Page 84 of Delirium
They were just words until you truly felt them, until you truly realized that you couldn’t imagine your life without that person. And me, I knew my life would be meaningless without Ophelia in it.
Her much darker hair was overtaking the blond she colored it with many months ago, and I loved seeing it, bringing me back the girl I fell for. She looked amazing even with her blond hair, but it wasn’t her. It simply wasn’t my Ophelia.
“You need a haircut.” I smiled, dragging my fingers through the strands of her hair.
“Storm Knoxx.” She scoffed. “Are you saying I don’t look good?”
“No,” I murmured, dragging my nose over her cheek. “You always look beautiful to me, but your hair is getting really long.”
It was now cascading all the way to the middle of her back, falling down in soft waves. I wanted to bury my face in her scent and live there forever, but we couldn’t stay here. I had plans for us, and I wanted to show her the forest surrounding the house.
Kaiser was already ready and waiting downstairs with Zoe. I just needed to push Ophelia out of the room.
“Say,” I started, playing with her hair. “How do you feel about going out for a bit?” I looked at her then, gauging her reaction. Her eyes closed, but the determination that settled there as soon as she opened them almost knocked the breath out of me.
“I think that would be amazing.” She smiled softly, pressing her forehead to mine. “I know you won’t let me down.”
“Never, baby,” I whispered, battling the emotions choking me. “But,” I pulled back, “I need you to get your ass showered and ready to go. I’ll wait here, but you need to get going.”
I pinched her butt, earning a shriek and a soft slap to my chest, but she listened. She jumped off of the bed, her T-shirt riding up, exposing her growing belly, and something akin to pride bubbled inside of me, with the knowledge that our kids slept there, protected by their mother, bringing tears to my eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, immediately coming closer to me, but I just shook my head, forcing a wobbly smile on my face.
“I just can’t wait to meet them,” I murmured, splaying my fingers over her belly, right underneath the shirt. “I can’t wait to show them the world, to love them. I want to give them everything, Sunshine,” I looked up at her. “Everything we didn’t have.”
“And you will,” she murmured, battling her own tears. “You’re going to be an amazing dad.” Her lower lip trembled as she spoke, while her fingers disappeared through my hair, keeping us close together.
I pulled her to me then, placing her between my legs as I sat on the bed, with my feet on the ground, pressing my face to her stomach.
I love you both and your mother, I said inside.I love you so much.
My arms stayed wrapped around her for a few seconds, and I loved her even more for giving this to me, for letting me hold her like this. I loved every single thing about her—her strength, the fierce need to protect those she loved, her love, her heart, the fact that she could stand her ground, unwavering. I loved that the Ophelia I met years ago was now stronger than she ever was because she allowed herself to feel.
“I’ll go for a quick shower,” she said, pushing my head away from her with a smile on her face. “If we stay like this, we’re never going anywhere, and I’m itching to get outside.”
“Fine.” I pouted. “But you have ten minutes,” I called after her as she all but ran toward the bathroom.
“I only need five,” she called back, turning the shower on.
I looked around the room, frowning at the small space.
We couldn’t bring our kids here. We were still a couple of months away from the birth date, but still. I couldn’t start building a family in the Clubhouse, and I wanted her to have everything. I meant what I said—she deserved the world and so did our kids.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and found the number of the one person who could help me to realize this little dream of mine.
I glanced toward the bathroom, hearing the running water and the soft humming as Ophelia sang, and I smiled, loving the happiness that started coming back to her after our little talk. We had a long way to go, but it was all worth it. All this pain was worth it. As the familiar voice answered from the other end of the phone, I knew I was doing the right thing.
“Storm? Is everything okay with the house?”
“Hey, Monica,” I greeted, getting up from the bed and walking toward the window in the room. “I need a favor. Well, I need you to work your magic and I need it fast.”
Her chuckle echoed through the line, followed by the question, “What do you need?”
“A house,” I blurted out. “A house close to this one. Four to five bedrooms. Large enough to raise a family,” I murmured. “And a big-ass dog.” We couldn’t forget about Kaiser.
“Consider it done,” she replied. “I’ll come back to you shortly with a couple of ideas.”
“Thank you,” I said just as Ophelia emerged from the bathroom, the little towel she had wrapped around herself, leaving little to the imagination. Her hair was pulled in a messy bun atop her head, questions lingering in her eyes as she saw me talking on the phone. “We’ll keep in touch,” I murmured, dropping the phone call just as Ophelia walked toward the closet, keeping her eyes on me.
