The door was shut tight next to her and I wondered, for a brief moment, if something was wrong with her father. “He’s fine.”
She had looked up and met my eyes. She let out a shaky exhale and tried to stand up but fell down and then let out a soft curse. I offered my hand for her to take and she did so without hesitating. I pulled her up gently, giving her my support to stand. “He’s fine. I’m just…I was scared seeing him with a tube and connected to machines…”
Audrey didn’t have to finish what she was trying to say because I knew just how she felt, so I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arms around her tightly. She was caught off-guard for a moment but she stood between my arms, completely still.
It took her another moment before the tears started again and her sobs were muffled into my shoulder as she cried away her worries and fears in my arms. I held onto her because Audrey and I may not see certain things eye to eye or argued about 99% of the time, but there was one thing I was actually certain of about her,
I wanted to piece back all the broken pieces that she was trying to hide from the world, even to herself.
I guess there was something about seeing someone in such a vulnerable state that severed any animosity held.
“Why don’t you just let me borrow your car and let’s say, you can borrow mine?” It wasn’t that I didn’t want Audrey’s company. I knew Violet would be upset to find out that Audrey wasn’t coming with us to pick up her Dad but I wanted to see if the friendship- if you could call it that- that we had now established went as far as Audrey letting me drive her car.
Fun fact: Audrey didn’t allow anyone else to drive her car aside from her and Theo.
She placed the washed dishes in the dryer and then dried her hands with a hand towel and turned to look at me. Her smile looked more like a grimace- something that I was more familiar with than the sincere smiles she had been flashing lately, and she quickly shook her head. “Bold of you to assume that I’ll let you drive my car when you’re a crazy driver.”
I made an annoyed face, when Violet zoomed into the kitchen, followed by Julio and José who ran after them with a Nerf gun. It took me a moment to notice that Violet was herself carrying one and was trying to shoot at José too, I couldn’t help but shake my head in amusement. Audrey watched in horror as both of them almost broke a vase and even the pictures we’d hung on the wall for decoration.
Just then, the doorbell rang and I sprang up in my seat with excitement, fully aware of who it could be. Violet and José stopped running and Julio had started barking, waving his tail excitedly as he followed me to the door. From the corner of my eye, I watched Violet move closer to Audrey, and Audrey wrapped her arms around my niece, protectively pulling my niece closer.
That sight made my heart flutter.
As I opened the door, a delivery guy handed me the package. Before Violet had arrived, I had already ordered it and made sure that it came when she was still here. All the while she had been with me, I was hoping for the package to arrive so my surprise wouldn’t be ruined. I was relieved that it did.
“What’s that? You didn’t ask me to order anything,” Audrey said when I walked into the living room. She and Violet were settled on the couch, with Julio stretched out on both their laps, his head on Violet’s as my niece patted him gently. My mini bull terrier seemed to be having the time of his life.
“I ordered it before you became my assistant,” I said, sinking into a bean bag as I tore the package open. José came in, the Nerf gun still in his hand, and sat across from me. He knew what it was and kept glancing at Violet in excitement, which made me want to slap him at the back of the head for being so obvious.
“Megan told me that Violet had been eyeing a kalimba for a while…” I let my voice trail off as I finally ripped the remaining cover of the package and then grinned when I saw the box. Violet squealed with excitement and quickly stood up which caused Julio’s head to fall abruptly onto the couch and he whimpered but Audrey soothed him as Violet rushed to get her hands on the instrument.
Violet immediately began to test it out and then she launched herself at me, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck and hugging me really tight. “I love you, Uncle Jules!”
Ah, this girl was the only one who could thaw my Cassanova heart…
When Violet pulled away from me, she immediately turned to Audrey. “You told me you play this! I saw it in your room!”
I was taken by surprise at that because I didn’t know that Audrey played instruments. Hell, it never even occurred to me that she would have any kind of knowledge when it came to instruments. People like her who had a talent company or ran a record label often had other people scout talent for them, while they usually just sat in their chairs and waited for the talent to make money. It never occurred to me that they could be people talented in that field too.
“You know how to play?” José was finally the one to ask the question. I just sat there awestruck, watching as her thumb expertly moved around the keys of the instrument and music flooded the living room.
Violet was squealing in delight beside her and I watched in amazement as Audrey played Can’t Help Falling in Love. I couldn’t help myself so I began to sing along with her until we were reaching near the end of the song. “Wise men say, only fools rush in but I can’t help…”
Just then Audrey looked up at me, as the sunlight flooded through the window and shone on her and made her eyes looked like the shade of cinnamon, so warm and inviting and enticing all at the same time. God! how she seemed to wrap me in a warm embrace with her gaze as I sang.
“Falling in love with you.” Rather than singing that line, I said it, my voice sounding sturdy as I stared at Audrey whose eyes softened when the five words left my mouth. I swallowed hard as my heart began racing in my chest and almost bursting out of my skin as Audrey slowly lowered the instrument after finishing the song.
There seemed to be a faint ringing in my ear, blocking out any noise that could quite possibly ruin the moment and the lyrical sound of the kalimba echoing in my mind. All I could see was Audrey and my body buzzed with the warmth that she radiated towards me, craving for my skin to be pressed against hers, to bury myself in her warmth.
God, I wanted to press my lips against hers so badly.
“Holy shit, that was amazing!” José exclaimed loudly and whatever trance that Audrey and I were in suddenly broke with the sound of his voice. As if his exclamation was the fine needle that broke through the bubble we were in.
I never wanted to hit the guy as much as I wanted to as of this moment.
Beside Audrey, Violet clapped excitedly and tugged at her hand. And just like that, I could feel Audrey’s gaze on me slowly rip away as she began to focus on my niece. I let out a long exhale and abruptly stood up, ignoring their stares as I quickly walked out of the room. Once outside, I began pacing around, running my hand through my hair in exasperation.
I slapped my palm against my forehead. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Julian?”
First, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way our lips brushed against each other. Second, I kissed her without a good reason and enjoyed it. And now, the last thing that didn’t make sense to me, was that I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to feel her warmth spread all over me. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and provide her the very same thing I craved from her.