Unexpected

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Vanessa walked to Jered's dad who was with his grand-children.

"Hey Bob"

"Vanessa, you're okay?"

"No, not really. I don't feel good. That's why I came to say bye."

"Oh! Nothing serious I hope?"

"I think I need to have some rest before my flight tonight. I'm sorry I am not really good company today."

"Weren't you supposed to go back tomorrow?"

"Yeah, something came up. But thank you for welcoming me."

"We loved having you. Try to see if you cannot reschedule your flight."

"Not sure, but I'll see."

"Good enough for me." He said, giving her a gentle slap on the shoulder.

Jered's sister and brother came right behind them with their spouses. She did the same thing all over again, hugged them. She saw Jered on the side with his mother. Clara came promptly and embraced her tightly. "Don't hesitate to come back. Okay?"

"Thank you Clara."

"I'll walk you to the cab". It was Jered, with a dull voice.

They walked side by side without making any physical contact. It was tense and uncomfortable. He didn't say a word. When they got to the cab, he opened the door for her. She was heartbroken. She couldn't say a word without breaking into tears. So she got into the car. Her hands were shaking and she made sure not to blink to keep her eyes dried. He closed the door and bow to the window.

"Have a safe trip Vanessa" and just like that he turned around and left.

Her tears rolled down. She looked at his back shrink while the taxi drove. On the road, she cried a river. Not caring about the driver. She cried her eyes out. Her heart was in millions of pieces. She had lost him due to her own stupidity. She couldn't even blame Trevor for that. She played with fire and got burnt. She cried while packing her stuff. And cried again when she done, laid on the bed. She was losing control, with heart palpitations. She was trembling with shortness of breath. The more she tried to regulate her breathing, the more she felt a pressure on her chest, pins and needles bringing numbness and tingling sensations. She realized she was having a panic attack. But it didn't help. She was choking, her throat tightening. She tried to get up but fell back on the bed, her tears more intense. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe in deeply then expire. She repeated the action till she felt the pressure in her chest disappear slowly. When she calmed down, the tears kept rolling. She didn't know how long she stayed like that when she heard knocks on the door. She refused to move, they would leave. But no! The knocks kept coming.

"I'm coming" she said with a harsh voice. She knew she had puffy eyes. She grabbed her sunglasses, wore them and opened the door.

"Jered!" she breathed.

He let himself in and throw a scarf on the bed. "You forgot it earlier."

She looked at the scarf behind the glasses. "Okay"

"Why are you wearing sunglasses inside? Only douchebags do that."

"I don't need you to insult me..." she didn't realize he got closer and took them off quickly.

"You cried"

"Great, you can see genius. I don't need your pity. Thanks for bringing back the scarf. You can leave now." She said going to the door to open it.

He ignored her and went to the bathroom.

"Sure you can use the bathroom" she said sarcastically, closing the door and going to sit on the bed. Jered got out few second later with a wet towel. He walked to her and got on his knees between her legs. He used the towel to wipe her face. He threw it them on the floor, then took her hands. He hold them to his heart, not looking once in her eyes. Vanessa was speechless. She didn't understand what was happening. Why was he doing that? She felt a turmoil of unknown emotions.

"I felt betrayed when I saw." he started. "However, seeing you like that breaks my heart Vanessa. I need to know what you really feel for me. If you want to end things go ahead and do it but don't play with my heart. I love you but I won't be fooled."

"Jered..."

"Let me finish. Since we met, I told you I wanted you. I have always been true about my feelings. I tried my best to be a loving partner. But I feel like you're not one hundred percent involved in our relationship. So I want you to take a minute, think carefully and tell me here and now what you want."

She didn't need to think about it. Part of her wanted to kiss him, but the other part wanted to send him to hell. She didn't like to feel vulnerable. What love worth her independence? Was she willing to entirely to lean on another human being and submit to a romantic relationship. Jered finally raised his head. His eyes were full of hope.

"I want you Jered."

He said nothing, just kept staring at her. Then, draw her close to him and kissed her.

Happiness and liberation! This is how she felt.