The Morning After

She felt warm sunlight on her face and she stirred. She turned over and felt a hand next to her; she gave a low moan and wiggled over till she could place her head on the crook of the shoulder. She cuddled up to the body, warm and comforting, and she rubbed her cheek on the skin, feeling safe. And fingers began to stroke her hair, and she began to feel the stirring again inside her. As the fingers played with her hair and stroked the back of her neck, she began to yearn for more and the fingers moved slowly but surely down the neck along her spine. She arched her back and pressed herself against the skin as a burning built up inside her. Her eyes still shut, she began to realize that this was not something she was used to, and the skin smelt strangely familiar and yet at the same time, not.
She opened her eyes, and gasped in surprise. Instinctively, she pulled the covers over her and sat up. She relaxed when events of the last night rushed into her stream of consciousness. She realized she was fully clothed, and she began to carefully string her thoughts together.
She remembered the party, and the fight, and her boyfriend had stormed off and left her. She remembered the anger, the throwing herself into the party and letting every bit of the anger go. There were loud music, flashing lights, the exhaustion, and.. the face..
"You were there, weren't you?" she asked.
He had sat up on the corner of the bed. He nodded. He had seen her almost making a fool of herself in the middle of the dance floor and had caught her as she lost her balance. She had been really upset and had broken down into a bundle of shuddering, sobbing nerves in his arms. Not having a place to go, he had taken her to his home, into his bed.
He'd gotten up in the early hours to hear her crying in her sleep, and gotten into bed with her and cradled her till she calmed down. And with her in his arms and soundly asleep, he, too began to roll off into slumber..

Calm before the storm

He got up from his chair and stretched. He walked around his table towards his door. It had been a long morning filled with video conference after another, and frankly, he'd felt tired. Standing up sort of stretched his aching muscles and that made him feel like taking a short stroll.

He opened his door and scanned the sea of cubicles spread out in from of him. As he was about to step out, he caught a familiar figure at one of the cubicles.

She stared intently at her pc screen, typing away. He admired for a moment; she held her head high, and, instead of slouching in her seat like the others, she sat with her back straight and shoulders back. Every once in a while she would cock her head to one side, thinking; and when in paticularly deep thought, she would press her index finger to her bottom lip, sometimes tapping it, and when she found the answer the finger would straighten, and she would nod to herself and continue typing away.

"See something you like?" came a voice next to him. He turned and found his secretary looking at him with a smile at the corner of her mouth. She was a tall elderly woman, greying at the temples who wore her hair pulled back into a bun at the back of her head. She tended to mother him at times, but she was sensible and he didn't mind. He gave an embarrased smile as he realized he was leaning against the door frame, weight on one leg and arms casually crossed.

"The new girl's caught your fancy eh? Everyone's talking about it; thought you should know."

The words took a while to sink in as he watched his secretary walk away. He figured it wouldn't be too difficult for people to figure that out. After all, he did spend more time explaining things to her than to the others.

He'd found her to be more intelligent than the others and she was quick to ask things whenever things were not clear, and her work always came out with a little extra. Because of that he found it worth his time to spend a little more time with her than anyone else, and he'd also begun to look forward to the little exchanges.

Together

Her eyes followed the food as the waiter placed it on the table. She looked up at him, gave a smile of gratitude and let her eyes trail the waiter as he walked away.

She heard him say something above the droning background. It was early evening and the dinner crowds were building up. She ignored him and looked away, as disappointment began to build within her.

She took a deep breath and decided to take a different tack. She turned to face him. "I realized its been a long while since we spent time together..", she began, "..and I thought it be nice to be here together." She swallowed air as she gathered her thoughts. "..But its obvious you have other things on your mind, and I'm not very welcomed here..." her voice trailed off as she felt tears welling up. "..I just wanted to be with you.. and.. maybe you'd want to be with me, too.."

He took her hands and pressed them first to his lips and then against his cheeks. "i'm sorry..I'm sorry," he stammered. He'd had an exhausting week, he said, and its all built up and consumed his mind. He hadn't realized that was all he'd been talking about.

"I want this moment with you to be special, too" he said, "It's not fair that I talk about all this".

He got up and moved over to her side of her table. "From this moment on, lets talk about us".

He put his arm around her waist and leaned back against the seat, resting on her shoulder as she ate. He shifted his focus on her. The glint in his eye soon returned and before long, they were in each other's company once more.

