Once we decide to bury our past under tones of dust, we see life much more beautiful and our perspective changes. We try our best to live the moment without looking back and hesitating our decisions. Life would have a meaning again...
Zack's POV:
No words could describe my feelings that morning when I woke up and saw Nadia embracing me like I would run away; she had her hands wrapped around me as she used one of my arms as a pillow while my other arm rested on her waist proudly.
I stared at her for a while, thinking how could she be so beautiful without even trying? Her skin was flawless, her hair was perfect, her eyes were marvelous and adding to all that, she was the smartest girl I had ever met or had an argument with in my life. However, I intended to leave the latter for myself.
The previous night was surreal, I had no idea when I was fighting with Nadia beside the classroom that I would end up wrapped in her arms the next morning. But I was glad with the twist that happened since I wouldn't be as happy and relieved as I was if none of it occurred.
Looking down at her, I fought the urge of stroking her skin because I knew that she would wake up if I did so, therefore, I just stared at her and admired her beauty while my mind took me to everything that happened 18hours ago.
/* The night before, I had no intention of kissing her, it just came with the moment. Especially when she started talking about Jasmine and I, she was obviously jealous and that was my hint that she felt the same as I did toward her. Moreover, I was thrilled that I made that decision since it gave me the opportunity to apologize properly. */
The day before:
I couldn't believe that Nadia ran after her friend like that. She didn't even turn back to take her phone, which became useless to her comparing it to her friend, or was he just a friend? Was he the same boy who was texting her earlier? Did she like him? If she did then what about Col?
"Eghhh" I sighed in desperation, looking at the phone in my hand annoyingly and fighting the urge to cast it on the ground.
I was a mess, confused and annoyed as I wanted to punch somebody so badly that I ended up hitting the wall instead. Moreover, to my annoyance, Jasmine threw herself on me as if I didn't tell her to stay away from me earlier that morning.
"I was thinking about having lunch together! You're in?" She threw her hands around my neck, in attempt to get my attention.
"Leave me alone, I don't want you in my life, ok?" I pushed her away but she didn't stop there, she moved closer again.
Couldn't she get the hint?
"What's your problem?" She snapped at me when I stared at her blankly "Last year, we were always together and now you don't even talk to me like you used to; it's all about Nadia, isn't it?" She looked pretty annoyed, and had sparkles coming out of her eyes.
"God, what have I done to deserve being in that position?" I scolded myself.
"What about her?" I clenched my teeth because I knew that Jasmine would mess up with Nadia. That's why I had to stop the crazy girl standing in front of me "Stay out of my business"
"Why? You know I love you!" She tried to run her fingers down my arm, obviously trying to be seductive, but her single touch was enough to disgust me.
"You know I have no feelings for you" I was already done with what she was saying or was about to say because I knew that she would only make me angrier.
"It is because you married Nadia?" She stated as a matter of fact with a questioning tone "That bi*** has everything I ever wanted and now she has you" She then, started laughing hysterically for few seconds before finally being quite "But don't worry, she won't be a barrier to me"
"What do you mean?" I yelled at her because she defiantly got under my skin, however, I knew I scared her as she took a step back and flinched a little bit "Look, if you even think of touching her, I won't hesitate to erase your existence" I glared at her when she didn't bother herself to answer.
In that moment, I wasn't even threatening Jasmine because I meant every word I threw at her; I would kill her if she even glimpsed at Nadia. I didn't want Nadia to be hurt just because of my bad choices of picking my friends and frivolity.
I had mixed up feelings since I didn't even know what to call the felling that had gotten to me when the idea of Nadia being hurt prompted in my mind. I didn't hate her anymore, like and admiration I felt along with shivering my heart had whenever she was around was stronger than any dislike I ever felt toward her.
Nonetheless, I had no idea how my new feelings were going to change things, I didn't know what I would do or say but I had a strong desire of seeing her. How she rolled her eyes when I smirked at her was adorable, and the way she managed to look decent even without trying kind of fascinated me, everything about her was suddenly interesting. And I just wanted to look at her.
Just one look.
I didn't think twice when I strode out of there to find Lara in order to get everything that happened five years ago, to end the war and confusion that lived in my brain for so long.
I just wanted to move on...
Jasmine was still grumbling behind me when I ran away from her, following Nadia. I didn't care if I was bumping into people in the process because I had a goal in front of my eyes, which was getting Nadia although I didn't know what I was going to do once I found her. And I always achieved my goals.
I thought of checking her car first before starting to look in the entire college since there was a small possibility that she headed off already. Thankfully, her car was parked beside mine so it meant that she didn't leave yet, and maybe Lara was still there too.
