Wonder Lost

Secrets

“What?” Isabella whispered, looking at Leo with eyes that were constantly alternating between a confused yellow, troubled brown, and shocked lime green. “Is that—? Did Will really—? Was he going to—?”

“Isa,” Leo whispered back. “Calm down, you don’t—” Isabella marched into the kitchen.

“He was going to propose? Simon, how could you not tell me?” Simon’s face reddened.

“Bella, you weren’t supposed to hear that."

“You weren’t going to tell me?” she exclaimed. “I’m his sister!”

“Yes, and it was supposed to be between me and Meg.”

“What else are you keeping from me? Before this whole quest, we never used to fight or keep anything from each other. Come on, Simon! This is huge!”

“Bella, calm down. I’ll explain everything about the proposal.”

“Yes,” Meg whispered, almost too shocked to speak. “Please do. And leave out no details, please, Simon.” Simon nodded.

“Let’s just go sit down.” They went to the dining room and sat down.

“Oh, and before I start, can you do me a favor, Bella?”

“What is it?” Isabella asked.

“No interruptions.” Isabella rolled her eyes.

“That depends,” she muttered.

“So, on the day before the quest started, Will asked if you were free the next day to go on a date, right, Meg?” Meg nodded. “That was when he was going to propose. He was going to take you to the beach and both of our families were going to be there.” From under the table, Isabella grabbed Leo’s hand. “The only people who knew about Will’s proposal were my father, Meg’s parents, and me. We were going to have a nice dinner, and sit in the sand, and then he would propose.

“After we were transported to Earth, someone named Azalea came to me in a dream and told me that Will was still on Duestro and that he wanted me to have the ring. He said that if anything happened to him, he wanted Meg to at least have the ring to remember him. When I woke up, I found the ring in my hand and then I tried to find Meg with no luck.”

“Oh, that may have been because I was transported to Liviette. I don’t know why. Then I heard that Isabella might be here so I can to the Oasis.”

“That explains a lot.” Simon checked the time. “I have to go back to the training academy now. It was good to see you, Meg.”

“You, too. Both of you. Though I don’t know who you are,” Meg said, addressing Leo.

“That’s Isabella’s boyfriend. Though Bella doesn’t like labels.” Meg smiled.

“Nice to meet you,” Leo said, holding out a hand. Meg shook it.

“I should be getting back. My aunt lives here, so she let me move in with her. But she wants me to babysit her son.”

“Okay, bye Meg,” Isabella said. She didn’t say anything to Simon and he left the Oasis with Meg without looking at her.

Leo guided her into her bedroom, setting her on the bed and turning to the door.

“Leo,” she whispered. “Can you stay with me?” Her efforts to not cry gave out, and she let out a sob. He wrapped her in his arms. She let her tears come, sobbing into his shirt.

“I love you,” Leo said. She cried harder. He kissed her head, leaving his cheek on her soft hair.

“H-He was going to… to propose,” she stammered.

“Shh,” he soothed. “Don’t think about it.” In Leo’s eyes, Isabella looked so fragile and he was afraid to move. She was gasping for air and was clinging to him.

After a while, Isabella managed to get a hold of herself. She dried her tears and looked up at Leo, who smiled at her. She rose on her tiptoes and softly kissed him.

“Thank you,” Isabella whispered.

“For what?” Leo asked.

“Everything,” she responded, smiling. She turned to go.

“Isa?” Leo called. She spun around, looking at him. “I wanted to talk to you about something.” He smiled. “Come sit.” They sat on the bed and he took her hands in his, smiling as he spoke.

“I was thinking about what you said yesterday. About how you said we couldn’t be like a normal couple. And so I was curious to find out what normal things couples actually do. I did some research and I found that we actually did a lot of things that are somewhat clichéd.”

“Really?” Isabella asked. “Like what?”

“I have a list in my head, actually. First of all, we went horseback riding together, not on the same horse, but still. Second, we cooked together, thanks to Gray. Third, we watched a movie together, as you already realized.” Isabella smiled, looking down at his delicate hands around hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She listened to his heartbeat, racing in sync with hers. Her heart thumped against her chest. The sweet smell of cinnamon she loved grew stronger, filling her nose with a delicious aroma. Leo’s lips tasted like mint, and she had never loved the flavor of the simple herb more.

When they pulled away, Isabella noticed the soft feeling of his cheek against her hand.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Leo said. Isabella looked outside, where the sky was already dark.

“Since when did the sun set?” she asked.

“Probably while we were kissing,” he chuckled. They lied down next to each other, Isabella curling up beside him. Both of them soon fell asleep.