Sadly Engaged

~Chapter 13~

(Emily's point of view)

The birds could be heard for miles and miles as they all sang the song to wake up their neighbors. I felt the gentle touch of a hand stroking my head following the line of hair and a soft tune echoed throughout the house to a song I couldn't recognize with my sleep head. I kept my eyes closed enjoying the song as the birds seemed to join his unknown tune.

Last night we had fallen asleep with my head on his chest and my heart on the floor. I still remembered the look in his eyes as I told him it was all just an escape, hollow and hurt flowing through freely.

He watched me as I 'slept' his hand lulling me into a sense of peace, and his tune floated into my heart. Filling up my heavy heart with the emotions of the song, and the light air that was between us.

"Emily" His voice was soft as he stopped the tune, the birds flying off to sing for another.

"I know your sleeping, but I need to tell you something." He chuckled something to himself, and I could almost picture his face. "Something the awake you can't know."

I perked up a little, my brain slowly becoming more alert due to my overwhelmingly curious nature. I wanted to know what exactly he would tell sleeping Emily, and then maybe I could know why his eyes looked at me like they did last night.

"I've cared you for such a long time, and when we kiss I dream that we weren't doing it." I wanted to punch him, I knew that he couldn't feel for me but I wasn't that bad of a kisser.

"I dream that we weren't just doing it for show, but for real." His hand stopped at the bottom of a strand of hair, twirling it between his fingers softly.

"But I'm afraid that you'll never be able to forgive me, if I let you know who I really am." His hand stopped all together and the rest of the birds that had stayed to continue the song flew off.

"We had met in college, but I had a different name." He let out a sigh and trailed his hand down to my stomach, his thumb rubbing small circles on the clothed area.

"I wanted once chance to be normal, where no one knew the Richmond name." He let out a breathy chuckle his fingers drumming on my side.

"I dyed my hair and wore brown contact lenses, wearing glasses and slightly baggy clothing." My heart leapt into my throat as he described himself during his college days. The description being way to familiar to a certain man-

"If we had studied business during the same year you realize we would have to have had one class together." My suspicions only grew as he continued his little speech to 'sleeping' Emily.

"Nick brought me to these friends of his, and they welcomed me into a close-knit group." His hand went back to my head, leaving sparks in its wake and my mind spun violently. His voice caring a sense of nostalgia remembering our times together during college.  

"I never wanted to leave you, but my father threatened to tell everyone" He paused his hand twitching for a second against my head. "I couldn't face all of you and your hurt faces knowing I had lied to you."

"No one was supposed to know, but one day I walked into a diner without looking at its name. Nick recognized me immediately after hearing my voice, telling me he only knew one man that could talk with such kindness." I wanted to slap myself in the head realizing how many times I had thought Nate seemed familiar. The way his eyes flashed with hurt whenever I talked about how much Allen How much he had hurt me.

"When we were at the diner he had thought I had told you." He paused again taking a deep breath his voice seemed almost forced, "He knew better than I that I couldn't stay away from you forever. Not when you had Hopelessly changed my heart."