Some moments leave asting impression on one person, while for someone else, they just breeze by-it''s not exactly fair. ra could feel his mood shift and quickly grabbed his hand.
"I haven''t done anything to hurt you, have I?" she asked, noticing how he tensed up even more.
The truth was, ra didn''t remember much about her past. Besides being known as Simon''s admirer, she hadn''t left any real clues about herself.
"No, you''ve been great," he replied.
She sighed in relief, a smile spreading across her face.
"Good, as long as I haven''t wronged you. In my dreams, I''m really young, like seven or eight. If you''ve liked me since then, that''s a lot of years, huh? Speaking of which, I remember Simon saying something about my school uniform getting stolen in high school, so I was the only one not in uniform for the graduation photo. Why do I have this sneaking suspicion it was you?"
He didn''t say anything, just kept stirring thest bit of soup with his spoon. ra was joking, but his reaction made her wonder if it was true.
"If you were at my high school graduation, were you at my college graduation too?"
Her college graduation day was unforgettable. There was a car ident with Dn, and he lost his legs. It happened right on her graduation day.
She couldn''t always recall it clearly, but people brought it up often. And the way Z looked at her, it was like he was obsessed, always watching, longing, wanting to be close but scared of overwhelming her.
She shut her eyes, waiting for his answer.
After what felt like forever, he whispered hoarsely, "I was there."
ra opened her eyes and broke into a smile. "You really were there?"
"Yeah."
Her heart warmed, and she regretted casually talking about breaking up before. She had started this rtionship just to see where it went, having lost her memory and finding the world unfamiliar except for him. He felt different, and she didn''t push him away.
She admitted she was a bit indifferent, sometimes thinking it wouldn''t matter if they broke up. But after that dream, her heart softened.
When someone loves you genuinely and quietly watches over you, even a heart of stone would melt.
She stood up suddenly, found his hand, and hugged him. "If I could go back, I''d definitely talk to you more."
Z stiffened, carefully ced the bowl on the bedside table, and hugged her tightly.
They stayed like that in the dark for a long time, until ra yawned.
"I''m feeling a bit off, heading to bed. Want to join me?"
"Yeah."
He left the bedroom, washed the bowl in the kitchen, took a shower in the bathroom down the hall, and then slipped back into bed with her.
ra found it funny how he acted like he was keeping a secret from her, worried she might see his face. But she had decided to respect his privacy until he was ready to open up.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close, almost like he couldn''t bear to let go. She felt tiny against him, like she fit perfectly in his embrace.
She rxed, pushing away sleep to chat with him.
"Z, I''m not going to talk about breaking up again. Don''t take what I say when I''m upset to heart."
The arms around her tightened a bit. "Really?" he asked, his voice full of cautious hope.
ra couldn''t help butugh. "Really. Sometimes life just throws terrible things at me, and I take it out on you. But once I calm down, I''lle find you."
He rested his forehead against her shoulder, his voice content. "Alright."