The Moment We Met (Chapter-10)

 

Maisara's pov

I take a long sip from the bottle of Coca-Cola and cringe as the sudden acidic flavor runs down my throat. As it subsides, the sweet aftertaste spreads everywhere making me sigh in relaxation. I glance around the kitchen.

It's mostly covered in darkness, the only light is the soft yellow fluorescent blub above my head that only seems to illuminate two feet around me. However, I can see a little beyond that.

It's clean and organized now, like it was before the fight, though I haven't seen how it was then as it's my first time stepping into this house. I've done it, cleaned everything, and arranged whatever was disarranged. Because I cannot fall asleep with so many thoughts going through my head and cleaning and organizing seem to be my second defense mechanism after reckless driving.

It would feel much better to go for a long drive right now. But I'm kinda stuck here after receiving a message from Ian saying, "Thanks a lot for stopping the fight. You don't have any idea how grateful I'm for that. However, I need one last favor from you. Please, take care of Felix for me. He becomes so messed up when he's drunk and it's dangerous to leave him alone. James and I are busy with Ryker, keeping him out of there, you know. So please, take care of Felix until we can get to him."

Well, I kinda have an idea how much messed up drunk he is. First of all, he is not the type to get involved in a fight. I mean, yeah, he pretty much attracts trouble and then needs someone else to get his ass out of it. But he won't beat someone up. He, at least I didn't think, has it in him.

Secondly, in the bathroom, he was openly flirting with me which is again not his nature. So, yeah, I pretty much know how much messed up he is. And I pretty much can tell how much embarrassed he is gonna be tomorrow morning when he will wake up and remember this.

I sigh, leaning my head on the countertop, exhaustion hitting me for the second time in the night but sleep is still nowhere to be found. Maybe I should try going to bed and trying to fall asleep. I know it won't work. Besides, I'm supposed to 'take care of' Felix'. What if he does something more messed up while I'm asleep?

I pull my head up and stare at the maroon liquid inside the bottle. Should I check up on him? I did tell him to go to bed before leaving. But I don't know whether he really went to bed or not. I don't even know whether he was capable of making it to his bed. And I left him there and walked away like an idiot.

I rub a hand over my face as an exhausted sigh leaves my mouth. I should definitely check up on him. Leaving him alone there was totally an irresponsible thing to do.

Pouring the remaining Cola down my throat, I stand up and turn around. And I almost let out a scream when I see a shadowy figure standing in the doorway leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his naked chest. He's half covered in dark but I swear I see his lips twitching upwards into a teasing smirk. I swear I can even see his eyes twinkle with the familiar craze.

"Hello, my dear Eudaemon." He flashes his teeth at me looking satisfied with the nickname he has just called me. I have no idea what that means and that's not even my concern. My concern is, "What are you doing here, Felix? You're supposed to be sleeping."

I walk over to him, in case he needs help. Although, I don't think he really needs help when he himself has managed to come here all the way from his room.

"Can't sleep." He shrugs, stumbling forward while trying to stand straight. I hold my hands out to help him but he stops me signaling silently with his hands that he's gonna manage it himself. I pull my hands down.

"You can just lie down and try to fall asleep," I insist following him as he crosses past me and enters the kitchen, stumbling all the way.

"Why are you insisting me on sleeping?" He reaches the stool where I was sitting and turns back to face me. The way the light from above casts a downward shadow on his naked collarbone and shoulder blade makes him almost look like a figure in a painting where all the right colors are used in the right places. It should be illegal to look this good when he's only standing under a kitchen light. He-

"Were you doing something inappropriate, Maisara?" My cheeks hit up when I find that his words are the one that has pulled me out of my daze. Irritation fills up in me and I don't know whether I'm irritated with myself for doing something actually inappropriate or with him for his double-meaning words.

