There was no longer “they” now

Jeremy closed his eyes and tried to calm down. It was just a rhetoric question. Ryn, until now, did not change her mind. She was still in love with him. She did not even look at other men. She was waiting for him this whole time!

She must be waiting for him!!!

He wiped the tears from her cheeks. Then he kissed each cheek, lid and lastly forehead.

"I'm sorry. I really am sorry."

Ryn laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She was still trying to stop her cry. The pain in her chest lessened once she poured out her heart. She let his heartbeat and the stroke on her back to lull her to sleep.

He kissed the top of her head when he felt that she had fallen asleep. Then, he carefully lifted her up and brought her into the bedroom.

Instead of leaving her sleeping alone in the room after changing her clothes into pajama, he cleaned himself and laid next to her. He pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes tiredly.

"Goodnight, my love. I love you."

With her in his arms, he felt complete. And today was the first night he fell asleep feeling so peaceful.

~*~*~*~

The sound of the cabinet been opened woke him up from slumber. He opened his eyes and smiled seeing the beautiful vision of her choosing outfit to wear.

"Good morning, love." He hugged her from behind, too happy to actually do the things he always dreamt of.

She stopped what she was doing. Her hands touched his as she closed her eyes. Was this a dream?

"I've been dreaming for us to be like this," he murmured against the top of her head, still holding her close to him.

"Hmm…"

He turned her around and cupped her face. The kiss was deep. He put his love into the kiss. He wanted to show her how true his feeling was.

Both of them were breathless when the kiss ended. His thumb rubbed against her slightly swollen lips. His eyes were tender. He loved seeing her like this.

"Move in with me, please."

Her face changed hearing his request. Living together with him… again?

~*~*~*~

Harry stopped the car in front of the house, grumbling to himself. Every time he had to go to class early, his mother would order him to send something to his aunt. This time, he had to send a big box filled with God knows what. It was heavy too.

He used his keys to unlock the door and grunted a bit carrying the box into the house.

It seemed like his aunt had woken up and busy in her studio. Or…

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Aunt, I've brought the things mother asked."

He walked into the studio carefully. He was right. His aunt was lying on the sofa bed, holding a brush. She was deep in her sleep.

Carefully he took the brush from her hand and put it into the bucket of the used brush. Later he would help cleaning the brushes.

Unconsciously he stopped in front of a canvas covered with a white cloth. As if someone else controlled him, his hand pulled the cloth off it.

His eyes lay on her face. He stood still and stared at it.

How long had it been?

Five years?

Six years?

They used to communicate almost every day at first but later their relationship getting further and further apart. It did not even felt weird when the communication ended.

It was not his intention to end their relationship but it seemed like she had lost the interest to be with him.

He even forgot about them.

But when he saw the painting, all the memories of them came back to his mind.

When did she come back?

Why she did not tell him?

Why she did not look for him?

Was their friendship meant nothing to her?

He was hurt. He would be honest and say how hurt he was, knowing that she had forgotten all about him.

Were they not starting their relationship seriously, before they were forced apart?

Unable to think more, he draped the canvas and stormed out of the room. He could no longer look at the painting without feeling hurt.

He grabbed the car key on the dining table and quickly locked the door. He should start heading toward the campus. Thinking about her was a waste of time. He should focus on his life.

Her life did not relate to him.

Not anymore.

He started the engine but instead of driving the car away, he rested his face on the steering.

He took a few deep breaths. He needed to calm down. He needed to forget.

He needed to forget about her. He needed to forget about them.

There was no longer "they" now.

And then, his phone rang.

~*~*~*~

"What's your answer? Will you move back with me?"

His heart pounded when she did not even say anything the moment he asked her. Was this too fast?

"We… we can get married if you are not comfortable living together without official status," he stuttered. He knew he was begging for her agreement.

He did not care.

He just wanted to be together with her… forever.

"J…" she started but then paused. Her already opened mouth closed back. How could she answer this?

She did not want to experience the pain again when he started to be suspicious about her again. Even now, she was not sure whether her agreement for him to woo her back, for their relationship to start back was the right decision.

She was confused.

She was stuck in the middle between her own feeling and her worry.

She would not lie and say she no longer loved him. She still loved him but the wall she erected around her heart helped protect her feeling. She did not want to destroy the wall just because he said he wanted them to start again.

She would rather be alone rather than been betrayed again.

No more.

"J…. can you… can you give me more time… please?"

His face changed. But instead of forcing her to give her agreement, he nodded slowly.

"I won't force you. But at least let me send you to your university, please?"

She nodded. That was at least she could do.