i believed in you || rini au

63. hold me

when ej arrived back at his apartment building that evening, he was exhausted. tired from being in a meeting room all day regarding dani and his 'relationship' and how it was all over and she was going to new york for a while to film a new movie. he was also overwhelmed with guilt about everything he'd done, thinking over again about how he hurt both dani and gina with a stupid mistake he made when he was nineteen.

so, taking all this into your thoughts, you could say that when he arrived into the hallway where his apartment was, that he was surprised and confused to see the curly-haired girl seated against the wall next to his door.

ej opened his mouth, looking around him and blinking a few times to make sure it was her as he felt his heart racing, him slowly taking another step forward

when gina heard footsteps, she lifted her head quickly, seeing the puzzled raven-haired boy standing further away and she scrambled up to her feet, holding her bag as she put her phone away in her back pocket

"gina..." he said quietly "h-hi..."

gina swallowed "hey...um-can-can we talk?"

the boy nodded "okay-uh-okay, you wanna come in?"

she nodded quietly as ej fumbled around his pockets for his keys, opening up the door shakily and letting gina pass in before him before he closed the door behind the both of them.

gina looked around the apartment, feeling her stomach flip at the sight. it was all the exact same...she'd only been back here once since their huge fight and that was for dani's surprise party...

flashes of her throwing objects at him in anger and pain played in her mind; how she grabbed every belonging of hers she could think of and stuffed them in a suitcase before fleeing the place with tears streaming down her face.

but then she blinked a few more times and remembered making food with him late at night and watching every marvel movie he made her watch until they fell asleep together on the couch.

standing behind her, ej thought of the same thing - he'd been thinking of it every day since they broke up...

he chose not to say anything because he didn't want to rush her, trying to think of what potential reason she could have to be back here willingly...

gina took a short breath and swallowed, turning around to finally face him as she fiddled with her fingers

"i-i know about-the contract...?"

ej exhaled slowly "you do..."

gina nodded "why-why didn't you tell me?"

the boy sighed and looked down "would it have changed anything?"

gina stayed silent, her eyes dropping as he kept speaking

"i-i don't know-i-i wasn't allowed but i also-i felt like it would confuse you or complicate this situation even more-"

"i could've handled knowing it." she told him firmly

ej nodded "you could've. i know that now..."

they stayed in silence again before he spoke up again

"i-i have to ask...why-why did you come...? i thought you wanted me out of your life?" he said weakly

gina gazed back at him "i spoke to ricky and nini and they-sort of made me see how i was-how i was feeling and so, then i went to dani. and she told me everything...so then i...i came here." she explained

ej's eyes locked with hers and he felt his heart stop as his nerves elevated at her words "...how you were feeling?"

gina nodded "and-um...i'm-i'm-" she felt her eyes sting as she shakily took a few breaths "i..."

ej watched with a frown at the sight of her, he hated seeing her like this. he felt his own eyes sting as he took a small step towards her

gina exhaled a tear-eyed bitter laugh "i-i'm sorry...it's so stupid-i-i don't know why i'm crying..."

ej shook his head "gi-"

"i'm still-in love with you..." she whispered, letting a few tears fall from her eyes

ej's mouth parted and he kept quiet as she kept talking

"a-and i-i always have but-you hurt me." she told him "so much that-i had to put my feelings away in a box and leave them there for years. and they ate away at me and-and it was so hard to see you every single day and work with you every day but-also to see you with dani-because-s-she was this constant reminder of everything that ruined us...of-of what ruined me."

she sniffled and wiped her tear stains from her cheeks

"b-but-i-i think i have to let that part of me go..." she whispered "let-let the drama and that dark part of my past go. because...i love you. ej caswell."

she continued to let a few tears fall as ej kept still, keeping his eyes on her before he took a deep breath and made his way towards her

gina's eyes dropped to the floor and she lowered her head before feeling him stand right in front of her and his fingers to reach under her chin, lifting her head for their eyes to meet

his eyes searched her tear-filled ones before he glanced down at her lips and soon leaned in for them to meet, gina's eyes fluttering closed as she kissed him back and rested her hand on his chest

this was what was missing for three years. the two of them together like this.

they both pulled apart and rested their foreheads against each other's, keeping their eyes closed before he sighed and brought her into his arms

gina let herself melt into his embrace as more tears of relief, pain and happiness escaped her

he held her in the best way, in her favorite way. she loved his hugs and feeling his arms around her... it always made her feel safe.

"i love you." he whispered

gina smiled and sniffled "i love you too."

"i'm going to do this right this time i promise." he told her determined "i'm not letting you go again."

so she tightened her grip around his waist and he held her closer to him, finally being brought back to each other again.