Voiceless Lover

Chapter 5

(Unedited)

Celyn was grumbling...

"Ugh, work, you stupid limb." Hissing at her ailing leg, Celyn had pushed herself to do better as she tried to walk on her own, and looked up to ensure nobody was there to stop her; her destination was the kitchen.

This wasn't the first time Celyn had gone against her doctor's advice and tried to walk on her own even when she knew it wasn't wise. Being an early bird gave her an advantage and every morning, she would be up before the sun and push herself to walk so that they can go home and she can finish what she started. It was messing with her head, the unexpected and unwanted idle time that she had suddenly acquired, and, she would never dare to say it out loud, but it was damaging her agendas. Celyn knew stillness was not good for her, it allowed her thoughts to run wild and her memories to return, and she did not want any of that. Not at all. She needed to get back to her world where she couldn't forget about her past even if she wanted to because that was her life now.

Or so she thought...

"Fucking finally." Reaching for the refrigerator's door, Celyn had panted heavily and quickly grabbed a bottle of water before leaning against the counter to give her leg a rest.

It was unnerving, her inability to do something as normal as walking on her own and Celyn abhorred depending on others. She knew they meant well, all they wanted was to help her, but she couldn't stand the sight of her crutches because it made her feel weak and she despised that feeling more than anything else. It didn't help her case that her irritating doctor, the woman who had saved her and given her a place to lay low, would always remind her that she could not and should not be foolish to walk on her own until her wound was healed. But, Celyn was stubborn and she did not listen, and something told her that Renee knew that, too, because every time she would change her dressing, she would give her a subtle look while keeping quiet so Leonard and others didn't find out; they would have definitely tied her to the bed.

As the thought of her doctor invaded her mind, Celyn found herself halting; her honey eyes looking around in search of the woman she now knew suffered from insomnia and would be awake even before her. She wondered if she even slept or if she had seen a doctor for herself. The thought made her roll her eyes, again, and she scoffed softly as she imagined Renee asking for help; the woman was as tough as a brick wall. But then, Celyn's mind flickered with the image of a younger Renee; her green eyes shining as she looked at her while giving her address and her lips lifted in a gentle smile. She wondered what could have changed her, what could have turned one of the sweetest girls she had met into this cold woman who looked nothing like her younger self and walked around as if she were the only one in the world.

Celyn shook her head, scowling at her train of thoughts...

Sighing deeply, she looked down at her leg and cursed softly when she found it trembling from the exertion. Placing the empty bottle on the counter, Celyn started to walk away but she couldn't even take a step when she heard the sound of gentle footsteps not far from her. It was Renee, she could tell from the now-familiar rhythm of her strides, and she did not even think about deciphering the fact that she, somehow, could tell it was her as she compelled her legs to move before she was caught in the act. Just as Celyn thought she was about to get arrested, preparing for the dull green eyes to look at her as they usually did, she realized Renee had changed route and, without understanding what she had done, Celyn found herself moving in the same direction as her.

It had been happening more and more lately, Celyn finding herself noticing every little thing about the redhead even if she didn't mean to and she could even tell the exact moment it started; when they were in the music room together and Renee had wiped her tears oh-so-gently. It wasn't like nobody had ever wiped her tears before, but it was an intimate act that Celyn could have never expected from Renee, and the expressions in her deep green eyes at that moment were so very different from their usual state of dullness. If she couldn't tell that Renee had been brutally honest, Celyn would have detested herself for crying in front of her, but with every passing day, the younger woman was, unknowingly, making things harder for her because she saw her as the person she once was and that, more than anything else, was damaging the one she had to become.