What Love Entails

four

sous l’âme || four

♤

April 14, 2015, 3 years ago

I laughed as River tripped and fell flat on his face. We were currently at his place in the living room. His father had gone out for work and so had my parents, so I was over at his place to hang out. Our parents were close friends, and we had met each other 5 years back when we were both nine. We didn’t talk much at first but with continuous visits, we became close. Ever since then we had been inseparable.

He looked up to glare at me as I kept laughing my head off. I was too busy erupting noises of unattractive laughter to notice him grabbing a pillow and aiming it at me– landing smack right on my face. It was my turn to glare at him and his to laugh at me. I grabbed the pillow and started to attack him with it while he too grabbed one to do the same.

We hit each other repeatedly, smacking each other’s faces with the puffy pillows. I had underestimated River’s strength as a guy when he smacked it right over my torso and I lost my balance. My hand immediately reached out for River’s shirt as I was falling.

“Ouch,” I winced as my body hit the ground.

“You okay?” I noticed that he was sprawled on top of me as a result of me pulling him down with me. My heartbeat started speeding up. It had been quite a while since I started having a feeling of attraction towards River. In my eyes, he had suddenly gotten really good looking and his smile and gaze made butterflies erupt in my stomach. “I guess I hit a bit hard.”

“A bit?” I raised my brow.

He smirked. “What can I say? I’m a tough man with a hell lot of strength to go on.”

I rolled my eyes but I couldn’t stop the smile forming on my lips. My eyes darted up to find his hazel orbs already on mine. His expression had turned serious. We were so close that our breaths were almost mingling. His dark hair was messy due to the fight we just had and strands of it fell over his eyes, making him look even more enticing. His eyes flickered down to my lips, and I could’ve sworn that he could hear the rapid beating of my heart. My gaze found its way to his parted red lips, which seemed to be drawing in closer and closer.

And then, our lips touched. To say that it felt amazing would be an understatement. His soft lips pressed against my plump ones and a feeling of euphoria zapped throughout my entire being. Our lips moved in sync and he proceeded to cup my face in his hands. It felt as if time had frozen and it was just me and River. I had never felt this way before; all of my senses seemed to have come alive with the sensation of our sweet, gentle kiss. Our lips parted as we were out of breath. Our eyes locked before his lips curled into a lopsided smile, his eyes glinting. I smiled back.

I couldn’t have asked for a better first kiss.

“Hey,” Kaden grinned at me. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” I shrugged and gave a small smile.

Some girls jointly sing-songed “Good morning!” to him to which he gave an award winning smile and bid them back. They giggled and walked away. I looked at him to find him sporting an amused smile. “You know, sometimes I feel as though I’m such a special specimen that girls can manage to squeal out such high pitched giggles in response to when I speak to them.”

I rolled my eyes but nonetheless laughed. “And wow,” he widened his eyes and covered his mouth in fake shock. “I can even make someone who hardly laughs, laugh.”

“You’re so lame,” I shook my head with my grin still intact. On looking up, I saw River behind Kaden walking towards our way. I immediately started feeling conscious. Do I say hi? But what if despite yesterday, he’s back to being cold? I was so engraved in my thoughts that I almost didn’t hear Kaden call out, “Hey River!”

River snapped his head towards us and his gaze shifted from Kaden to me to Kaden again. “Hey.” They did a fist bump or whatever it was that guys did before River excused himself to head to class. I just stood there with my eyes rooted to the ground. It took a lot of strength for me to lift up my eyes, only to see River glancing at me before quickly looking away and walking past me. My mind was filled with disrupting thoughts yet again.

“You never did get over River, huh?”

I whipped my head towards the source of the voice so fast I was surprised it didn’t snap in two. “Excuse me?” My voice portrayed incredulousness. Kaden smirked, his mouth proceeding to form his signature grin, revealing his pearly set of teeth. “I could see it in your face when he was here.”

I scowled at him and I could feel my cheeks heating up. I was about to deny his statement but I paused. What good was denying the truth? Besides, it didn’t really matter even if he knew.

“Don’t tell anyone,” I almost whispered.

His expression softened and he nodded. “I won’t.”

Somehow, although I had just met Kaden, it seemed so easy to trust him; it felt like It was okay to believe his words. Besides, he was pretty different from how I thought he’d be. Being the golden boy of the school, one would think he’d be sort of enclosed to the popular crowd. But here he was, mingling with plain old me.

BRINNNGGG!!!!

“Oh shoot,” he cursed. “I have to scram now. See you, Kyla.”

“Bye,” I called out as he practically dashed through the halls. I turned to proceed to my class when I tripped on basically nothing and fell down on my knees. A quick flash of pain zapped through my knee. I cursed as I saw blood dripping from the gash on my knee. I slowly got up and headed to the clinic.

The infirmary was empty. I sighed as I sauntered around the room looking for supplies to clean the wound. Where was the nurse? The door creaked open and I turned, expecting to see the nurse but instead, there stood River. “What are you doing here?”

I cleared my throat. “I got a cut so I need to clean it up.” With that his gaze shot to my knees where it was bleeding before he opened a cabinet beside him and pulled out a first aid kit. “Sit down,” his voice was deep and firm, compelling me to do as he told me to.

He kneeled down to treat the wound. “I can actually do it myself you know,” I peered at him. He shook his head. “Just keep quiet.”

He proceeded to apply disinfectant on the cut, making me wince. “Ouch.”

He looked up to me and I wondered if I was mistaking the fact that he had a concerned expression on his face. “Sorry. How did you get hurt anyway?”

