Loving A Deformity

Chapter 28

"But that still doesn't explain everything from last night." Alec pressed Cera after Gabe left to check on Chris. They still sat together at the dinning room table, simply talking.
"What do you mean?" Cera asked.
"Well..." He blushed. "What happened after you and your mom dropped me in bed?"
"Gabe came over with a six pack. I had a couple beers and Gabe had the rest." She shrugged, not wanting to get into what happened in his room at all.
"And after that, you just decided to bunk with me?" Alec chuckled, trying to sound indifferent. Cera cringed to herself.
"Not... exactly... I went to check on you and... well, you kinda..." Cera didn't know how to phrase her words.
"I didn't touch you, did I?" He asked, worriedly before the memory of his arm being around her waist came to mind, making him blush. "I mean, m-more than... you know..."
"No." Cera shook her head quickly. "You thought I was Sar- the other gir- I mean, you thought I was your dream gir..." Cera groaned in annoyance at the situation. "You know who I mean! You thought I was her and pulled me in your bed. You just hugged me, is all." She shrugged.
"I'm sorry... I must've made you uncomfortable."
"Don't worry about it." Cera said. Still, Alec felt bad he acted the way he did. Cera on the other hand, was the one feeling pity for him. Don't reject me, he had said. Just let me hold you... just tonight. It hurt Cera's heart Alec thought he'd be rejected so easily when he cares so much. She wasn't sure of many things at the moment but she was sure of one thing; she wanted Alec to be happy. The girl would have to be mentally unstable to reject him without hardly giving him a chance, Cera growled in her own head.
"Still, did I say anything?" Alec pressed, wanting to know exactly all Cera knew. Cera thought back and was saddened by her memories.
"You just kept begging me not to reject you." She said with sadness lacing her voice. Alec's heart clenched. She knew and understood so much, yet so little. It hurt he couldn't tell her- he wanted to... but he was absolutely terrified. Every time he thought, I'm gunna tell her... I'm gunna tell her how I feel about her, he thinks of how he used to treat her and gets suddenly discouraged. He felt like he ruined himself. He lost his chance before he even got it. Alec wanted to tell her and date her... he wanted to treat her the beautiful person he knew her as. But that wasn't his job. That wasn't his place. "What kind of girl wouldn't give you a chance?" Cera suddenly asked, looking to him.
"I already blew my chance." He said quietly, not looking at her. Cera blinked.
"What did you do?" Cera asked, uncertain if she really wanted to know about his unexplored love life.
"You remember how I used to treat you." Alec got even quieter. Cera understood a little more now but not nearly enough. Cera thought a long moment before moving her chair so she could sit right beside Alec.
"Hey." She said, "I can't say I know what you're going through with this and I can't speak for this girl you obviously care about so much. But... if you ask me, she needs to get over what happened- whatever happened- and give you a fair shot!" Cera pressed her eyebrows together to make a focused expression. Alec looked in her brown eyes that, despite everything she's been through, sparkled.
"Would you date me?" Alec hadn't meant for it, but his question sounded accusatory- like he was challenging her logic. Cera was a like taken aback by his question and looked at him for a long time while he stared right back at her. She searched his eyes for any hint of amusement but nothing. He was asking a serious question. Upon realizing that, she looked away, to the ground, to think. Alec waited, wanting to hear her response. It was quiet in the entire house for a good minute. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. It was like the world stopped to hear her answer. Cera felt conflicted. She didn't really know how to respond. If she said yes, she was worried he'd take that to mean she wants him and, as a result, start to avoid her or even... hate her again. On the other hand, she didn't want to say no and offend him. After a moment, Cera looked up into Alec's eyes, with her answer.
"Alec, I-"
"Good morning!" Tori walked in, yawning. Cera looked at her and reverted back to her seat, blushing. Alec blushed too. Tori looked in the fridge, scratching her head.
"Morning." Both Cera and Alec mumbled.
"Either of you hungry? I know it's afternoon but I can make something."
"It's okay. Alec and I ate a little bit ago." Cera smiled. Tori smiled back.
"Okay. Then I'll take my breakfast-" she held up a banana, "and start getting ready for work." She smiled and skipped off to the bathroom to take a shower. Cera and Alec sighed. Maybe we're star crossed or something, Alec thought.