/*I have to make things clear*/
Luckily, I still had Nadia's phone, which was unlocked 'How could she leave it without a code?' I thought to myself as I called Lara and tried to convince her to meet me under name of "Emergency"; she hesitated in the beginning but when I insisted a lot, she had no way but to agree. Therefore, I had to be in the café beside college in less than fifteen minutes.
After less than ten minutes, I was already seated in a booth far from people, in the corner of the cozy café. I ordered a cup of coffee and waited for Lara to come. Tapping my foot uncontrollably on the ground, I felt extremely uncomfortable about the meeting because Lara's words would change everything forever; nevertheless, a part of me wanted Lara to excuse Nadia's actions, but what if she told me something bad about Nadia?
I sighed at myself for thinking that way, and luckily, those thoughts didn't wander on my mind for so long because I was jerked back to reality by the buzzing of Nadia's phone in my pocket. It was a text from Col saying "Dillon knows about your marriage, you have to tell him before he storms at you, he's pretty mad so you have to fix thing; but remember that I will always be your side because you know I love you"
Even though I felt rage boil in my veins at the sight of the magical three words: I love you, and a dreadful curiosity to go through her previous texts, I locked her phone and put it back to my pocket because it was private and I had no right to invade that privacy.
The moment, I slid back the phone in my pocket, I lifted my head and Lara walking through the door, she looked around until she caught sight of me; she stalked toward me, walking effortlessly with the high heels she was wearing. She sat in front of me, dropping her purse on the side seat. She ordered a glass of juice before finally speaking, squeezing her hands to her chest "What do you want Zack?"
"Why did you move to the UK?" I went straight to the point.
"Why?"
"Just answer or I'll have my investigators look through your past" I whisper-yelled at her, making her flinch a little bit but then she recovered quickly.
"I went there because my aunt was the principal of the girl's school I was transformed to" She spoke calmly but when she saw that I didn't buy it and I was waiting for her to continue, she pushed her juice aside and stood up "Look, I don't know why you are asking or what are you looking for but I have absolutely nothing to say"
"I know what happened that day so stop acting like everything was fine" I told her when she started walking away "Nadia slapped you that day in the gym and you ran away without a battle, she bullied you and you didn't even fight her back"
"What do you mean?" She turned her head, her eyes wide open.
"I was there that day and I heard everything" I informed her, vacantly.
"Have you told anybody?" She sat down again, not even daring to look back at me.
"I didn't but I want to know the truth from you because Nadia said that she slapped you and you were nice enough to forgive her by not telling anybody" I lied because I seriously had no idea about what really happened back then.
I had to lie because it was the only solution to find the entire truth and it worked since as soon as the words left my mouth, Lara inhaled a deep breath and mumbled so lowly to herself "Always the nice one". However, I could hear her anyway.
"What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrows at her.
"She helped me when I was blind" She started explaining, shifting uncomfortably in her seat "I was involved with a boy from college, he stole money from my father and I covered him up because I thought he loved me but in fact, he was pretending to care about me, only to steal more. Heck, he only wanted my money"
She then told me how her ex-boyfriend took stuff from her house such as expensive watches and jewelries that belonged to her mother. She mentioned that Nadia was telling her to dump him and when she refused, she threatened her to inform Lara's father about everything. And that's when I heard their conversation.
Shit. !!!
Damn. !!!
I felt extremely guilty of what I had done, How could I be such a fool? I didn't even get what they were saying and yet, I jumped on false conclusions and totally judged her; Nadia didn't even tell me the truth since she was only thinking of keeping her friend's reputation safe and sound.
I suddenly started remembering all of the days I called her a bully and told her mean things, she would just glare at me then storm away. I could finally get the reason behind her hate toward me.
However, I felt kind of relieved that Nadia was the good girl after all because I could finally put pieces of the puzzle together, I could understand why everyone loved her and why she seemed so different from the image I had of her in my mind. I had no reason to hate her anymore, or did I actually hate her? Or was I caught up with the idea of loathing her?
"I could finally accept my new feelings" I pointed out to myself, happily.
I left the café after agreeing with Lara to keep our meeting between us. I sighed, running my hands through my hair nervously as I went back to college to take my car and check if Nadia was still there. Her car was nowhere to be found so I climbed in the car and started the engine when suddenly I saw Jasmine throwing herself in front of me; I pressed on the break pretty vaguely as I turned the steering wheel to avoid hitting her but I was late since I hit her and she fell on ground.
I stepped out of the car and ran toward her, hoping that she wasn't injured; she was conscious and had a smirk on her face even though her knee was bleeding and her leg was sore; her reaction only made me disgusted since she was just making a fool of herself.
I didn't even want to talk with her but I had to help her, therefore, I lifted her slowly in my arms and took her to my car as she kept smiling devilishly at me. No word was uttered until I was five minutes away from the hospital when she suddenly stated "I knew you cared about me"
"Seriously?" I groaned at her, annoyingly.
