Were You Expecting Flowers? ✔️

42

Touch me 'til I find myself, in a feeling
Tell me with your hands that you're never leaving
Always thought I was hard to love
'Til you made it seem so easy, seem so easy
___________________

WHEN THE door closed, Carlos and I were left to deal with the awkward silence. I could tell he had a lot to say, but held himself back for my sake.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again and sighed.

"You okay?" I asked.

He blinked at me. "What?- yeah I'm okay. Of course I'm okay." He said as he took a seat on the bed.

I scooted over for space so he didn't have to sit in such an awkward position. I crossed my legs, realizing I was still in my outdoor clothes. He adjusted, facing me.

"Where am I? How long was I out?" I asked him.

"An hour sixteen minutes." He replied, frowning, "You're in one of the royal guest rooms. It took a while to get Fairy Godmother here. She... 'took away' what Maleficent did to you..." His voice went up involuntarily, showing that he didn't know how to phrase it properly.

"Oh."

"What... what did she do to you?" He said, slowly taking hold of my hand.

I looked down at our intwined fingers, heart beating fast for many different reasons. "I don't know. It was just like a really intense headache."

Carlos didn't reply. He was running his fingers through his hair again, something he keeps doing whenever he's stressed. I was suddenly very aware of the little movements we made, every breath and every blink. Every sound and every feeling magnified. I lowered my gaze again.

I have never spoken of love until about a month ago. And now it was staring at me right in the face, defying and encouraging me at the same time.

"You were screaming, you know that, right?" He said quietly.

I dragged my eyes up to look at his face and was shocked to see the tears in his eyes. He looked broken.

"Carlos-" I lunged towards him without thinking, burying my face in the crook of his neck.

He freed my hand and used his to press me close, so close I could hear every inhale and exhale of breath. So close, I couldn't differentiate whose heartbeat was whose anymore. His tears trailed down his face and onto my neck and shoulder.

And I felt it.

I felt all the love my body could possibly hold overflow. And I never thought I could hold even a drop.

Cause this boy. Despite every kick and blow he's taken, still feels the need to protect me. And for years I have never protected anyone another than myself. How could he hold me in his arms and not call me selfish? How could he let me this close to him without being afraid... afraid of me hurting him?

All I've ever known was my knife.

And even it has turned against me.

I broke into fury sobs, letting it tear at my soul. He didn't say anything, just kept me close and held me tight, as if he was trying to stop me from shaking... or himself from shaking.

"You-" Carlos choked back his tears, "You were screaming, Brae. Did you know?"

I wanted to see his face, so I moved back and blinked to clear my vision. I shook my head. No.

"You screamed-" He gulped. I could tell it was getting hard for him to get the words out. His voice was ragged. "You said: Get out of my head. Leave me alone. I don't want to know." A new set of tears raced each other down his cheeks. "Did you know how much it scared me to see you like that?"