Chapter 24: The Returnee
Everyone was having so much fun.
Everyone but me.
Young and old swayed to the music blasting from Connor's sound system who was manning the booth himself. He played all of my favorite CDs; from The Beatles, Beach Boys, Kings Of Leon, Fall Out Boy, We The Kings, and he even teased me with Midnight Memories of One Direction.
Our neighbors talked and laughed, and it seemed like the party that usually happened on the beach changed venues and transferred to my house. Cole and Collin basked in the attention everyone was giving them after I told them not to worry about me. They were acting like the idiots they were and was enjoying every single minute Mom had her head turned. I offered to take Connor's place for him so he could join the festivities but the stubborn chicken butt wouldn't even budge.
Mom, though, was ecstatic. She bounced from table to table, catering to every guests' needs while my father grumbled and obediently followed my mother, drinking from his champagne flute every time the women Mom talked to giggled like a bunch of schoolgirls. It was earsplitting.
So here we sat, Gab and I, Ella went off somewhere with Tristan and I just pray to God they don't do the dirty on my bed or in my bedroom 'cause I will kill them, waiting for the funny drunks that was yet to come out.
"How are you, really?" Gab said after a moment of silence, casting me a sideways glance.
I shrug and pull my knit sweater closer to my body. Crossing my legging-clad legs, I sighed out. "I'd be lying if I said I was fine." I answer him truthfully, watching the merry scene playing in front of me.
Gab twists his mouth to the side like he always did when he was choosing his word carefully. It showed of one of his dimples that he always claimed he never had. "Everything will pan out, Katherine. I know I'm not really the best candidate for relationship advice, seeing as people think I don't believe in love, but the best relationships are given time to bloom."
"Letting him go and find himself is the most selfless thing I had ever done. A sacrifice isn't a sacrifice if you don't feel you have lost something." I smile wistfully, "I think this is a matter of the saying, 'If you love someone, set them free, and if he comes back, you're meant to be."
I felt soft thuds of footsteps on the wooden stairs where Gab and I sat. We both look up, my heart failing a beat and picking up its pace. Blood rushes faster through me; my stomach was a riot, my speech forgotten, and my mind a scramble. I asked myself if this was real. If I was really seeing the man I had decided to be the love of my life. The entire backyard fell in an eerie silence, Connor purposefully ceasing the music but I could not care any more.
He stood in front of me, and he looked far much better than he did when he visited me in the hospital. His cream colored V-neck shirt fit him snugly, a tan brown leather jacket over it, paired with a pair of denim pants and loafers, he looked like he always did. Like he jumped out of a magazine.
His hair was in its same unruly state, the bags under his eyes gone, and a sweet smile stretched on his lips. He looked like my all-American boy. Eric takes slow, deliberate steps to me and reaches out to wipe something wet on my cheek.
"I've come back, baby doll. You love had led me back, to come and fully accept myself whole like you wanted me too." he whispers, making me realize just how much I missed him.
To make sure this was not a dream, I tentatively touch his cheek, brushing my fingertips against his skin, trailing it up to run my hand through his soft, bronze hair. Eric's eyes closes briefly, leaning to my touch, then opens them with a thin layer of tears, but tears nonetheless. "I'm back, Katherine."
I sob, sniffling rather unattractively. "Eric." I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him tight, holding him close to me, afraid to ever let go. My olfactory nerves registers his scent, giving me full assurance. Eric hugs me back, his strong arms protecting me from the world.
My love is back.
I almost whimpered as he leans away, smiling as he pushes back a stray lock of my red hair. His lips stoops down and kisses me to oblivion, a much awaited reunion between the both of us. I don't care if this was hell, I would take it gladly with open arms.
~*~
"Do you want some potato? Or the burgers Dad grilled? There's also some lasagna, my mom's special meatloaf, Buffalo wings..."
My smile hadn't left my face since an hour ago upon seeing the love of my life. I watch as Katherine ticks off the food choices with her fingers. She gained her weight back, becoming much more beautiful and healthier. She rambles on and on as she fills my plate with heaps of food. I didn't dare interrupt her full flow. She handed me the plate as she continues to pace and fluster herself. I sigh and set the food down, and I silence her with a long press on my lips on her. I pull back to see her tinted cheeks, her eyes momentarily closing.
"I'm rambling, amn't I? Sorry, its just that... It's—" she blew out a sigh, "I'm being ridiculous."
I smile, "Just calm yourself down. I can take care of myself."
She frowns, her lips slightly pouting, "But I want to take care of you."
My chest clenched at her soft words. I kiss her forehead, inhaling her heady scent. "You've done so much more than that for me, baby doll. Please, don't stress about me. I don't want you getting sick again. Sit and eat with me, you've put more than enough to feed the both of us." I say with an encouraging smile.
Katherine's answering smile was past breathtaking. It was a breath of fresh air. She was my breath of fresh air. I watch as she takes big spoonfuls of mashed potato in her mouth, a dish that in all the time I had stayed for meals with the Amber's, was never absent. I had no protests against it, the dish was, indeed, mouthwatering.
"How was Amsterdam?" Katherine asked out of the blue. I stare at her curiously, watching her cheeks turn pink.
"It was fine, still pretty. How did you know I was in Amsterdam?"
Her gaze softened, green eyes a hypnotic shade. "Amsterdam is practically your safehaven, Eric. You may not know it yourself, but you like to be there because its where you feel more close to your parents. And I may or may not have squeezed your whereabouts from Tristan." she added sheepishly.
I laugh and look among the partying crowd, searching for a wild, partying, Tristan, but I can see him nowhere. "Where is that, guy?"
To my surprise, Katherine scrunches up her nose in dissatisfaction. "He might be doing the dirty with Ella. They have disappeared for two hours now."
I was shocked at the prospect of my wingman and her best friend getting to know each other intimately. It might have been those rare lust/love at first sight. For a moment, I wondered if I fell in love at first sight with Katherine. "Tristan really has a knack for models."
Katherine giggles and sighs, climbing into my lap and I let her. She nuzzles her head on the crook of my neck, giving me slight goosebumps. I set down the plate and just hold her in my arms. The wild partygoers was a scene playing in front of us.
"Are you happy?" I asked Katherine. She smiles and presses her lips on mine.
"As long as I'm with you, I am."
"Ditto, baby doll. Ditto."
~*~
that's it guys.. One more chapter and then the epilogue :D
FaComVo
