CHAPTER 88
The conversation..
Elena
Waking up on my bed gave me a deja vu feeling… the type that makes you feel as though you woke up in the wrong place.
I gasped once I realized that I was in my bedroom and, more importantly, when I saw Lily lying next to me, snoring peacefully.
My heart beat picked up in rhythm, as bits and pieces of my memory came flooding back.
For a moment, I could have sworn that I was being cornered by a car and some scary, mean-looking guys on the road, but all of a sudden… here I was.
I sat up on the bed, careful not to jostle the beddings too much, so I didn't wake Lily up.
Once I sat up, I realized that the clothes I wore were different from the ones I had worn to the hospital, which got me thinking…
Was it all just some bad, awful dream?
Or wasn't it?
If so, then how did I get home?
Or get changed?
Confused, I stumbled out of bed and wandered down the living room only for me to come to a stop when I spotted Helen opening the door to allow Cornell to come in.
"What's going on here?" I blurted out without thinking, making both of them turn to look at me.
Helen's jaw dropped open as her eyes bounced from me to Cornell. "Uh, I thought… look, I -"
I stopped looking at Cornell for a moment, turning to face her. "Hey, listen… can you give Cornell and me a moment, please?"
"Sure." She mumbled and swiftly disappeared around the corner, leaving him and me alone.
As soon as I was aware that it was only the two of us, I confronted him. "What are you doing here? I mean how did you even find out where I live?"
Cocking his head to the side, he said, "Is that the first thing you say to me as the man who saved your life?"
"What are you talking about…" I trailed off, now realizing that what I thought was a dream was actually real.
Holy shit…
The knowledge took the wind out of my sails pretty fast as I moved back a step, shaken up. "Oh, my gosh…"
My eyes strayed to him a few seconds later, now aware that if it all happened, I owed him one for bringing me back in one piece.
"By the way, I'm sorry for being so rude earlier." I met his gaze briefly. "I had no idea, thank you so much for saving me."
I went to sit down, but I noticed he was still standing, his face etched with disappointment.
"What is it?" I asked, straightening to my height.
"I'm just disappointed." He pouted which was weird seeing it on his face. "I thought you were gonna show some more excitement, maybe even run into my arms….or kiss me when you finally realised the truth."
Soft laughter spilled from my lips, taking me by surprise. "Maybe I'll think about doing that next time. Hey, don't you want to take a seat?" I say, pointing to the chair next to him. "By the way, I'm curious, how did you find me… You know, to save me from those crazy guys?"
He finally took my offer, perching his ass on the couch. "It's pretty simple actually. I was traveling on the same road that you were, and I noticed your car parked across the road. I thought it was odd, so I got down to see if you needed help with anything, and well… you know what happened from there on."
I nodded. "Thanks again, you know for choosing to stop back there. I- I don't know what would have happened if you didn't."
"It's fine."
While he was talking, my mind drifted, and my train of thought led me back to the hospital, or more specifically, Sophia and the pregnancy.
If I weren't so distracted by the news, I would have taken my normal route instead of switching things up, which enabled my attackers to be able to corner me.
"Hey, Elena…" Cornell's smooth voice pulled me out of my musings and I lifted my head to look at him.
"Hmmm…?" I say distractedly.
"I think I know what I want to use the favour you owe me on."
His tone was smug and that made trepidation sneak in. "Oh, yeah? What is it?"
The silence stretched on for a couple of seconds as he tried to summon the courage to talk. "I would love to court you, Elena."
I was so stunned that I went mute, simply looking at him in wonder.
Cornell must have interpreted my silence the wrong way because he rushed to explain. "Look, I'm not saying that you have to agree now or I'm forcing you to say yes so that we can be together again but all I'm asking is that you don't push me away whenever I want to be there for you or I want to listen to you express your feelings."
I looked away, making a small sound under my breath. "Cornell, I don't even know what to say…"
To my surprise, he got up to his feet and walked towards me, lowering down to a squat so we could meet eye to eye.
Then, he tried to touch me, his hand hovering over mine for a split second as though asking for permission before he took my hands in his. "All I'm asking is that you let me show you how much I love you."
Love me?
My breath stuttered in my chest upon hearing those words, looking into his eyes that practically shone with so much sincerity that I didn't have the heart to turn him down.
"Okay, fine." I squeezed his hands lightly but kept my voice firm. "I suppose I can give it a try, but as long as you don't rush me into accepting your feelings because you hurt me, Cornell, and it's going to take a little bit of time to get used to you being around again."