MIMI

Silence engulfed the two. Tobias kept his eyes steady, resting on her face, but just briefly, traces of sorrow flashed within them. Mimi stayed rooted to the spot, the breeze moving her hair softly away from her cheeks. She stared gla.s.sily, and then an ice-cold feeling began to well up from the bottom of her heart.

"W...What..." Mimi swallows hard. "Why are you suddenly..."

Tobias looked down at her in a way that made her feel as if she were to be swallowed alive.

"I told you. Mimi, I"m in..."

"Stop it!"

Tobias stared at the girl stunned by her harsh, frightened tone. Even more to his surprise, Mimi let out a voice that sounded positively heartbroken and full of despair.

"Don"t...Please don"t say it again."

"But I want you to hear it." His voice deepened.

"No! I don"t want to!" She shook her head violently.

Covering her ears and shaking her head, Mimi shut her eyes tight as if hoping she"d wake up from a terrifying nightmare. Her pain was evident from the crease in her lovely brow.

Tobias"s fists clenched. He walked toward Mimi and gently removed her hands from her ears.

"Mimi..."

"Please stop this."

As the girl raises her head to look into the man"s eyes, Tobias felt as if his heart was being stabbed by a thousand gla.s.s shards. Her appearance compared to before looked fragile and broken, her eyes staring up at him with trembling eyes.

"Please don"t."

Don"t love me.

The girl who was always headstrong and confident now appeared vulnerable and frail before him. For the first time, Mimi was pleading him.

Tightening his hold on her hands, Tobias"s eyes deepen. He cupped the side of her face, compelling her to look at him. His thumb caressed her cheek before gently tracing her bottom lip with the tip of his finger. Her lip trembled slightly, and he had such an urge to bite it and to kiss it. He didn"t want to look up. Because if he did look up, he would find himself at the mercy of the girl"s fearful, pleading eyes.

He has come so far. He waited for so long. He couldn"t back out. No matter how much it hurt for her to hear.

"I love you." He voiced each word softly, his dark eyes meeting hers. "It took me a while to get here, but I think that maybe I"ve always loved you."

During that last sentence, the quiet volume of his voice fell to a near whisper.

"I"m always going to love you," He murmured thickly. "No matter what."

Mimi was frozen stiff. She hesitated for a moment before turning her eyes to meet his gaze. Her heart felt cold. He looked at her, and Mimi"s world expanded on a sudden breath at what she saw in the depth of his gaze.

They both seemed rooted in place, standing in the center of the dark road beneath a street lamp, staring at each other with their breaths coming fast. No longer able to handle his deep gaze, Mimi shut her eyes tightly.

No...Leave her alone. Don"t...don"t come and mess with her emotions.

Mimi took a shuddering breath and extended one unsteady hand up to his. She tried to free herself from Tobias"s grasp, but he continued holding her in place.

"Let go." Her voice shook with intensity.

"No."

Releasing a cold, harsh laugh Mimi looks up at Tobias with a defeated smile.

"Let go." She repeated faintly.

Tobias"s eyes hardened as he perceived the meaning of her words. With slow steps, he stepped back, his dark eyes still on her. Finally released, Mimi stumbled backward and refused to meet his gaze.

"Mimi…"

"Don"t!" Mimi warned firmly. "Don"t follow me."

Without as much as saying another word, she walked pa.s.sed him down the sidewalk. She didn"t look back. She didn"t dare to.

Tobias opened his mouth to object, but the girl was already walking away in the distance. Quietly staring in the direction she left in, Tobias finally walked back to his car.

…

Inside his car, he started it in silence. When the engine started, his eyes glanced toward the pa.s.senger seat where he saw a black jacket spread out. It was a woman"s jacket.

The darkness grew even deeper in his black eyes; even the last trace of light had been extinguished.

He loved her but she...

Tobias"s hands holding the wheel squeezed to the point of trembling. His eyes were hollow as if he had lost his soul. He could only feel it was like a sharp blade, cutting piece after piece of his heart and causing insurmountable pain.

His heart could not be in more pain than right now.

A drop of a crystal tear slid down his cheek and landed right in the center of his palm. At that moment, his dark lashes brimmed heavy with tears; his hands clenched into shaking fists.

His heart was broken into a million pieces.

_______

h.e.l.lo, readers! I wanted to relay an important message regarding the recent events going on in the world. Right now, people are fighting so hard right now. So please, sign pet.i.tions, make donations, make calls, text and more to support the black lives matter movement -

it with others if you can to further spread the support. Let us seek justice for George Floyd, Brennon Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Marton, and the many black lives who have suffered enough injustice.