"Well, if I remember correctly." I walk over to him and stand under the light, closer to him than I intended. And I realize that the smell of alcohol on him is not as strong as it was in the bathroom. A slight frown takes over my face as I lock my eyes with his. "You are drunk and injured, Felix. So I thought it would be best for you to have some rest rather than coming to the kitchen and spurting nonsense words."

He holds my gaze for a moment too long before speaking, "Well, I don't feel like sleeping then." He shrugs and starts stumbling his way to the refrigerator. I cross my arms over my chest watching his back muscle reflexing when he pulls open the door. "What do you feel like doing then?" I shake my head lightly to prevent myself from falling into a daze again.

He pulls out a water bottle and opens the lid. His eyes catch mine as he closes his lips around the mouth of the bottle and tilts his head backward. I don't know why but I suddenly remember the look he gave me in the bathroom and a shiver runs down my spine. He closes the cap and wipes his lips with the back of his hand.

"I feel like talking to Maisara," he says, closing the refrigerator door. The light from the refrigerator is suddenly gone and he's engulfed by darkness again. But my eyes can make out the outlines of his feature quite clearly.

"Well, I'm standing right here and listening to you." I shrug, squinting my eyes at him. "Unless you are talking about some other Maisara."

His lips quirk up into a thin smile. He shakes his head and even through the low light coming from behind me, I can clearly see the amusement in his eyes. "I'm talking about this Maisara, of course. This 'hardie on the outside and softie on the inside' Maisara. My favorite pretty-pretty Maisara."

I rub a hand over my face, trying my best to not let his words get to my head. He seems better now, more energetic at least, but alcohol is still in his system and doing its job pretty nicely, I see. I need to be careful.

"Say it. I'm listening." I take a seat on the stool facing him.

He shakes his head. "Not here." And then within a blink of an eye, he is in front of me grabbing my hand and pulling me with him.

Of course, I start protesting, "Hey, wait-what are you-"

"Here." He stops abruptly and drops to the ground. I notice that we are on the other side of the kitchen. Leaning his back against the wall, he gets comfortable on the floor. He gently tugs on my hand and pats his hand on the floor beside him gesturing me to sit there.

"Felix, you literally have so many stools there. Why are you sitting on the floor?" My eyebrows furrow in confusion. His grip around my wrist tightens slightly. He rolls his eyes at me, despite the grin on his lips. "Just sit here already, miss perfectionist."

"But why-"

"Maisara." With only one word, he stops me. "Please." And with the second one and another tug on my wrist, I'm sitting beside him on the floor.

We stay silent for quite some time. I don't know what's going on in his mind or what he wants to talk about, but I just feel comfortable in this silence. His fingers are still wrapped around my wrist. I try to ignore the warmth seeping from his skin to my skin and how it's making me feel warm from the inside as well. He probably even forgot that he's holding my hand and so I don't try to pull it out of his grip.

"You know I always wanted to do this." Of course, Felix is the one who breaks the silence. I turn my head to look at him almost at the same time as his. His head is leaned against the wall behind us as he locks his eyes with me. "Talking with someone on the kitchen floor for hours at night."

A burst of sudden small laughter irrupts from me. "It's not hours, silly. Maybe only five minutes have passed. You can say, minutes though."

He falls silent and the look he has in those light-colored orbs scares me. I know that look and I know what that look can lead to. That's the thing I've vowed to avoid my whole life.

But what scares me more than that look is that I feel like I can break the vow for him, with him.

"What is it?" I don't even recognize my voice when I ask him that. He already has a soft smile tugging on his lips that grows hearing my words. He pulls his knees closer to his chest and leans his head on top of his knees.

"Do that again." His eyes shine as he whispers that. I feel myself gulping once as I keep staring at him. "Do what?"

"Smile," he replies almost inaudibly and I don't even know why that actually pulls out a smile on my lips.

"You should do that more often." He flashes his teeth this time. I get aware of his grip on my wrist again as he squeezes. "Your smile looks ethereal."

