She was a lone star forced to stay away from the sun.
She learned to keep quiet and sit in the back.
She forced herself to stay hidden and unseen because she was only a star pushed out of the constellation.
He was the planet that moons were captiv...
"You carry so much love in your heart. Give some to yourself."
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My cheeks were flushed and my eyes were rimmed red but Aloura was too busy talking about her dream that she didn't notice the fatigue that lined every niche of my face.
Thank God for kids' insolence.
The soft rumbling of the car was the only audible sound along with the steady hum of the air conditioning as Aloura's voice soothed my ears in a pleasant halcyon of innocence. Elijah and I stayed quiet as the car smoothly turned onto my street.
I barely felt like myself anymore. It was like whatever had happened yesterday, had actually happened years ago. But at the same time it felt like I was reliving the moment, even now.
Those phantom fingers crawling up my shoulder, my forearms, pressing into my neck. That acrid breath puffing my skin making goosebumps stipple over me.
I must have made a sound because next thing I knew it, Elijah's bandaged hand rested on top of my right hand. His hand, which had bunched into a fist. I looked over at him to see him driving straight, eyes hard and jaw clenched.
My heart skipped a beat and I looked away before I could stare more and get embarrassed. And cry. I was doing l that a lot of it these days.
I didn't know why Elijah was here. I didn't know why he wanted me to be happy. I didn't know why he cared about me. I didn't know a lot of things about him and while it may have scared me, strangely it didn't.
Time and time again, Elijah had been there for me. He had uninvitingly become a part of my life without me outright noticing. I hadn't noticed how much of an impact his presence was until he left the hospital yesterday night to go back home after lots of coaxing.
I didn't know I missed his crooked smile, the wrinkling of his eyes or his deep and soothing voice as I laid in bed.
And it was there on that bed I realized that I missed him. I missed him because he had wove himself into my life and I couldn't get him out because somewhere along the way I had grown attuned to him.
He didn't fight my battles but he helped me get up. He didn't condemn me but held me until I could stand straight.
And as the car slowed down, my heart was pounding and that hand on my right hand was growing warmer as my brain flashed the words which I could no more deny. The words, I had fallen for Elijah Sudeen.
"Home! I can't wait to sleep in my comfy bed! The hospital bed smelled bad." Aloura thrilled as I turned around and smiled as she struggled to buckle out of her seat. Elijah got out and opened Aloura's door, gently prying the buckle away and hoisted her out of the car.
"That's right! Home sweet home." He collected our bags and carried them into the apartment with Aloura singing in his arms.
Elijah whispered something in her ear that had her shrieking in delight. I watched them and an intense longing shot through my heart; so fast but it rankled my very soul.
