Page 74 of Delirium
“What does that mean?” she asked, distrust obvious in her eyes.
“It means that we will introduce them to each other, have them grow up together, and if it turns into something more than friendship, then we wouldn’t be opposed to them marrying each other. But if they decide to just stay friends, then that’s all they’ll ever be.”
“So, we’re going to be seeing Nico and Alessia a lot more?” she asked. “And with that, the kids are supposed to bond and become friends?”
“Yep,” I said. “We want them to know each other, regardless of everything else. And again, if they fall in love, then so be it. If they don’t, we won’t force them.”
“Storm,” she whispered, looking straight at me. “I… I don’t know what to say. You’re giving them a choice?”
“Yeah, we’re giving them a choice.”
Before I could even blink, she was out of her chair and coming straight at me, lowering herself down onto my lap.
“I was so worried,” she said, hugging me, her hands roaming over my head. “I didn’t want to have to stab you, but I would have if you forced this on her.”
“Oh I know, and I would much rather not get stabbed if possible,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around her. “But now they’ll have a choice. They’ll be able to choose who they want to spend the rest of their lives with, if they want to spend the rest of their lives with someone.”
Her relief was almost palpable, and for the first time since yesterday, I felt as if I could breathe, knowing that I could fix this. That she could trust me again.
“Uh, sorry to interrupt.” The kid who took our order cleared his throat. As I turned around, I saw him carrying a tray. “I brought it over for you guys. And Mr. Knoxx,” he said as he lowered the tray with our order on the table. “My dad said to say hi. He mentioned that you guys used to hang out here a lot when you were younger.”
“That we definitely did.” I smiled as Ophelia took the fries from the table, devouring them as I talked to the kid. “It is nice to meet you, Riccardo. Tell him I said hi, will you? I haven’t seen him in ages.”
“I will, I will.” He smiled. “Enjoy your food and let me know if you need anything else please.”
He didn’t have to tell us twice. At least he didn’t have to tell Ophelia twice.
She was already up and back in her own chair, with her fries in front of her, biting into her cheeseburger.
At least no one could worry that she had a lack of appetite.
Picking up my burger and removing the wrap, I slowly bit into the juicy goodness, observing her every move.
“So,” she started with her mouth half full. “I spoke with Kieran.”
And just like that, my appetite disappeared, just hearing his name. It was insane, this green monster of mine, awakening every time she spoke of him, but I couldn’t help it. I could try to tame it, but I couldn’t completely ignore the fact that he saw her naked before me.
It was irrational, feeling like this, especially since neither one of us were saints, but I still didn’t like him. I still hated him for what he did to her, for how he hurt her, how he wanted to destroy her, and I couldn’t understand why she forgave him.
Maybe I never would, but I also knew that I couldn’t act as irrationally as I wanted to every time she spoke of him.
“Oh,” was all I said as I chewed my burger, avoiding her eyes. That little stunt he pulled where he told her that she could go with him… Yeah, I still couldn’t forget that.
Okay, I respected him for wanting to give her an out, considering that I was behaving like an asshat, engaging with Nova and all the other shit, but no matter what the rational explanation was, I didn’t like it.
“I called him,” she said, and it was as if a sledgehammer slammed into my chest, knocking the breath out of me. I shouldn’t be feeling this way, since I was the one who added his number to her phone. I didn’t want any secrets between us, and it was obvious he was a big part of her life, no matter what I wanted.
I would rather show her that I could keep my temper in check, than have her keep secrets from me because she didn’t want to hurt our relationship.
“You don’t have to look like that, Stormy.” She chuckled.
“Like what?”
“Constipated?” she said, laughing at me. “I know you don’t like him.” That’s putting it mildly. “But Kieran is a friend. He’s one of my oldest friends and he knows that we would never be together. Never again. But he’s helping Maya. He’s trying, and I have to give it to him—he didn’t pull any moves on me, and is really trying to fix his mess.”
“He asked you to come with him,” I grunted, unable to look at her. “I know it’s not for romantic reasons, and I know you had every right to leave that day when you saw me with Nova, but I still don’t like it. This irrational part of me is telling me to find him and to beat him to a pulp, because he wanted to steal what’s mine.”
“Stormy—”
