Into My Heart

XVII

"Abby, wait up!"

Of course I recognize this voice at once, but still decide to keep on walking dramatically. Tears were rolling down my cheeks - accumulated anger and sadness from the past weeks - and I couldn't afford anybody on the Press family to see it, especially her. 

But she somehow is way faster than me and catches up eventually, grabbing my arm, causing me to turn around and face her. As soon as she sees I am crying, her angry facial expression disappears, and she nods.

Setting my jaw, I almost shout:

"Leave me alone, I don't need-"

But she decided otherwise than letting me finish my sentence.

Before I know it, I feel two soft yet strong arm getting wrapped around me, before my face gets buried in her neck, her sweet smell invading my whole head, causing me to feel dizzy. She holds me against her as if I didn't stand a chance to get away from this embrace. Instead of running away, like I was willing to do, I just burst into tears, as she holds me closer.

It takes me five full minutes of crying - all the emotions I hadn't been able to express for the last 22 years coming all at once through my eyes - to finally pull myself together and take a step back. She patiently waits for me to say something, watching me as I wipe my tears away and stare at my feet for a few seconds.

After quite some time, realizing my throat was too tied to speak, she devances me and says:

"I was about to take a walk through this forest" and, while shyly smiling, she points at the aggregation of tree a few feet away. Turning toward me again, she says: "I wouldn't despise some company, if you are up to it."

I silently nod.

And that is enough: we walk in silence through the forest, before she attempts to start some dialogue, like asking me how the day with her sister went, or how the bonding with my newly-found sisters was going, those sorts of things. And, in the process, I realized how sweet and gentle she was being with me, although all I ever did was pushing her away and hating her for who her parents were. 

After a few more minutes of us just staring at the trees raising around us, I finally end up saying:

"Thank you for putting up with me although I am terrible company"

That actually makes her laugh, which intrigues me. Catching my confused expression, she stops laughing but keeps on smiling.

Gosh, her smile, and her eyes... I surprise myself thinking, before pulling it together.  

"You undermine yourself, Abby" she declares, staring ahead of us after quickly throwing a glance at me. As her smile grows softer, she adds: "I somehow find... tranquility in your company, as if we'd known each other in another life already, or something."

"I don't believe in alternate lives" I cut her.

She smirks. 

"Of course you don't. You doubt everything you experience, as I recall. I mean: you even doubt people like you at all, even though everybody tells you otherwise. I've never seen Kristie Mewis wrap an arm around somebody before, and you'd only known her for two months or so. You have something special in you, believe me."

"How can you tell ?" I ask, truly confused and curious this time.

Without a warning, she stares down as she slowly grabs my hand. 

My body is immediately shaken by glorious shivers, down my spine and through my every bones, that see to vibrate. My eyes are on her, while hers slowly look up and catches with them. Once again, something electric happens that I could not explain, as we just remain standing, perfectly still.