"Yeah, you ran to my rescue" She touched my hand that rested on the steering wheel, but I pushed it away immediately.
"Stop this act of yours, I'm married to Nadia, I'm happy with her, and I will never see as more than a friend, and if you keep your attitude, I'll even consider delating you from my life as an option" I snapped at her, feeling rage take control of my system because being nice with her wasn't helping my case.
With that, she didn't say anything else because the hospital came to my sight and nurses took her right away to the emergency room as I stayed in the lobby, holding her purse and phone.
I looked down at my wrist watch and saw that I was actually late, if Jasmine didn't throw herself on the car, I would've been with Nadia back then, apologizing for everything I had done and said to her throughout years. But there was nothing I could do, I had to wait.
I felt something vibrate in my hand, it was Jasmine's phone, and her father was calling her; I didn't want to invade her privacy by answering her phone, but I did it anyway, and informed her father of his daughter's condition; he was nice enough to understand what I was saying and promise that he would be there as soon as possible, knowing that he was on his way back from out of town.
I waited for about two hours before I saw a man accompanied with a women running toward me with a horrified expression on their faces. I fed them up with everything that happened and what the doctor told me when he came to ask about Jasmine's family. I gave them Jasmine's stuff and excused myself right away.
It was already dark outside so I headed directly back home, so drained and confused because I didn't know what my next move would be. I knew that at some point, I had to face Nadia but what would I say? What would I do? Would she forgive me?
"Should I tell her that I knew everything?" I questioned myself when I ended up being more puzzled and couldn't come up with a solution of the situation I put myself into.
By time I opened the apartment's door, it was already late so I assumed that Nadia would be sleeping therefore I tried to walk on my tiptoes in order to make no sound in the darkness. However, I heard a sound of sobbing and I Nadia yelling "Don't go, stay". Her sound made me rush and turn on the lights.
I spotted Nadia on resting on the couch; she was shaking and shivering as she was obviously having a nightmare. Therefore, I took big steps and reached her, I pushed her aside, only to sit on the side of the sofa where she was laying. I tried to jerk her gently but she refused to respond however, I kept calling her until she blinked and opened her eyes.
Confusion was written on her face as she saw me sitting beside her, wiping her cheeks with one hand while the other one was rubbing her back soothingly; I looked at her eyes, wondering what did she dream about and what was so scary and frightening that she it took her more than a minute to gain back her composure.
I was worried about her.
All I wanted to do was releasing Nadia's pain and distress since she seemed so weak and vulnerable, very different from what the others thought of her. I felt stupid that I lived in a lie that my brain created for so many years, I was outraged of what my father had done, and Nadia was an easy target to divert my accumulated rage on her.
I made up my mind, I decided to apologize and ask her to start a new chapter, and hopefully, forget all the distress and hate of yesterday. However, before I could even open my mouth, she beat me and asked me "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? I questioned, confusingly "I live here"
The moment those words left my mouth, she stood up and intended to head to her room, throwing a random question at me "Weren't supposed to stay at Jasmine's?". I was more puzzled than ever, so I stood up, I held her wrist and pulled her back until she was facing me.
"How did she know that Jasmine broke her leg?" I thought to myself but then it hit me, she didn't know, and apparently, Jasmine played her game well to get under Nadia's skin, however, little did she know that what she did, was the only thing I needed in that moment.
Nadia was jealous.
"Why would I stay at Jasmine's? She just broke her leg" I informed her, calmly, fighting the smile that started to creep to my face.
"Oh" She was apparently speechless as realization hit her "I better go to my room"
I liked her lack of words.
In that moment, I took my chance and asked her once and for all if she was jealous; I realized that I still gripped her hand, which would probably leave red marks on it, so I loosened my grip a little bit but I didn't release her, entirely because I enjoyed touching her skin and making contact with her. She blabbered nervously, caught up with my question "Why would I? I have no right to" I didn't miss the look on her face or the sparkle in her eyes.
"Why haven't you?" I whispered, studying her face, passionately.
"Because I'm not supposed to feel anything when it comes to you" She retorted immediately.
"Who said that?" I moved my face closer to hers because I noticed what our closeness was doing to her.
"Us" She responded, quietly.
"Well let me see..."
"What?"
"What if I want you to be jealous? Just like I was when you ran after your friend or when your cutie called you princess!"
By time I finished talking, I found myself so close to her without even realizing that I was inching toward her. She looked at me with an irresistible look as our foreheads met for a brief second, a look that kept me captive and mesmerized; there were so many things wandering in my mind, but the most important one is the fact that I wanted to kiss her so badly, but not a playful kiss like our previous ones that I stole from her, I wanted a genuine one, a kiss that will tell her everything that I was feeling without using words.