She enjoyed his presence, and as the chattering on the background began to dissipate, so did their voices, until they were merely whispering at each other, interspersed with little kisses and rubbing of cheeks.

Before they even realized it, the waiter came with the check, as the till was closing. As the lights began to dim, they walked out, holding hands and their arms around each other. He felt the burden of the week lift off his shoulders, and her smile was once again curled in the corners of her mouth.

Reluctantly, he shut the car door, and as she wound down the windscreen to say goodbye, he bent down an kissed her. And she pulled his face near and kissed him over and over, until what seemed an eternity.

He stood there as she fired the engine. And he stood there as he watched her disappear into the night.

Healing

He was only vaguely aware of the creaking of the foldaway sofa bed that had become his bed in recent weeks. He slept soundly.

It's been a few weeks since he found her at the hotel. He'd spend the days with her, taking her out, supporting her recovery. Her wounds had healed and the bruises were all but gone. He'd spend late afternoons with her at the park, reading her stories keeping her mind busy. She seemed to be recovering well. Despite that, he found himself realizing that she was not the same person he'd come to love. Since the incident, she'd been staying with him, but although she wasn't avoiding him, she was somewhat distant. He knew that it was probably what she'd been through, but the unrequited longing and missing togetherness began to take its toll on him.

He tossed to his side, trying to forget the thought. He remembered all that he missed; the warm hugs, the kisses. Tender lips on his fingers, smooth soft skin.

He began to drift into sleep, not hearing the click of the door softly closing.
He had drifted into a dream that he felt her climb behind him, her warm body against his. Gentle, soft breathing in his ear, the breath warm. He stirred as he felt her arm wrap around him, soft hands stroking his face and move down his arms.
It wasn't till morning that he awoke in her arms. It wasn't a dream after all.

Loneliness

She let out a long sigh and tried very hard to stifle the sobs beginning to well up in her. She covered her face with her hands and propped it on her elbows. She felt so alone, and in the hotel room, there wasn't very much to comfort her.
She'd run away from home, and checked into this hotel not knowing where else to go. She dared not go home in case that beast of a man would still be lurking around the house.
The bruises have started to heal, but she would break down in tears every time she saw them in the mirror.
And in her hotel room, she felt afraid of going out, so she stayed in the room all day. She did step out the first time, but seeing people down the hall began to frighten her and it became too much for her to bear. Her frightened mind began to imagine each man she saw to be him and her heart would beat so hard out of fear she would not be able to breathe.
At night, she would be engulfed in the loneliness, being in the cold, cold bed alone, wishing for the company of the one person who could make her feel better. He'd been calling a few times and the relief in hearing his voice was far too much for her to bear, and she would hang up in a gush of sobs, unable to say a word. But he had since stopped calling, and bitterness began to fill her.
And she cowered in a corner of the room in fear every time she hears voices outside, trying to conceal her sobs and not make a sound, lest should it be him to come looking once again ready to rain blows on her.
"This is the room, sir" said the manager. He looked nervously at the security guards and at the stranger in front of him. "Once again I wish to remind you that the safety of our guests is of our utmost concern and that it is against our policy to divulge information of our guests"
The stranger looked at the manager and with a tinge of impatience said,"I assure you, that this is genuine, and that it would do your reputation no good if you do not heed me." And he reached out and rang the door bell, and waited.
The doorbell pierced the silence in the room and she dashed into the corner. He's found her! She cowered in the corner, arms around her knees, shaking with fear and rocking herself to and fro to calm herself. She tried to not cry, but the tears blurred her vision as the door bell rang and rang. And she tried very hard to muffle her sobs as she heard the voices outside get more agitated; and she heard the key being turned in the lock and the door straining against the chain. Suddenly the door burst open and she screamed as the light from outside burst in the darkened room, blinding her.
And she did not know how long she screamed as she felt a pair of arms come around her and held her tight, a voice began to form words in her ears.
And she tried to struggle, but to no avail, and she gave up and burst into a torrent of sobs as she realized it was the comforting voice she had been longing for; and those hands, running through her hair and stroking her back, were the warm ones that gave her the comfort when she always needed.
The stranger sat on the floor and cradled her head on his shoulders and stroked her gently as he motioned to the hotel manager and guards away.

