Love, after everything

Chapter 2. The first visit

Chapter 2

Elora’s knees went weak, her hands became cold, and her heart was still beating rapidly.

“Why am I so nervous?” she whispered quietly.

Celine looked at her and said, “I think it’s because you’re seeing him for the first time outside the school walls, but you don’t have to be this nervous. He’s still the same person you’ve been seeing every day. You sound like you’re going to the White House to pay the president a visit.”

They finally stopped in front of a big white house with a very beautiful garden. Daniel opened the gate, and they walked through the compound. Elora was in awe of how beautiful the garden looked. The flowers were beautiful and neatly trimmed. She was almost lost in admiration. Celine tapped her to bring her back to reality.

Daniel walked ahead to the front door and rang the doorbell twice while Elora took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

“Daniel, it’s so lovely to see you,” Christian’s mom said with a smile as she opened the door.

“Good afternoon, ma’am. It’s so lovely to see you too, ma’am. I’m here to see Christian. Is he inside?”

“Ohh, yes, he’s upstairs. Come on in. I see you brought friends too,” she said, ushering them in to sit.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” the girls greeted politely.

“Good afternoon, darlings. Thank you so much for coming to check on Christian. Give me a minute. Let me go get him.”

As Christian’s mom went up the stairs, Elora sat on the couch and glanced around the sitting room. She was still nervous and kept adjusting her gown every few seconds.

“Stop doing that,” Celine whispered to her.

“I’m not doing anything,” she replied.

“It’s not like it’s your first time seeing him, so stay calm and stop trying to fix your dress every second,” Celine said again.

Before she could respond, they heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

Her heart started racing again. She looked towards the stairs, and then she saw him.

Christian was tall. He had full black hair that was neatly styled, and he also had dimples. Whenever he smiled, it could melt anybody. No wonder Elora fell for him.

Christian walked down slowly with his mom. He looked different from when she used to see him in school, probably because he was dressed differently. He was wearing a black singlet and a pair of shorts. When he came down, their eyes locked for a moment, and she almost froze.

Christian smiled and said, “Hey.”

That one word was enough to make her heart beat faster than it was already beating. She wanted to reply, but the words got stuck.

“Hi,” she finally replied in a very low voice.

Celine was trying so hard not to laugh, while Daniel, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice what was happening. He stood up to greet Christian.

“Hey, bro. How are you feeling?”

“I’m all better, but I still feel a little weak.”

“If only you had listened to me and stopped playing games every night instead of sleeping, you probably wouldn’t have fallen sick,” Daniel said, smiling as he teased him.

“Here you go again,” Christian said, smiling softly.

Seeing him smile and laugh softly, Elora was finally able to relax because it wasn’t as hard as she had imagined it was going to be.

His mom came closer, looked at them while smiling, and asked, “What can I offer you guys, juice or water?”

“Water is fine, ma’am,” they replied.

She walked over to the fridge and brought them water in glass cups.

“Christian, these lovely girls came all the way here to check on you. You should thank them properly. I’ll leave you guys to catch up, and if you guys need anything, please do not hesitate to let me know,” his mom said before going upstairs.

Christian looked at the girls and said, “Thank you for coming. It really means a lot to me.”

Celine responded immediately, while Elora just nodded slightly, still trying to find the right words.