~Chapter 45~

Half an hour later the duo found themselves stumbling inside a room with their lips locked to each other, separating only when they needed air. They don't know how and when their passion for each other was ignited, was it when Emilia poured out her heart to Rio?....or was it when it started to snow and they had stood under a mistletoe only to kiss after noticing it?...or was it when Rio's forest green pupils shined the brightest to Emilia as he marveled at the sight of snowfall? Neither of them knew. What they know is that, they had felt the spark of baring their all to each other, enough to burn them deliciously dry, so they walked hand in hand inside the motel and although Rio was kind of embarrassed of asking for a room, it was Emilia who took the initiative of asking for room all the while holding an extremely red-faced Rio's hand.

They couldn't keep their hands off from each other right from the elevator itself. They touched, explored, and squeezed each other till no end as soon as they entered the room. Soon after their bodies were filled with red bite marks and hickeys. Their grunts and moans of pleasurable satisfaction filled the entire room and they went on until there were no more condoms left. They rolled over to the other side panting with beads of sweat clinging and shinning like diamonds from the street lights that poured in the room through the sliding glass window on their body. But they weren't finished yet for they used the rest of their stamina inside the bathtub.

"My mother, Brenda visited sometimes even after she signed off her paternal rights to my aunt happily. It was mostly to see how miserable we've become but contrary to her expectations, we lived fairly well. That is why she tried to harass us in several ways just to prove her point that I am an enigma of bad luck and to make aunt give up her paternal rights too, sailing me off to some random orphanage and put me up for adoption." Emilia continued whilst spooning with Rio on the motel bed. For some reason, she ended up as the big spoon and him the small spoon. She played with his hair that was really soft and fresh out of shower. "Sorry, not much of an after sex pillow talker, am I?"

"No no just continue." Rio listened to her voice reverberating through her chest along with her heartbeat. He wishes to savor it all—this night, her breaths, her voice, her body, her entire being; everything, because he doesn't know when he'll be torn away from her and if this time he'll be able to return at all. He doesn't think that he's being paranoid but he had an uncomfortable feeling all throughout the market.

"Initially Brenda didn't hate me, she simply scorned me but there was one time when I told her off and that's where things started to go downhill. It's not like things ever went uphill but after that day things really went bad as hell between us." She sighed. "Brenda one day came to us, asking for money, I was fourteen, just the start of teenage years, y'know? She shamelessly asked for it in front of me for her beloved pedophile of a second husband who for some stupid brawl had ended up in jail. It was then I told her off, aunt too refused and from then onwards we have bad blood between us. Not like there wasn't any….but yeah." She paused. "Her fucking second husband is the reason why I suffered from insomnia for years and was unable to sleep if I didn't have sex with someone."

"You suffered a lot." Rio tightened his grip on her waist.

Emilia smiled sadly as she kissed his hair. "Don't we all have our own individual sufferings?"

After a pause Rio started to speak, "I was five when I was kidnapped. The police spent searching for me for six months and when they found me I have already been admitted to Rambourgh Hospital."

"Hold on, you were also admitted to Rambourgh hospital in what….20XX?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, you're a year younger than me!"

"How old are you?" he looked at the big spoon.

"I turned 20 today." She too looked at her small spoon. "I took a two year drop from school for my treatment. What? Do you regret?"

"What? No!" Rio shook his head and smiled. "Actually, make that 2 years younger."

"So you're not 18?"

"I will be on new year's day." They both snickered. "we both have a unique way of telling each other our birthdays don't we?"

"Yep. By the way, Emilia, why did you say all those in the restaurant?"

"Which one?" I said many things to you.

"You know the one where you fear of losing me and all that...…"

"Ohh uh that? Well, never mind that. I was just voicing out my fears." Emilia avoided the subject knowingly. "Let's go to sleep for now." She drifted off to sleep.

The next morning her eyes opened to the terrible banging at the door. She groaned to and covered her ears with her pillow, but the banging continued. At last she got frustrated, wrapped the sheets around her as she went to receive the impatient one beyond the door. She was too sleepy to find her own dress which was most probably strewn around somewhere.

It wasn't the drowsy old woman from previous night but rather a snarky looking woman in her forties.

"It's already 12 missy." She barked.

"12 what?" the young blonde yawned.

"12 noon! And it's over the time for you to leave the god damn room so that my staff could clean all your shits!" maybe this yelling was what Emilia needed to get rid of her sleepiness. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah we're going…Rio? Let's go else she'll bite our head off." The blonde shook a lump of something that was covered in sheets beside the space where she was sleeping. But that lump seemed soft, too soft to become a human being. She pulled off the sheets only to discover pillows and cushions from the little couch in the room stuffed inside the sheet, making it look like a human being.

Emilia rushed to the adjoining bathroom of the room to check if he's in there but no he is not. A cackling sound was heard from the door where the snarky woman is laughing as if it's the funniest thing that has happened ever. Upon Emilia's glare, she raised her hands in defense mockingly; "Oh sweetie, don't get me wrong, you weren't the first one who got abandoned after a one night stand! I've seen cases like this before as well."

She ignored the foul mouthed middle aged woman and tried to call Rio. It directed straight to voicemail after ringing. The multiple calls from Emilia ended up in the same voicemail. The messages too, remained unseen and unanswered.

Where did he go without telling her?

But the snarky woman is nowhere near finished because she was babbling her life away; "...…men are selfish creatures, you give them an inch and they take it a mile….ackhhh!!" she coughed and looked at the blonde girl with wide eyes as she was manhandled by the latter by the former's throat. The middle aged woman wasn't physically strong enough to fight off the blonde so sort of gave up struggling and listened to what the angry blonde had to say.

"You have CCTV camera at entrance yes?"

"Achkkkh ugh ah yes!"

"15 minutes. I'll give you fifteen minutes time to find the record when he left this building or else.....!"

"I'll go I'll find I'll go!" the snarky turned now polite woman scrambled off the floor and ran downstairs to the reception in order to find the CCTV record from previous night.

Emilia slammed the door of the room with unnecessary force and sat down on the bed, exhausted.

Where the fuck are you Rio?