TAINTED LOVE (Racer×CEO)

T H I R T Y S I X

THIRTY-SIX : EXHAUSTION & GUESTS

THEODORE RAYMOND'S POV

WE GOT OUT of the car and Aurellia walked lifelessly in front of me. I ensured to be just a few steps back in case she stumbled so I could catch her. Now, after everything was over she was more distant and quiet. Her face was straight, not giving away anything and her eyes bloodshot. 

She walked up to the stairs as I directly went to the kitchen to heat the lasagne in the microwave. Then, freshening up quickly I had my dinner and made a plate for Aurellia. When I was halfway up the stairs I halted and regarded if I should give her space and let her fetch her food when she'd wanted to but later pushed back the thoughts and decided to take it myself. 

 I opened the door and gently finding no one inside I walked further into the room. Placing the tray on the bed as my feet took me to the bathroom door. No sound came from the other side so I suspiciously peeked inside but there was no one and the lights were off. 

I turned around hesitantly thinking where she must be. Her navy blue blazer was lying on the bed. Then I saw something shift in the other corner of the room. Aurellia.

Breath came to me like a wave of tsunami. She looked defeated and huddled in the corner.

She was rocking back and forth on her haunches, knees brought up to her chest and her eyes cast to the bedpost. She wasn't crying, I noticed. 

I strode towards her direction soundlessly and sat down near her. She didn't feel my presence and if she did then she hid it properly. I waited and contemplated if I should say something. Or anything.

Honestly, I have never been good with emotional and hormonal people. I don't remember doing anything like what I did today, do before in my life.  It was a whole new experience and I could have never imagined how relieved you feel when you are able to tame that person and his emotions by just holding him close to your heart. The way they calmed their mind with the solace of your beating heart. 

"I brought dinner." I quietly said in the deafeningly silent room. No response was what I was rewarded with. I exhaled through my nose and encouraged myself to not give up with her. 

My hand cupped her shoulder and she flinched and sank further into the wall with a horrified expression. When her eyes met mine, she stabilized herself. My heart dropped at the fact how she reacted to my touch so I pulled back my hand. 

"Talk to me. Don't suffocate yourself with your own thoughts." I said after a few moments. "How was Aria?" I asked softly.

She instantly looked at me and I could see the wheel turning in her head as she decided. She sat straight and crisscrossed her legs. 

"She was the mediator between Bella and Ron. They always fought and she ensured the peace. Her aim in life was to be an astronaut but I knew she'd end up being a counselor or something." She gulped as her eyes glistened with tears. 

Out of nowhere, her eyes sparkled and she leaned a bit forward. "I tell you, that day she lost her first milk teeth. She couldn't stop crying," her voice was incredulous.

"Everyone, literally even the watchman tried to make her understand that she'd get it back but she kept complaining that the dinosaurs took away her teeth in her dreams and when she woke up, it wasn't there. She made the entire building chaotic with her cries and tantrums." She let out a breath through her mouth. She looked completely lost in the story as if she was reliving it.

 "I wonder how we are going to handle her when she loses her other teeth."

And time froze for a second and she realized that she had said something wrong. She wiped away a few tears instantly and muttered an apology.