Visions Of Us

23 | Love Birds

  JULIA

Sunlight filters through the curtains, gently illuminating the hotel bedroom. I woke up from my slumber next to my beautiful girl. The girl who loved me. Truly. It was like all the stars and constellations had finally aligned for me last night. My stomach is filled with butterflies, and my heart is fuzzy and warm. God, I am so in so much trouble.

"Hey. Sleep well?" she asked, her head tilted as her baby blue eyes roamed my face. Rory was sitting criss-cross, in her pyjamas on the bed, her kodak camera in her hand. I nodded as an answer, sitting up straight to place a kiss on her lips. Aurora giggled, fanning my face with her minty breath, her pearly whites briefly on display for me to adore.

"I love you." I stated, kissing her again on the lips, not taking my eyes off of her after I said it because I meant it so much. I meant it like it was a fact rather than a statement. Because for me it was. A blush appeared on her cheeks as a cute smile grew on her lips. "I love you." I placed a delicate kiss on her jaw. I felt her slightly shudder in pleasure. "I love you." I kissed her on the nape of her neck. I felt her tilt her head back to give me better access. "I-"

Then I heard my phone ringing on the side desk, and my head dropped in agony just as Rory started laughing. "You gonna take that?"

"No." I dryly responded, shaking my head because all I had wanted to at the moment was to kiss my girlfriend. The phone seemed to ring even louder with every passing second that I didn't pick up the call. "I don't want to know who it is."

"Fine, I'll check for you." she said to me, in a sarcastic tone with a grin on her face before swiping the phone to check who it was. Her grin dropped, and a serious expression took over her sweet features. "It's your dad."

I held a breath. "What?" I mumbled under my breath as my lips deepened into a frown. She wordlessly handed me my phone, before getting up from the bed and walking in the direction of the bathroom. "Talk to him", she mouthed just as I had accepted the call.

"Hi, dad." I deadpanned, since I had no energy to tolerate him at this time in the morning.

"Hey, sweetie. How is New York?" He asked, in an optimistic tone that had me bewildered.

"Your girlfriend had a fight with mom. She was hurt, dad. Really hurt." I diverted the subject.

"Your mom said some pretty hurtful things to Karina. She didn't deserve that."

"Well, mom didn't deserve your bull either when you guys were married, but really what's new?"

I knew it hurt. To hear his daughter say something so belittling to him, but that didn't stop him from still going on. "The reason I called you was because I want you to come over at our place."

Our? Is he serious?

"Why should I do? After you left without even telling me?"

"Hartford comes before New Haven. I want your girlfriend and you to stop over and maybe stay the night at ours. You can get to know Karina. I can get to know your girlfriend. We'll eat lunch, she makes a good alfredo pasta and then you can decide whether you want to stay the night. Please, Julia. Let me show you that I'm a better man now."

It was so inviting. Maybe he's changed. I doubted it for a second. There was no way. He hadn't changed for me or mom but for this Karina woman instead? I sighed deeply, as a  hundred thoughts flooded my mind. I was not going to give in so easily. "I'll think about it."

"Well, great. You can come over whenever you want. We have a room for you and....?"

I slightly smiled because he didn't even know my girlfriend's name. "Aurora."

"Aurora. Is she in your class?" he asked, taunting me now with this question.

"Yes, she is." I answered, not wanting to give away too much information on my love life.

"So, do you love her?" he asked again, so bluntly as if he were questioning me about the weather.

My eyes widened as my brows shot up. "Dad?! What? None of your business. I am not going to talk to you about anything of the sort."

He chuckled, amused my by misery. His laughter was a sound I had missed dearly since I was a child. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry. I have to get going. There's some Pakistani clients that flew in from Lahore last night that need to have a consultation with me. I'll see you for dinner tonight?"

We exchanged our goodbyes and ended the call. I smiled, feeling good about this dinner. I would have to talk to Rory about this whole thing but I was sure she would be fine with it. The screen of her Kodak camera exposed the grainy and filmy photos she took. I held the camera carefully as to not break it, and flipped through the photos. There were so many of . . . me?

There were photos of me at the opera, at the restaurant, in the car when we first arrived in New York. I looked so cool. Correction: Rory made me look cool. These pictures protrayed me as if I was part of a 60's indie-style french film. Rory came out of the bathroom in the hotel's monogrammed bathrobe, her hair was glistening wet and frizzy.

"Hey, that's an invasion of privacy!" she exclaimed, pouting her lips as she snatched the camera away from me.

"I didn't know that you were this in love with me." I replied, sarcastically, a smug smirk on my face.

Rory scoffed, but her cheeks had slightly reddened in embarrassment. "Shut up." She leaned down, opened up her suitcase and started rummaging through it.

"You're talented. Those photos were breath taking. Those photography classes are clearly paying off." I said, bluntly.

The brunette had found some clothes to change into, stood up and looked me in the eye. "Are you sure you're not saying this just because you were in all of them?"

I chuckled, a grin overtaking my face. "No, of course not. Why don't you believe me?"

"I don't know. I'm not good with compliments. I'm sorry." she replied, a frown tugging on her lips and I hated that I might be the cause of it.

"That's fine. You don't need to be sorry for it. Especially not to me."

She shook her head, and her eyes narrowed. "Too cheesy, Bond."

"Hey, my dad invited us for dinner tonight. He said he wants to meet you."

"Oh really?" she asked, as she started changing into her clothes at the foot of the bed.

"Yeah. Are you up for it? To meet my dad and his new girlfriend, Karina? Because, I'm not."

"He's got a girlfriend?"

"Karina and my mother got into a fight last night and obviously my dad sides with his new plaything."

"Wait, is that why you were angry when we were going to the opera?"

I nodded, before I sighed and rubbed my temples. "I don't know what to do."

Rory sat next to me, fully-clothed now. Her usual rosy smell encompassed around me, comforting more than she could imagine. "He's still your father. If you messed something up with him, wouldn't you want a second chance with him? To clear your case."

"Yeah." I mumbled.

"So, shouldn't you give your father a second chance? For him to clear his case. "

"I guess."

Then, she gave me a I told you so look.

"Why are you so scarily wise?"

"It's just who I am."

"Oh, so that's the compliment you'll take?"

She rolled her eyes. "Go take a shower. You stink."

-

A.N. : Okay, so if u read anything after chap 22 before i deleted the later chapters, you know that things played out a lot differently in this chapter. However, this time I am changing the direction of the story a bit to how I actually wanted it go this time. Happy reading! I hope that you are liking this book so far!!!