Fury

She sat at the edge of the bed, hunched over with her knees to her face. In her arms she cradled her teddy bear, her only companion that knew everything in her heart. She pressed her bear against the tear that rolled down her cheek, the softness on her skin giving her comfort. Painfully, she pulled herself off the bed and staggered to the bathroom. She gave out a wail and crumpled to the floor, shuddering and sobbing when she saw herself in the mirror. She held her teddy bear even harder against her, as if the softness would make the pain go away, and she cried and continued to cry until she could cry no more.
He regularly went away for weeks on end, and every time he'd gone, she'd feel a sense of relief and freedom. He was great company in the beginning but in recent months had been somewhat overbearing. And with his frequent long absence, someone else began to fill her heart, from colleagues to friend, to companion and to lover. And guilt began gnaw at her heart as his occasional presence began to drain her feelings for him.
He had come home unannounced, and screamed for her. He'd been drinking, and amidst the foul stench of his alcohol laden breath he had accused her of cheating him. cheating! She tried to explain, but he cut her off at every pause with a string of abusive names. She cowered in fear knowing that this tempest was the biggest yet, and she soaked the abuse quietly, huddled in the corner of her room hoping that is would pass as always.
This time though, her silence fueled the anger and it exploded into a fury she had never thought possible. She hadn't realized she was screaming as blow against blow came upon her, until everything blacked out, and he stormed out of the house.
She couldn't remember how long it was before she came to, but her vision was blurred and was interspersed with a sensation of a million flashlights going off at once.
Painfully, she dragged herself out of the bathroom, pausing on the floor at the door frame. She recognized bits and pieces of her phone on the floor which she assembled with shaking hands and dialled a now familiar number. The voice that answered comforted her as always and she tried to sound strong to say she needed the day off.
She knew her voice gave her away this time, and he asked,"Are you alright? You don't sound too good,".
She tried to say,"I'm fine", but the moment overwhelmed her as her pain racked body began to shudder and sobs began to take over..

Solace

He parked the car in the basement and spent some time looking for the way into the mall. The size of the crowd bewildered him, and he felt lost trying to look for that familiar face among the sea of faces. He moved slowly, much too slowly; and the flow of people pushed and shoved him till he found himself in the courtyard decorated in many, tiny lights that twinkled like stars, and branched out into different corridors. Amidst the sea of people, he saw her, like a blood red rose in a green sea of weeds, serenity in a sea of chaos, standing there, typing a message on her phone. He walked up to her quietly, blew on her ear and grinned as she gave a startled yelp and whirled around.
“You!!”, she said, her face immediately breaking into a smile, “You spooked me!” He grinned and apologized for the cheekiness and they proceeded to dinner after meeting up the rest of the group. It was a simple affair, a meeting of friends where business was the least important matter. There were four of them, and for the first time in weeks they sat together exchanging jokes and stories. He sat next to her and found himself admiring the way she laughed and how she went through every line in the menu choosing her food. She would look up to the waiter, like a starry eyed little girl and ask all kinds of things with child-like curiosity. And she would dip her finger into every sauce and smack them off her finger with her lips.
As the night progressed, he found his fingers locked in hers on her lap. Occassionally he would find her stroking his hand with her other hand. And other times he would find himself stroking her hand.
Soon enough, dinner was over and after the usual “I’ll pay, no, I’ll pay” each parted company and went their own way, leaving him with her. They chatted a while and walked slowly to the exit. She grew quiet. Her pace slowed down the nearer they got to the exit.
She gripped his fingers in hers, placed her cheek on his arm which she stroked with her free hand. “I’m not ready to let you go,” she said, gripping his fingers even harder. “I havent had enough of you tonite”. He put his arm around her and gave her a tight squeeze.
“ I havent enough of your company either”, he said, as he walked her to her car.
She looked at him wistfully, twirling her car keys absentmindedly as they stood outside the car. He opened the door and let her in, only to get in the other side.
Once he got in, she threw her arms around him and kissed his face and held him tight. He savored the touch of her skin and the smell of her perfume. And they sat there, speaking in whispers, holding hands and in each other’s arms.
Time seemed to stop as they detached themselves from the world and lost themselves in their love, and when they realized how time had passed, the parking lot was deserted save for the cleaning crew beginning their rounds.
He stepped out of the car as she turned her engine, and with a reluctant wave, blowing a kiss towards him, she drove off slowly. He stood there in the dimming lights until she was out of sight; and he begun the long trek to his car, in the deserted basement alone, with the memory of her touch, the smell of her perfume lingering, teasing him of his loneliness.