Dismantling The Box of Grief and Venge

Chapter 17: Even When I Touch You, You're Still Thinking of Him

Ahmya threw herself on Soni's bed, because she was too lazy to climb up to her bed which was above his. She positioned herself and closed her eyes, but her mind was still occupied, making it hard for her to sleep. Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Ezra. She immediately closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

"Owh... You sleep fast," he said in whispers, not wanting to disturbed her. Ahmya then felt him sitting on the edge of the bed where she was laying. "I still don't understand how you could capture my heart so effortlessly, but... I love it. That Gandi guy was so lucky. The way you look at the moon, I bet it was how you always look at him, with love, a lot of love," silence for a while, "I know I'm that bastard in your life, but I really hope you'll forgive me eventually and I hope someday you'll look at me the same way as you look at Gandi," he fixed her hair, but then Ahmya flinched from the motion, breaking her disguise. She opened her eyes, pretending to just wake up.

"Ezra?" She blinked her eyes.

"Sorry, I was going to take a nap too, but your hair was kinda messy and I meant to fix it. Sorry," his reasoning wasn't that good obviously and it made her giggle at his silliness.

"It's okay," she sat down.

"You must be tired from last night," he said attentively.

"Sort of, but it's fine. We still have some time to rest. What do you think we're gonna do in Krutakama?" She tried to start a topic, but why? Wasn't it easier if she just went back to sleep? She rubbed her own arms as she felt nervous.

"I don't know. We are supposed to be escorting your father, especially from Eric's subordinates," Ezra answered her.

"Is there any sign of them yet?" She was genuinely concerned.

"No, but we still need to stay alerted," he said. Ahmya nodded and decided to lay back again, but as she was about to do it, he interrupted. "Ahmya?"

"Yes?" She sat back straight.

"Will you... let me take off your mask?" Ezra asked her hesitantly.

"You've already known my face, Ezra," her shoulder dropped as she was feeling a bit awkward.

"I know. I kept your pictures in my phone. I just wanna see it directly, please?" He begged her.

"Okay," she unconsciously agreed that she was surprised herself, but she couldn't take back her word as it would make her look even sillier. He took off her mask slowly so as not to make her uncomfortable. His heart was beating faster as he finally saw her face and so was Ahmya who was feeling nervous.

"You're beautiful," he said, making her blush. "How is your feeling now?"

"A bit nervous," she chickened out.

"Let me put this back on," Ezra stretched her mask on her face, but she held it.

"No, it's okay. I think I can try adjusting," she took the mask from his hand and Ezra was astounded.

"You sure?" He made sure and she nodded. Suddenly, the boat rocked a little, making her fall on him. He caught her and their eyes met. Again, their hearts beating fast as they both stunned in their positions. Ezra could feel her heavy breathing. "Steady, Ahmya. Take a deep breath slowly," he guided her while putting her back to her initial position on the bed. She followed as he said.

"Why does it have to be hurting so much?" She said as she tried to calm herself.

"Be patient. I'll help you get rid of those painful memories. I love you, Ahmya. I love you so much," his genuine confession somehow flew like magic in her ears. She threw herself into his arm to hold him and Ezra was stunned, but then he held her back. He pulled her back gently to see her face. He couldn't help but to get curious around her lips, so he landed a kiss on it. She whined in pain and was trying to pull back, but Ezra held her neck, another her sensitive part.

"Ummh... Ez, ra" she mumbled her words, her body shivered and she felt her lung lacked for air. He pulled off after a few seconds and Ahmya was breathing heavily, holding her head as she felt dizzy. He took out his water bottle and opened it for her. "Thank you," she drank the water. "I've told you not to touch me suddenly," she steadied her breathing, but she wasn't as mad as she usually was. It was her own self who started it anyway.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you start it," he touched her chin playfully as she gasped in surprise. Her chest was hurt, but she didn't want to be mad at him. She was trapped in her own confusion.

"I, I know, but, that was spontaneous. And you add up to it," she stuttered to reason, but her face couldn't hide her guilt as she also looked so shy, her face flushed red.

"Very spontaneous right after I confess my feelings?" He teased her.

"It's a coincidence," she was still trying to hide her leaked feelings, but Ezra knew how she would be when she fell in love.

"You're so cute when you're blushing, Ahmya," he then knew she might still love him, even though she didn't admit it. At least, he still had a chance. He just needed to reassure her. However, he still had to take it slow as she still had bitter memories about him and reacted badly to his touches. "Well, let's take a nap," he said. They both laid down on their respective beds, facing towards each other. Ahmya wore her mask as she fixed her position. "Have a good rest, Ahmya," he said while closing his eyes.

"Have a good rest, Ezra," she murmured the words as she didn't want him to hear it, then she finally fell asleep.

***

Ezra woke up first before the other. Sam was sleeping on the bed above him, while Ahmya was still sleeping as well. Knowing that Sam might also have a crush on her, Ezra had no choice but to wait for one of them to wake up before going out. Lucky for him, about 15 minutes later Ahmya woke up. Sam slept deeply as he didn't sleep last night, controlling the boat.

With her eyes still closed, Ahmya yawned and stretched her arms, then sat up lazily on the edge of her bed. She seemed not ready to wake up yet, but she still pushed herself up. With her eyelids half closed, she was looking at him, then closed her eyes again, her mind probably was still going astray. She looked like a drunk person.

Ezra walked up to her. "Have you really woken up yet?" He said softly. At this point, Ahmya's consciousness was still somewhere else, so she responded to him almost instinctively without really thinking. She shook her head while still closing her eyes. "Can I kiss you, so you'll be woken up?" Ahmya nodded and so Ezra sat beside her and leaned forward to kiss her. The still half awake girl kissed him back while moaning a little, not really realizing what happened. Ezra slowly laid her down on the bed with her feet still on the floor. His hand explored her neck and her waist, so eager to taste more, while he whispered in her ear. "I love you."

Ahmya moaned and looked like she gave up to her sleepiness and went back to sleep while her body was still reacting to his touch. "Gandi," she murmured in her sleep, tearing up his heart in a blink of realization. So, even when I touch you, you're still thinking of him... He thought.

What if she woke up and realized it was him instead of Gandi? She'd be mortified, so he retracted himself off her. He hated to witness her thinking of another man, so he acted selfishly, waking her up gently. "Ahmya?" He caressed her hair. "Wake up."

Her sleepy eyes once again opened and stared at him. "Have we arrived?"

"No, but it's noon already. Don't sleep too much or else your body would find it hard to adjust to the field later," he made up a smart excuse.

"Okay..." she then realized she wasn't in the same position as when she started sleeping. "Why am I sleeping like this?" Ezra tried not to react to her realization and diverted her.

"Let's find something to eat. We haven't eaten since the morning, right?" She nodded and followed him to the kitchen and cooked some fish. They ate a portion for themselves and left the rest in the cabin for the others. After a quick lunch, Ahmya walked out to look for Soni, but when she found him in the deck, she also found a stranger tailing behind him, holding a knife.

"Soni! Behind you!" She shouted. Fortunately, Soni reacted quickly and beat the man in seconds. Then she felt a hand pull her back inside and before she knew who it was, a man fell down with a spear on his chest. She was shocked as she witnessed a soul left from someone's body with her bare eyes.

"We have intruders!" Sam shouted. "Hurry up, get ready!" He said to Ahmya.