Loved by the Plus Sign

“I don’t think so!” I tell him walking closer to his car in case I need to pull her out. “There is no reason for her to….”

“Yes, there is. It is going to be her home on her 18th birthday. I want her to see it. Figure out if she likes it. I want to know if I need to look for a new home. I am not going to touch her before her birthday. You have my word.” He moves in closer to me, his voice lowering an octave. “I need her to be comfortable with me. I know you don’t believe me, but she is my everything. I will never hurt her, Vanessa.” His eyes convey what even my heart knows to be true.

“You really love her.” The shock in my voice loud and clear.

“I really do. From the moment you brought her into the ER, something in me changed. Please. Trust me. If you trust me, so will she.” I look at her in the car, nerves all over her face.

“Have fun, Lily. See you when you get home.” I rub her cheek before nodding at Mark and walking away. Who am I to stand in the way of something like that? Even if I am worried about how her heart will feel when it is all over.

The entire drive home my mind is a whirr with questions, thoughts and feelings I don’t know what to do with. One of which is Pedro. He has been texting and calling me every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I have yet to answer. It’s not that I don’t want to, but to be honest, I’m terrified. I don’t think my heart could stand to be broken again. This is my thought the whole ride home, my stomach feeling queasy. It isn’t until I get out of the car and my stomach begins to rumble some more, that I realize I haven’t thought about food. “Pizza it is.” Pulling up my Uber Eats app, I order my sausage, peppers and onions pizza and go upstairs to change. Falling on my bed, I take a deep breath. “Why does this day feel so much longer than the rest? Spring break cannot come fast enough.” Making myself get back up, I put on some sweats and a t-shirt and walk downstairs to grab my wallet. The pizza should be coming any minute and I need to get some papers graded before tomorrow.

Ding Dong.

Crap. I run down the stairs haven taken too long to grab my wallet. “I’m so...Pedro! What are you doing here?” I am more than shocked to that anything left my mouth finding him standing here in front of my door holding my pizza box.

“I came to see you. May I come in?” he asks leaning against the door looking every bit as sexy as I remember a few weeks ago. My initial instinct is to tell him no, especially given how I am dressed. My mouth apparently is not my own because before I stop it, it is saying, “Yes. Please.” As my legs that also don’t belong to me, move aside so he can get in. What the hell is happening to my body? He walks into my living room like he owns it and sits the pizza down on my coffee table.

“You haven’t been returning my phone calls, Vanessa. How long did you think I was going to let that go on?” His voice booming through me, making everything inside of me wake up and take notice. I find myself frozen to my spot, unable to say anything, fearful that I am going to let on how much I crave him, even when he is not around. “Nothing to say, tulip?” I melt. I love when he calls me tulip. Though I have yet to ask him why. I am so stuck in that thought, that I don’t realize he is upon me until his hand wraps around my waist and he brings me into his chest. “That’s fine, tulip. You don’t have to say anything. I would much rather put your mouth to work a different way.” His mouth lands on mine and I lose it. I can feel the tears running down my face, even as we ravage one another. Why does this feel so right?2PedroI feel the wetness from her eyes as my tongue dances inside her mouth making sure to take each tear as they fall above her lip into me as well. All of her belongs to me, even her sadness. “Stop. Mmm. Stop Pedro.” She says pushing me away and pulling me back. Everything inside of me is telling me to keep going. Convincing me she simply needs a little help concluding what I already know. We were created with each other’s heart in a safe place until we met.