HER LAUGHTER

A SILENT PROMISE

POV DYLAN
In the afternoon, after a morning spent helping my mom with housework, we decide to take a walk together.
I help Yue to put on her coat and join the others pushing her wheelchair.
"Leave me," my mother tells me, pointing to Yue's chair.
"No, don't worry," I reply.
"Dylan ... You are not enjoying this little vacation at all. You don't always have to be with me," Yue smiles at me.
"I want to be with you".
I realize what I just said after seeing her cheeks suddenly turn red.
"Ohi ohi! Never saw a worse declaration of love" laughs Darren, passing by.
"It... It wasn't a declaration," I mumble, feeling the tip of my ears go up in flames.

POV CAESAR
Dylan and I sit in the garden to rest.  Not far from us, Darren, Connor and Yue are playing cards.
"So? When will you tell her?"  I ask him, trying to seem indifferent.
"What?"
"That you like her? When will you tell her?"
Dylan turns to me with wide eyes.
"Look, we all noticed that," I smile at him.
"Is it really that obvious?"  he sighs.
"Definitely yes".
"Do you think she noticed too?"
"I don't know, it's not clear to me," I reply.
"Caesar, I ... I don't like her ... I ... I love her. But I can't tell her now. Not now that she's in the hospital. I want to declare myself when she can finally go home," he explains, looking at her from a distance  .
I put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze it slightly.
"It's a great idea, Didi. And I'm proud of you for how you are helping Yue deal with her situation. Not everyone has the strength and courage to stand next to someone who needs help, you know? Everybody is good  in words, but when it comes to the facts ... It's not easy at all," I tell him.
"From the first moment I saw her, I felt I wanted to stay by her side ... It was a strange feeling. I know what she thinks ... She believes that I am just like that. That it's just my instinct to help those in difficulty wich pushes me to stay close to her ... But that's not the case: the fact is that I need her more than she needs me ... I need our chats, our jokes, our hugs ...  And her laughter. I always need her laughter" he confesses, with a smile full of affection.
"This is love" I grin.
He nods and goes back to admiring his little dancer.

POV YUE
After dinner, Dylan and I sit on the porch.
"Are you cold?" he asks me.
I nod.
Immediately he gets up and runs into the house.  After a few moments he comes back with a red blanket in his hands.
"Come on," he says, extending his arms.
"What?"
Without answering, he grabs me and lifts me.  Before I can protest, I find myself sitting on his knees, with my back against his chest, on the bench.  He wraps both in the blanket and sighs.
I look at him with an accusatory look.
"Hey! I'm cold too and I found only a blanket. This was the only possible solution," he explains, pointing to his knees.
I shake my head and hold back a laugh.
Slowly, I feel his arms wrap around my waist and hug me ... And a beautiful feeling of warmth invades my chest.
It's incredible how much security Dylan manages to convey to me with every little gesture.
"Yueyue?"
"Yup?"
"They called me from the hospital. I have to do a refresher course and I'll be away for about two weeks," he tells me grimly.
Two weeks.  Two weeks are a lot... Two weeks without him ...
"Oh! Good, so I can relax for a while!"  I exclaim, trying to hide the anxiety that suddenly swept me away.
"Tsk. For a moment I thought you would be desperate at the thought of not seeing my beautiful face for so long," he mutters.
I burst out laughing and he smiles.
"I'll leave you my number, okay? I want to hear you every day. I need to know how you are," he says, returning serious.
I nod.
Suddenly, Caesar joins us and points a finger against me.
"You! You should come into the house or you'll catch a cold!" he scolds me.
"Hey! You said you wouldn't be Dr. Wu these days, but only Caesar!"  I complain.
"Yes ... And now Only Caesar is telling you to come back, because tomorrow Dr. Wu will have to scold you when you're too weak to be able to resume therapy!" he retorts.
"Ok, ok!"
He gives us a last threatening look and returns to the house.
"You should listen to mum bear" Dylan grins.
"I HEARD YOU!"  shouts Caesar, from the inside.
We both laugh.
When my breath calms down, I throw my head back and rest it against his shoulder with a sigh.
"Anyway ... I think maybe I'll miss you a little bit" I confess.
"I knew it," he smiles with satisfaction.
"Tsk"
"I'll miss you too" he whispers to me, then gives me a kiss on my cheek.

POV DYLAN
She turns her head towards my face and gave me a kiss on my cheek, then quickly returns to look in front of her.
I touch with my fingers where her lips have just touched me, while I feel a dumb smile opening on my face.
I return to embrace her thin waist and I lean my forehead against her back.
"Please, leave the hospital soon," I whisper.
I want to tell her everything I feel for her.  I want her to know how much I love her.  I want to be with her.  Forever.
Yue says nothing, she only nods.
I don't know if she understood, but her hands go down to hold mine.

Author's corner
Ciao!
How are you? 😘
There are still two chapters (I think) to the end of this story ☺️
Thanks for all the comments, they always make me really happy!  💜💛
A big hug,
Lucrezia