Chapter: HUNDRED-TWOThe End and the Beginning Lolita sat at the porch of her house, waiting. It had just rained. She liked the dewy grass that sprouted from the ground. She started to touch them, but then drew back. She didn’t want to get her hands dirty. She had been turned into a neat freak by Hayden’s influence. She waited for him now, wondering if he would show up. It was Saturday. They had agreed to visit Samantha’s cemetery together. The last time she’d gone, she had been alone with Izan. All she thought about was him. She worried that her telling him off might have affected his relationship with Samantha. It was a silly excuse, and when he showed up two days later, he made it clear that he didn’t have to see Samantha every single day. A car parked in front of her house. It was him. Lolita refrained from jumping up and running to him like some little girl. He got down from the car and ran his fingers through his hair. It was a sensational habit of his, and he looked incredibly hot while doing it.
Last Updated: 2024-05-30
Chapter: HUNDRED-ONEBed of Thorns “I have been thinking about you,” Hayden answered quietly. “Every night, every day, every minute. All I think about is you.” Their eyes locked and held. Lolita bent her head a little forward, intrigued by the soft calm of his voice. “Tell me what you think about.” “Good thoughts. Bad thoughts. Terrible thoughts. All sorts of things about you.” He paused for a minute and reached for a glass of water. “Sometimes imaginations bleed into reality. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not real.” They were wrapped in each other’s world now, the food forgotten. Lolita was lost in his eyes and he was lost in hers. “It’s different for me,” she told him. “I know what’s real and what’s not. I dream.” “What do you dream about?” “At first, it was about Jarrod.” Her voice was surprisingly strong when she mentioned his name. “I tried seeing some doctors, but the dreams would not leave. It went on for six months.” “Yeah? So what did you do next?” “I started to dream about Samanth
Last Updated: 2024-05-30
Chapter: HUNDREDBound The doorbell rang. Lolita was in the bathtub. She blinked, realizing she’d been in the tub for over an hour. The water was cold now. She slowly stepped out of it and reached for a pink robe. Her bathroom was the only clean room in the whole house. It was where she sought her solace, where she slept the most. She went to the front door and opened it, her hand stiffly removing a strand of wet hair from her face. When her vision cleared, she immediately stiffened. Lolita was taken back to a year and several months ago, to the very first time she saw Hayden alone. He was standing at the door then with a small smile on his face, just as he was now. She’d been naked back then, from head to toe. He had pointed it out to her, his eyes laughing while she rushed inside to change. Lolita’s arms circled around her body. She wasn’t naked today. She was wearing a pink robe, so why did she feel intensely embarrassed—like she’d been teleported to the past and history was repeating itself? Sh
Last Updated: 2024-05-30
Chapter: NINETY-NINEThe Trials of Lost Love Hayden stood up slowly. They stared at each other for a moment, none of them taking a move. Lolita’s eyes quickly scanned the environment, discovering that Izan was not around. Her eyes went back to him. He looked leaner than before, but still built. He’d grown out his hair; they flowed past his neck and around his shoulders. His face was clean, neat. He looked like a god standing before her, taller than she’d last imagined. He still had that oppressive aura around him, the one that made her fall to her knees for him. Lolita looked at him and all she could see was just Hayden, lost in his own mind. He regarded her as she regarded him, but he still didn’t make a move towards her. She remembered the last time she saw him, in her hospital room. He looked mad back then, as though the earth would stumble over him if she didn’t let him touch her. Lolita didn’t know what to say. The air was calm and awkward at the same time. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, so low that she
Last Updated: 2024-05-29
Chapter: NINETY-EIGHTTime Heals No Wounds Lolita swirled her coffee around with her spoon. She stared into the cup, lost in the swirls of the deep brown. It had no sugar, no milk, just plain coffee. She still hated coffee, but now it was different. Now she liked the burn and the bitter taste that traveled down her throat. She sipped it slowly, savoring its taste. It reminded of everything that had happened, everything she had lost. Her thoughts scared her the most. Sometimes she lay up in her bed, staring into her ceiling and wondering if Samantha was still out there. Her brother caught her many times lying outside on the dirt, looking up at the sky. “I was waiting for Samantha,” she would say if he asked. “But she won’t come. The skies are starless tonight.” Her family was scared for her, and understandably so. When they tried to take her to meet more psychiatrists and therapists, Lolita had to incessantly beg them that she was fine. They didn’t believe her, of course so she decided to pretend for a
Last Updated: 2024-05-29
Chapter: NINETY-SEVENFarewells and Backtracks “I’m sorry,” Hayden responded quietly. “Do you want me to leave? I can leave right now.” “Yes, please.” He stood up on a shaky foot. He walked to the door, then stopped. When he looked back at her, his eyes were shimmery with tears. She’d almost forgotten how beautiful he can be. How stunning and incredibly attractive, even though he looked broken. “It’s three in the morning,” he said to her. “I don’t think it’s safe for me to leave just yet.” “For me or for you?” He was shaken by her answer. Hayden leaned on the door and watched her instead, preferring the space between them instead of just out rightly leaving. Lolita sat up slowly on the bed, her eyes on him. “Is he here?” She asked. His forehead creased at that question. “Who?” “You know who.” Hayden looked down at his feet, but before then she saw shame and fear cross his face. Lolita’s heart spiked again, alerting the machine. She glanced at it in horror, wondering if it was going to alert the b
Last Updated: 2024-05-29