“I tripped..” I rubbed my neck sheepishly.

He smiled. “Typical you.”

I blushed as I peered down, attempting to hide my face with the strands of my hair. My gaze flickered to River who was busy treating my wound. His long dark eyelashes fell over his cheeks and his eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated on the cut. His rosy lips were pressed in a thin line showcasing his deep focus. I kept staring at him, analysing each and every feature of his. It had been so long since I had the privilege to be this close to him and just appreciate the features I had once had forever to gaze at.

“There, all done,” his eyes snapped up all of a sudden, immediately interlocking with mine. In most cases I would’ve swiftly looked away. But this time I couldn’t. His gaze captured me and it felt as though it had taken me captive. His eyes darkened and I could see the specks of green in his hazel eyes as a result of our close proximity. His orbs flickered down to my lips, making my breath hitch. My eyes followed his slightly parted lips which seemed to be inching in closer bit by bit. It felt as though our lips were about to brush against each other’s when we heard a creaking sound, making me jolt up instantly.

The nurse stood by the door. “Oh my, sorry I was gone. Is something the matter?”

River who was still on his knees got up. “She had a cut and you were nowhere to be found so I treated it. And I also need protein bars.”

She glanced at my bandaged cut before proceeding to a cabinet from which she took out two bars and handed them over to River. “There.”

“Thanks,” River stuffed them into his pocket. “You might as well check the wound properly in case I missed something.” The nurse nodded. “I will. Now off you go.”

She bent down and scrutinised my wound as River turned to leave. He slightly turned back to glance at me for a second before walking out the door. “Looks like he did a pretty good job. It will suffice.” The nurse smiled. “Being used to getting treated a lot must’ve made him good at doing the treating himself.” She chuckled.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He used to be a frequent visitor here about 5 to 6 months back,” her face looked concerned. “He had lot of cuts and bruises, on his knuckles especially.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. “But why?”

“I really don’t know,” she shrugged. “But it stopped after about a month so I guess it’s fine now.”

My mind started racing with thoughts. Five to six months back? That was about the time it happened and we broke up. I bit my lip hard. What if it had affected him way more than I anticipated? I mean obviously it did but what if the gravity of it was much more severe than I thought? I was truly concerned.

I could feel my body slightly burning up as I felt faint. The nurse seemed to have noticed this and put her hand to my forehead. “Uh oh. It looks like you may have a fever.” I felt exhausted as she picked up her phone. “You look really exhausted. I think it would be best for you to go back home and take rest, honey. What’s your dad’s number?”

I recited the number and she pressed the phone to her ears and started speaking to who was obviously my dad on the other line. “Your father will be here to pick you up, sweetheart,” she smiled as she ended the call. “Lay down on the bed and rest in the meantime. I have to run an errand, is it okay if you’re here by yourself for some time?”

I nodded weakly as I let my body slowly fall into the bed. The nurse walked out the door and I let myself relax. I felt anxious and tired. A feeling of extreme disparity hit my chest and I could feel tears stinging my eyes. It was all so frustrating; it made me angry and upset in ways no one could imagine. I could feel bits of that frustration leaving as I let my tears roll down my cheeks. Crying relieved me. I couldn’t bear the fuel eating me up from inside anymore so I slowly and freely let out my sobs.

Suddenly the white curtain beside me flapped open. My eyes widened at the sight of a confused looking Kaden sitting on the bed with an etch of worry written on his face. “Kyla?”

I immediately rubbed my eyes, trying to hide my tears. “W-What are you doing there?”

“I wanted to bunk class so I lied that I had a headache and was sleeping here the entire time. But then I heard you..” his voice trailed off. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“I’m not,” I demanded stubbornly.

He gave me a soft smile. “It’s okay.” He came over beside my bed and bent down to wrap his arms around me. I let out a surprised muffle. “You can cry if it makes you feel better, you know.”

His words comforted me and it felt that it was okay to let out my emotions in front of him. So I did. As my soft sobs got louder, his arms around me tightened and his big lean hands patted my head comfortingly while whispering “it’s okay” occasionally. For once in my life, I wasn’t anxious to let out my tears in the presence of someone else.

————

My eyes fluttered open. I yawned as I felt the goodness of what the sleep had done to my body. I felt rejuvenated. Soon after I stopped crying, my dad arrived and took me home. I felt really thankful for Kaden; the way he comforted me. I reached for my phone as I rubbed my eyes. My heart skipped a beat when my eyes laid on the notification that I had a new message from River.

Hey. When are we meeting up next for the project?

I chewed on my lower lip as I typed in my reply.

How about Friday?

Okay. How’s your wound btw?

It’s fine now. Thanks.

Great. See you.

———

The next day I was approached by Andrea when school was over and I was busy collecting my books from the locker. “Hey, Kyla,” she smiled with a sly look on her face.

“Hey,” I arched my brow. “What’s with that look?”

“What look?”

“That smug teasing look.”

She grinned sheepishly. “Well.. It’s just that I heard you and Kaden are a thing now.”

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped so low I thought it might touch the ground. “WHAT!?”

She frowned. “You’re not?”

“Of course not!” I gave her a look of disbelief. “Why would people even think that?”

“Apparently someone saw the two of you embracing in the nurse’s office.”

Oh crap.

“Anyway, never mind that,” she waved her hand dismissively. “Wait till you listen to what I just heard.”

“What?” I asked nonchalantly, confident that it wouldn’t be something of my interest anyway.

“River and Bree broke up.”

—————

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