He wanted to reach out to her to touch her face, caress her cheeks, and draw her close to himself. He knew she could only feel the passion that was swelling in him if only she was within the embrace of those hands that kept numb at his sides as if everything moral in the world was urging him to keep still.Ethan was just standing there, staring at her who'd channeled all her efforts into restraining herself from looking at him. He swallowed."Aleth?" He managed to say. Alethia sighed softly. She should have left him be while he was fast asleep, now he'd woken the lion and she had to work out a way to escape from its claws. She turned to look at him, holding herself in a way that suggested that she wasn't fazed by the unceasing awkwardness between them. But she only had to look at his face to lose her composure again."Have you had breakfast?" Ethan said. That seemed like a perfect escape, but Alethia was rather surprised by the sudden change of topic. She looked at him for a while bef
Alethia swallowed and braced herself. She'd read in one of those novels of hers, how after bolting in his feelings and denying her the moment, the boy shows up at her doorstep, and once she opens the door, he grabs her to himself and kisses her, vigorously as if to punish her lips for being tempting in the first place.Now, she couldn't remember the title of the novel, but she felt she was about to live the moment, and she couldn't be more ready for it. But while he was staring at Ethan's lips and expecting his head to approach, he was staring at how gaunt she looked."Are you okay?" He asked as if he knew she wasn't okay. She was way over her head, and again she had to drag herself out of the trance that had proven unceasing every time Ethan came close to her.She swallowed again and cleared her throat lightly, vying for composure."I brought you food," he said.Alethia looked down to see that he had a closed dish in a small tray and a glass of juice. "What's that?" Ethan. Smiled.
"What was that for?" Alethia yelled once they had gotten to her room and she'd sat Olivia down on her bed. She moved about worriedly, her heart still pounding from the moment downstairs. She wanted to run back to tell Ethan that Olivia had come up with the story, probably because she was out of her mind. She'd just been cheated on, so it made sense that Olivia was not in her right senses. But Alethia was too tensed to face him at the moment. The only thing she could think about was that, whatever hope she might have had with Ethan, Olivia had just kicked it out, without her consent."Calm down," Olivia said."Don't tell me to calm down," she said hotly. Then, "You and I know that I don't have a boyfriend, so why the hell did you have to lie about that? And to Ethan of all people."Olivia chortled. "You need to calm down, Aleth. At least, hear me out.""I think I've heard enough already.""No, you haven't. You're being paranoid right now, and that's not what you need.""I told you Ger
Alethia woke up feeling tired. The night had weighed on her, and it didn't seem like it was done with her yet. Her eyes were heavy and itchy. And her head immediately strides into retrospection.She closed her eyes and shook her head to ward off the thoughts and the pain that wouldn't stop straining the back of her neck. She didn't want to think about anything now, the acceptance and the rejection she'd felt last night.Alethia drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around, burying her head in between her knees. The back of her eyes suddenly burned with restrained tears, but she kept them in restraint anyway. She wasn't going to let Ethan break her down any further. She would go out and act like nothing happened, if only to show him that she was strong and wouldn't allow herself to be toyed with.She nodded gently. She would go out, ignore him, and make him beg for her attention. And if he tried to bring up what almost happened between them last night, she would pretend amne
Alethia had forced her mom out of her room. The woman wanted more information about the mystery boyfriend, his name, what he does and everything there was to know about him."It's not a big deal, mom. We just met." Alethia had said."But he does have a name, doesn't he?"Alethia had grunted. Why did she have to drop the news at that point, when it shouldn't even matter? It had been on an impulse anyway, but Emily wasn't going to take it that way, and Alethia knew how her mom could be when she decided to pester for information."Ethan, that's his name," Alethia said.Emily recoiled, her forehead squeezed so that she looked like a wandering cat. "Ethan?" Alethia bit her lower lip till she almost felt the taste of her blood. Why Ethan? It could have been any name and her mom would have bought it without stress. Why did Alethia have to make it more complicated again?"I'm confused here, Aleth. Why Ethan?" "Why not Ethan, mom? It's a name, and you wanted to know, right?" "Yes…? But, why
"Hey...you look dashing," Olivia commented as Ethan stepped ahead of Emily to get one of the chairs for her.He was looking tall and refreshing in a pair of dark wash casual pants and a long-sleeve button-down with a blazer. His face brightened the mood the moment he walked in, and a lot of heads turned to look twice. There were side comments, and men holding their women tight as if they would be stolen awayEmily smiled to herself, obviously feeling like the most beautiful woman in the world. Or why would a man as handsome as Ethan be with her if she wasn't? She breathed deeply and made to sit as Ethan pulled the chair out for her, then held it in place as she sat. She felt super comfortable in the pink button-down dress styled with a belt, and a pair of over-the-knee boots."Mom, what are you doing here?""Is there a reason we can't be here?" Ethan said."I wasn't talking to you, Ethan. Okay?" She turned back to Emily."Honey, we--""Are you guys stalking me?"Ethan giggled. "Stalk
Alethia could barely recognize the image of what she looked like in the mirror. She was pale. Her eyes felt heavy in their sockets as if they could fall off if she kept her face down for too long, and her head weighed a ton on her neck that she could barely keep her face straight. It had been a mind-boggling week, and she hadn't been having much sleep. She'd spent most of the nights thinking of how to deal with being alone in the house with Ethan, while they seldom said a word to each other.Ethan hadn't spoken to her for days, though they were the only ones in the house now. He made breakfast on time, packed lunch in the fridge for her before going to work--left her notes telling her to make sure to microwave. The notes were always charming, but they were beginning to rile Alethia up. Why notes when he could just talk to her?And he always made her favorites for dinner. But he made sure he avoided her enough so that they didn't have to eat at the same table. And he spent his time a
"What is wrong with cereal?"Alethia wondered silently in her mind. Whatever was wrong with the cereal that she had made for Ethan, she was just realizing that they had the potential to kill him, and the fact that she fed them to him, the guilt, the regret, was ripping her heart apart.For all she knew, the cereal hadn't expired… Did she check beforehand?She forced herself out of her mind and crouched to the floor."What's wrong with him? Is he going to be okay?"The doctor felt Ethan's pulse and then felt his forehead while Alethia concentrated on Ethan's face. His forehead was squeezed and strained from the effort he employed in holding his eyes closed tightly. Alethia glanced over him with worries--the pain he was feeling was somewhat evident on his face. "He's allergic to cereal," the doctor said."What? He didn't say.""Right! He's got some explanation to give me when he gets better."Alethia breathed deeply. "That means he's going to be fine?"The doctor looked at her face. Th