However, I couldn't help the uneasiness in my chest at the thought of her rejecting me or pushing me away. Therefore before I would step back and live in what if after it, I moved my lips near hers and waited without moving them because I wanted to give the chance to decide whether she wanted to be drown in me or away from me.
Moreover, I didn't want her to think that it was just like any other time, when I kissed her to tease her, I wanted her to understand that I wanted her, needed her to choose carefully since once she kiss me back, I'll never let her go easily, I'd fight for her. !!!
She stared at me for few seconds before she closed the gap between us and stepped back; I didn't have time to be surprised of what she did before everything happened so quickly and soon enough my arms were around her waist pulling her back to me before she could fall on the couch.
"What was that for? Teasing? I already told you that you are tempting" I smirked at her devilishly.
In less than a second, I leaned down again and grazed her lips in mine, and kissed her gently, enjoying the warmth her lips were providing me. At first, she didn't respond but after few seconds, she gained her composure again and kissed me back...
She was so addicting...
Present:
The way she breathed in and out as her breath fanned my chest was messing on my nerves because while she was sleeping tranquilly and oblivious that I was watching her, all I could think of was her pink lips and her sweet taste of the previous night.
She looked peaceful and like an angel sleeping in my arms and I liked it. I reached a stray of hair that fell on her face and tucked it behind her ear. However, my fingers brushed her flawless skin in the process which made her open her immediately. She was a light-sleeper just like mom used to be.
She stared at me blankly before her lips broke into a bright smile after few seconds. I caressed her cheeks gently and grinned at her wildly while she seemed like she was enjoying the gesture as much as I did. A comfortable silence found its place between us, the kind of silence where I just enjoyed her company.
"Good morning" I finally broke silence because if it was up to me, I could stare at her all day but we had college in less than two hours unfortunately.
"Good morning" She answered me, whispering.
"How have you slept?" I questioned when she couldn't divert her eyes from mine.
"It would be amazing, only if you didn't kick me during sleep" She giggled rolling her eyes, playfully.
"Liar" I poked her edge of her nose "You had the most wonderful pillow and a tidy bear cuddling you all night, the same one that you hugged so tightly as if he was running away" I smirked at her.
I remembered the one time, she tried to wake me up by tickling me and then a devilish idea prompted on my mind. I would take my payback. I ran my hand through her arm until I reached her hand as she shivered and closed her eyes. I took that chance to start my tickle fight.
She started laughing hysterically as my fingers tickled her entire body from legs, stomach, feet and all the way up to her neck. She tried to fight and push me away but she failed miserably.
The sound of her laughs was like music to my ears, she was vulnerable and innocent. And in that moment, I realized that I was falling for her so I intended to make her feel the same about me.
I had to, there was no other way.!!!
I only stopped when she was apparently out of breath, she breathed heavily but still had a smile plastered on her face as I was enjoying the view in front of me. She was wearing a grey shorts and a long pink shirt that then reached just below her thighs so I had to pull it back down since I didn't want to look at her long legs that way "under name of taking things slowly".
The way she stared at me when she gained back her breath was telling me that I was screwed up but I didn't care, as a matter of fact, I even loved it. I was whipped.
"You're so going down" She sat properly after almost a minute.
"What will you do?" I smirked at her mischievously.
"You'll see" She winked before standing up and lifting her hair up with the bun that rested on the pillow since last night "I will take a shower, see you later" She winked at me, teasingly.
"But hey you forgot something" I called after her, making her stop in her tracks in front of the door. It took me only few steps to reach her "You forgot to give me my good morning kiss"
"In your dreams" She put her hands on her hips, eyeing me.
"Really, then imagine we're in a dream" I slide my arm around her waist, pulling her against my hard chest and whispered in her ears "Will you go on a date with me?"
"We're doing everything backward" She giggled.
"Yep" I ran my hands through her hair.
She lifted her head a little bit, stood on her tiptoes then her lips claimed mine; my hands automatically found their way to her hair, releasing it from the bun, while her hands ruffled mine. I wanted to explore her mouth so badly but I didn't want to push things so quickly, I wanted to take things slowly so I pulled away first just like I did the night before.
I put my forehead on top of hers for a while. One of my hands rested on her waist proudly while I ran the other one through her hair several times. She grinned wildly at me as I couldn't wipe the huge grin off my face also.
"We can work things out" I whispered in her ear as she hugged me tightly, her hands wrapped around my waist.
"I believe so" She mumbled lowly but I could hear her anyway.
I enjoyed that peaceful moment...
"Kids, where are you?" I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
Grandma...
/*Please, don't forget to vote, thank you*/