Resilience

61| Kiss and trouble

ARABELLA'S POV

Just when his lips met mine, my mind went blank.

It happened so quickly that I didn't have time to process what had just occurred. I couldn't move my tense body, which had stiffened to just the rigidity of an ice.

My heart felt as if it had stopped beating, all of a sudden, as if I had forgotten how to breathe because of the blaze of thoughts racing through my mind.

What I couldn't decipher was that the guy who I had been crushing on was kissing me, but it didn't give me those butterflies I used to get when I was around him– instead this kiss felt wrong.

It felt like I was betraying, somehow as if I was being unfaithful. My heart was hurting from the pain and burden of these emotions.

Without giving into the kiss, I immediately pulled away, jumping to my feet as Aaron followed my pursuit.

He quickly stood in front of me as he raised my chin, and cupped my face in his hands, staring at me with regret.

"I am so sorry, I shouldn't have come across like that." He said as I was still trying to comprehend what just happened.

"Please say something." He whispered while my eyes blankly stared in his, which were filled with intensity and fear.

His thumbs gently caressed my cheeks as his eyes analysed mine. I had no idea what had gotten into me but the next thing I knew— my eyes were drawn to his lips as I closed the distance between us once again.

I kissed him

I was fully aware of the reason as to why I kissed him.

I wanted to be rid of these feelings of betrayal. I wanted to feel those butterflies again, for my heart to flutter again, so I kept going– waiting for those feelings to return.

I didn't stop as my lips began to move in sync with his.

His hands left my cheeks as they wrapped around my waist, drawing me closer to him, while mine wrapped around his neck.

Our kiss was gentle and sweet, but nothing about it made me excited. Instead, the feelings I was hoping to bury with this kiss became stronger and stronger.

I pulled away looking at him as his mouth stained the pink gloss I was wearing. His eyes shone bright as a smile spread across his face, but I felt the exact opposite.

"I—" I started, but I couldn't form any sentences because my emotions were clouded by regret.

"Do you regret it?" He asked almost instantly, as if he decoded the look on my face.

His eyebrows were furrowed and a tinge of fear filled his eyes, as he waited to know the answer.

Instead of responding to him, I lowered my head and gazed at the ground. He immediately raised my chin up to look at him as validation flashed in his eyes.

But before any of us could say anything he was yanked away from me as a pair of hands came and grabbed him by his collar. And it happened so quickly that no one noticed a fist coming straight at Aaron's face.