I turn my head to the other side as I start feeling the warmth creeping up my neck and reaching my face. That Coca-Cola I drank earlier must have contained alcohol. And that's what is working on me right now. Otherwise, I have no logical reason to feel this way.

Silence prevails between us again. Only our soft breaths and a ticking of a clock from somewhere inside the house can be heard. I can also hear my heartbeat and probably if I pay enough attention, I'll hear his as well.

He moves his thumb over my pulse and starts making small circles there before breaking the silence, "Thank you and sorry."

He continues when I don't say anything in reply, "Thank you for stopping.......the fight and helping me........for everything, actually. And sorry for the trouble all of these cost you."

I look down at my lap and start picking invisible dirt from my pants while mumbling, "No need to say sorry or thanks. I chose to do it."

"Still." I feel Felix shifting in his place to face me. Then he continues, "You could have stayed at your home now and..........," he trails off probably realizing what he said. "Shit, sorry, I-I shouldn't-"

"It's okay," I mumble again, picking another dirt and throwing it off. The warmth of his palm feels somewhat soothing against my skin.

We again get wrapped up in the blanket of silence. It's kinda uncomfortable, I sense. For me, but not for Felix. Because he's fidgeting, probably feeling sorry for saying that. I get him but it's kinda irritating me. Because that actually makes me feel like a homeless person now, which I technically am. But it's still annoying.

While I'm thinking of saying something which doesn't sound that much rude to him, he beats me to it, "Um, so, have you found any place to stay?"

I nod. "Yeah, thanks to an acquaintance."

"Oh, that's great." There comes another awkward response. Even when he is silent, his awkwardness is too loud. I decide to change the topic. "Felix, if you don't mind me asking, what was that about?"

"What was what about?" His tone changes into a confused one. A confused Felix is better than an awkward one.

"The fight." I pull my knees up to my chest and place my head on top of them facing him like he did earlier though I can't see his face. He's looking down at his fingers and his hair is falling over his eyes covering them from me.

He starts slowly, "Oh, it's........" He trails off. Taking a deep breath, he says, "Well, nothing sort of important."

Of course, he is lying. "Oh really?" I taunt. "So you were shedding blood for nothing. Interesting." 

"Yeah........No....... Well........" His reply starts coming out sloppy and slurry. He pauses realizing that and cranks his head to look at me. I can't see his face that clearly in this realm of light and darkness but the look in his eyes is too vulnerable to miss. I look away.

Tension becomes thick in the air and I can feel it pretty clearly. A sigh leaves my mouth. Though my curiosity is at its peak, I suppress it and tell him, "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

He lets out a short laugh before saying, "Now I feel like I need to tell you." I know he meant it as a joke but it just doesn't come out like that. He winces when he feels it too. 

I shake my head again. "No, I mean-"

He cuts me off, "It's fine. You're meant to hear it anyway. It's about you after all." 

I snap my head in his direction. About me? What is he talking about? How in the hell did I become the topic for them to fight over? Is it -Oh, shit- Don't tell me it is about what I told Felix this morning!

"What?" That's the only response I manage to choke out. I don't bother trying to hide my emotion. He can't see my face in dark anyway. But, mostly, fuck it. I don't have time for this. I need answers. 

He decides to look at me before talking, keeping his eyes locked with mine. "Ryker lied to you."

I lose a breath. I swear Felix is unnecessarily making it sound like a mystery. I reply, trying not to snap at him, "Well, he did a lot of times. What exactly are you implying?"

He angles his face a little. The seriousness glinting in those dreamy eyes looks surreal. His lips move and seconds later, I hear it, "About the whole 'me saying and you cheating' thing."

I swear I feel the exact moment my heart drops to my stomach. So that's what it was about. My inside feels hollow suddenly as if something has been ripped out of there. I know exactly what has been ripped out. The last string. The last straw of hope. The last excuse. The last chance that I'm wrong. That not everything was Ryker's fault. That I could blame someone else other than him and me. That it was all a misunderstanding.

