on the bed.

"Hey." His voice is low yet the usual edge around is has disappeared. It even sounds a little soft to my ears, evoking a weird, warm feeling inside me.

I feel the covers shift around me and rustle when he moves under them. The heat from his body engulfs the space immediately when he lies behind me with the front of his body pressed to my back. His one hand wraps around my waist in a protective manner, pulling me closer against him, causing our bodies to mould together.

"What happened?" He asks carefully. His free hand goes in my hair, stroking it gently, each brush of his fingers bringing a sense of comfort to me.

Wanting more of the support he provides, I thread my fingers with his that are on my stomach, clutching his hand closer to me. For some reason, he feels like an anchor in the real world, preventing me from spiralling down the pool of grief like I usually do.

Also, I don't know why but I am certain that if I ever do dive in too deep in the abyss created by my grief, he will jump right in to get me back.

"Talk to me." He gives my hand a reassuring and encouraging squeeze.

An unwanted sigh escapes me and I slowly lower the cover from my face, taking in a deep breath of air. I turn slightly and I am met with worried whiskey eyes along with a frown as he studies my face.