Usually, Xiu"d be the last one to wake up on a Sat.u.r.day. Normally when her eyes accidentally opened in the early morning on a Sat.u.r.day, she"d be wondering whether to eat something or just sleep. 90% of the time, she"d just end up going back to sleep.
But this Sat.u.r.day was different. It was different for a reason. Because as soon as her eyes fluttered open, she was bedazzled by a certain someone"s beauty. She found it strange that his arm was still wrapped around her tightly. It made her wonder if his arm was numb by now. So, being considerate, she slowly and carefully tried to get out of his hold but his grip tightened.
Xiu looked up at his face but realized, he had done it on reflex in his sleep. At this realization, she laid back down and continued staring at his face up close as if it was a piece of art. But then again, from the very first time, she saw him, she was indeed mesmerized by his beauty. So it was no wonder that he was like a beautiful piece of art for her.
From all that she learned in her two lives, she always defined intimacy as s.e.x. But knowing him made her realize that intimacy had nothing to do with two bodies being together. It was always meant to be about two souls, hearts sharing their deepest, darkest truths and secrets. And since Darren didn"t hesitate in sharing his feelings honestly with her, she felt really close to him.
Her fear of being rejected if she told him who she was completely gone. Now, she had the courage to show herself to him. Her heart somehow felt safe now.
Thinking about this and that, she planted a kiss on his cheek and carefully got out of his hold. She went to the kitchen and looked around for ingredients to make breakfast for him. After she was done, she set up the table and covered the dishes before taking her purse and leaving out the door.
Just as she walked inside her own apartment, she found Nora half-sitting half-lying on the couch as she kept staring at the laptop screen blankly. "Why are you sitting here like this?" Xiu asked as she changed out of her shoes. But Nora didn"t reply at all.
Xiu was confused but didn"t ask again. She went to her own room to take a shower and change her clothes. By the time, she came back to the living room, she found Nora in the same exact position as she left her. It seemed like she was hardly even blinking. Xiu shook her a little and asked, "Nora, are you alright?"
"Huh?" Nora finally noticed Xiu"s presence and said, "You"re awake? Isn"t it still early for you?"
Xiu"s brows raised in surprise when she realized that Nora had no clue that she wasn"t home last night. She was thinking Nora was gonna tease her for a long time for this but the latter was oblivious and lost in her own world.
Xiu kneeled on the carpet beside her and held her hand as she questioned, "Nora darling, you look out of sort for some reason. Tell me what"s on your mind? I"m right here for you."
"I wasn"t thinking anything," replied Nora as she tried to act normal but failed miserably. Noticing Xiu"s solemn look, she said, "I was just wondering that we call flies as flies because they can fly. So, do you think flies call us "walks" because we can walk?"
Xiu rubbed her forehead and looked exasperated as she said, "Darling Nora, I think you need to stop thinking about that. That"s the least of your concern." She looked at her laptop and saw that Nora was browsing through a shopping site. "You"re again shopping? Didn"t I tell you last time that every time before buying just take a moment to ask yourself whether you really need it? Whether you"re dying to have it? Why are you still shopping for no reason?"
Nora looked at Xiu while she nagged her non-stop but as soon as Xiu took a pause, Nora hugged her tightly. Xiu was surprised when she heard her saying, "I know you don"t like it when I hug you but can you bear with it for a while? I really want you to stay like this."
With that request, Xiu couldn"t bring herself to say no as she wrapped her arms around Nora and patted her back in a soothing manner. She didn"t know why Nora was feeling down but she didn"t ask either. She knew if Nora wanted to tell her, she"d have. And by asking her, she"d only be pressuring her which she didn"t want to.
Their friends.h.i.+p was at the stage where they could tell when the other one was really hurting. But both of them never tried being nosy in each other"s lives. Perhaps, that was the reason that Nora felt at ease when Xiu was around. It was like the silence between them was enough to support each other.
When Xiu felt hot tears seeping through her s.h.i.+rt to her shoulder, she was startled. It was rare for Nora to cry. She had never even seen her crying over breakups. It really made her wonder what really went wrong for Nora to cry silent tears. As Nora pulled herself back, Xiu wiped her tears before bringing water for her.
While Nora took a sip of water, Xiu asked, "Are you feeling better?"
"With my Baby Xiu around, how can I possibly not?" Nora tried to joke to lighten up the mood but Xiu wasn"t buying it this time at all.
"You know you can tell me anything, right? I"d always be here with you."
Nora smiled at Xiu and said, "I"m scared. I have done a mistake in life which I was reminded of when I saw him last night. If I told you what I did, you"d really hate me for it."
Xiu touched Nora"s head and said, "We are best friends. No, we"re like sisters. How can I possibly hate you? I"d be the last person to ever judge you for any mistake. Because trust me, I"d done worse. So, stop this fear of yours and tell me whenever you"re ready."
Nora nodded and a comfortable silence fell around. Not long after, Xiu tried to make Nora cheer up with a lame joke as she asked, "Hey, Nora, do you know what doesn"t sleep because it has two s.h.i.+fts?"
Nora thought about and shook her head in reply. Xiu replied with, "A keyboard has two s.h.i.+fts that"s why it doesn"t sleep. Hahaha!"
Nora"s lips lifted up but she tried to hide it as she said, "That was so lame."
"Well, it made you laugh anyway," replied Xiu matter-of-factly.