Except it never was a misunderstanding. It was Ryker all along.

But didn't I know that already somewhere in the back of my mind? Didn't I already know Ryker was the main cause of everything that went wrong between us? Didn't I already know that his brother who appeared nothing but a gentleman every time we interacted would do no such thing?

I look down at the ground, hearing my heart beating in my ears making them hot. Hot with embarrassment. Hot with anger. Hot with humiliation. I seriously don't have anything to say. So I decide to stay silent. 

Felix fills the lack of words. "Sorry." His fingers start drawing slow circles again on my vein.

"Why are you saying sorry?" I ask quietly.

I feel him shrugging before he replies, "Just thought you needed to hear that." 

Again I don't say anything in return. I was never good at keeping a conversation going. Tonight it feels even harder to do so. Luckily, Felix doesn't feel that way. He always knows what to say to keep the conversation going. Like, now he says after a few moments of silence pass, "By the way, you were looking pretty hot and badass back then."

And here, our drunk Felix is back. I facepalm myself ignoring the goosebumps I start getting all of a sudden. Turning to face him, I again lose my words seeing the look in his eyes. He looks genuinely happy and excited and even proud. His eyes are twinkling so much that I'm pretty sure they are gonna start emitting light any moment now.

I gulp down what I was gonna say, too afraid to lose this expression of his. Instead, I reply with what was bothering me all this while, "I'm sorry if how I treated Ryker bothered you. But I'm not sorry for what I did to him. He deserved that."

His wide grin falters at that. He licks his lips once keeping his eyes on me. It can be my imagination but I feel like he's suddenly looking unsure of what to say. His eyes leaves mine and roam around the kitchen as if searching for a reply. Finally, they fix on something and he starts talking, "You know, Ryker is not only my younger brother. He is my best friend and my savior. I think I'm this me, kinda clumsy and trouble-prone, because of him. Yes, it's true that he is the one to cause trouble but he is also the one to save me. I never had to be the big brother for him. He was always so mature and smart. He was always there for me. I don't remember a time when I needed him and he wasn't there."

He hugs his legs to his chest again and puts the side of his face on them looking back at me. I take a deep silent breath seeing the look in his eyes. He looks so vulnerable with his glassy eyes and tightly pressed lips as if he is going to break down soon. I feel how tightly he is gripping my hand as if he is holding onto something with his everything. His next words come out nothing more than a whisper, his voice cracking around the edge, "That's why, this.......incident hit me pretty hard. I never thought Ryker would be the one to do something like this. It feels so much like a betrayal and.......and......."

He trails off looking away and blinking several times. It doesn't take a genius to understand that he is hiding away the tears from me. He sniffs before looking back. I almost wince seeing the sad smile on him. "What you did there didn't make me more uncomfortable than my own brother's action. So don't worry about it."

The only response I manage to give is a curt nod. He shake his head ruffling his messy hair more than they already were as if to shake away the negative feelings. Then he sits up straight pulling his legs down on the tiled floor and flashes me a wide grin showing of his teeth. The next thing I notice is that he has pulled my hand up to his lips. Before I get a chance to pull it back, he connects his lips to the back of my hand. 

"Felix!" I hiss tugging on my hand to take it back but he is gripping so tightly. His grip is not hurting me but I can't pull my hand back. He even starts rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand where he kissed.

"Did you know your hand is soft and creamy like butter?"

I can't even fight back the blush this time. My head even starts spinning as I feel my whole face and neck burning up. My ears start humming softly as well.

"Shut up!" I try to pull my hand again but that goes in vain. He even grabs my hand with his other free hand.

"No, don't let go, please." He flashes his teeth again. "I like it this way."

And when the silence prevails again and his head falls on my shoulder, I try to make sense of my own behavior as to why I'm not finding any of these being weird or why I'm not actually letting go, or why even I am feeling comfortable in his touch.

The only logical answer I come up with is that my Coca-Cola was mixed with alcohol and I drank it without knowing that.