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Chapter 16.

I hate myself for missing him.

~~~

Lima was trying her best to not fall asleep. Her eyes kept dropping, drowsy from sleep.

She glared at the silver wall clock in her bedroom. It was pass 11 in the night.

"Where the hell is he?" she grumbled, scowling in annoyance.

She tucked her chin over the blanket and looked at the empty couch next to her. The pillow and navy blue blanket intact.

After a few seconds, she got up, taking the blanket from the couch and keeping it right next to her head, on the bed. "He can have a chilling night." She grumbled, getting under her own cozy blanket and falling asleep almost instantly.

Rishit was standing just outside her door, leaning on the wall, straining his ears to listen for any sound. He could hear the movement inside her room, the shuffling of feet, the curses she was muttering for him, the loud annoyed sighs.

Rishit closed his eyes taking a deep breath, he didn't want to go inside, he couldn't find it in himself to face her just after he had unveiled her personal secret for his own gain. How could he look at her emotionless eyes and ask her to reveal more about herself? How could he talk to her with a clear conscious?

After a few minutes he couldn't hear any signs of movement from her bedroom. Very slightly he opened the door making sure to not make a sound. He looked at the sleeping figure of Lima and sighed in relief.

He entered the bedroom on his toes, his lips smacked together. He very lightly shut the door, wincing as it clicked.

Luckily Lima was half way into her slumber, she didn't hear a sound. Rishit walked towards the couch frowned. There was no blanket for him.

He looked around and saw the blanket next to Lima's pillow. He closed his eyes and shook his head at the catty woman. She was certainly not used to not having her own way.

With timid feet he walked closer to her. He leaned over her face to grab the blanket. His eyes making sure Liam's were shut. His face neared hers and his hand stretched. His fingers grasped the blanket and he mentally sighed, finally.

Just as he was going to back away, Lima turned a little to the left, taking Rishit by shock. Her shoulder touched his elongated out arm and he gasped, losing his balance a little.

His body inclined closer to hers, barely supported by his other arm that rested on the other side of her pillow.

"Fuck." He breathed out, biting his lower lip at the prickly situation. Half of Lima's head was now his blanket, it would be impossible to take it without waking her up. He paused to think of something, he couldn't sleep with a blanket in this cold weather. Maybe he should just go downstairs and get his own blanket.

Very slowly Rishit let of the blanket, his fingers releasing their hold over it, his back unbending a little.

A hand suddenly grabbed his wrist pulling his body on top of hers. Lima looked at Rishit with darkened eyes. "You really need to stop entering my room without knocking." She spoke in a low tone, staring into his surprised eyes.

Due to the loss of balance, his face was now incredibly close to hers.

"I uh." Rishit blinked, leaning back a little. "I thought you were sleeping."

"If I could sleep that easily I wouldn't need you here." She replied truthfully to him.

He looked away, glancing at his blanket, trying to free his wrist from her grasp. She held it tighter, her long nails wounding him. "The blanket." He whispered. "I need it."

She tapped the blanket that was on her body. "Here's a perfectly good one."

Rishit's eyes widened. "What?"

Lima smirked. "Sleep with me, in my blanket."

Rishit pressed his lip together ignoring the skip of his heartbeat. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Lima stared at his body, he was dressed fully in a full sleeve t-shirt and a full length pajama. Her eyebrows raised in question. "I thought you slept topless."

Rishit looked at his clothes, blushing a little. He had covered himself deliberately. "I uh, I didn't want to scare you away."

Lima scoffed. "You think this would scare me away? You clearly don't know me well enough."

Rishit gazed at her face. "Then help me know you better."

Lima's lips parted at the sentence. Her fingers slowly let of his wrist, freeing him from her hold. "Maybe another night."

"You said you would tell me about your nightmare." He reminded her.

"That was before you stopped me from stabbing that imbecile's neck."

Even though he could now move away, he didn't. He stayed there, close to Lima. They didn't say a word, he continued to gaze at her face, he was starting to think he might never be bored of looking at it. While she was frantically wishing he could create some distance between them, this intimacy, this intensity, this emotion of needing him next to her always - was starting to suffocate Lima.

"Aren't you uh, getting the blanket?"

Rishit smirked at her blushing face. "Didn't you say to get in yours?"

Lima didn't mean it, she most certainly did not want him that snug against her body. She swallowed, "Uh well, you said it wasn't a good idea."

"I changed my mind." Rishit pulled her covers up slightly, getting into the blanket.

Instinctively Lima rolled over to the other side, creating space between them. "What the hell?" she hissed.

Rishit set the blanket over him, patting it nicely. He closed his eyes. "Good night. Sweet dreams."

Lima gawked at him with an open mouth. "You have got to be kidding me."

He didn't reply, he didn't open his mouth.

Lima gritted her teeth, exasperated. She looked at her exceptional blanket, it was the coziest one, and her favorite color – black. And more than half of it was over Rishit now.

She positioned the blanket over her frame but it wasn't enough, she need to get closer to him to have the blanket cover her fully. She tugged on the blanket but Rishit was holding the blanket tightly in his hands.

"Lemon cheesecake." She seethed.

Rishit smiled slightly. She called him lemon cheesecake, she wasn't as pissed as she was pretending to be.

"Hush." He muttered. "I am sleeping."

Sighing heavily, Lima shifted closer to him, letting the blanket wrap around their bodies perfectly.

Their shoulders were touching, if she moved even a little she could be cuddled up against Rishit. The thought was exciting.

"I am getting a bigger blanket." She groaned.

"Then get a smaller bed."

She turned her head to the side to hide the bright smile on her face and the redness in her cheeks. "Good night." She whispered.

Rishit's lips turned upwards. It was definitely a good night.

. . .

"Hello Mom." Viaan greeted.

"Hey kiddo." His mother's voice wasn't that happy through the phone.

"How are you?"

"Good. You? Are you eating properly?"

Viaan chuckled slightly. No matter what his age, his mother had always asked him that question. He pretended to hate but secretly loved that she cared enough to ask it. "I am great. Yes, I am eating too much."

"That's good."

Viaan noticed the underlying sadness in his mother's tone. "Are you okay Maa?"

"Perfect." His mother lied.

Viaan plucked a sunflower as he walked from the garden. "How's dad?"

There was a slight pause before his mother replied. "He's on a business trip."

Viaan regretted asking that question, he very well knew what those business trips meant. "How many days?"

His mother sighed. "A few. How is the weather there? Are you cold? Is the blanket thick? Should I send you a new one? What about mosquitoes?"

Viaan smiled slightly. "I am not a kid, Maa. I can take care of myself."

"I know but that doesn't mean I'll stop worrying."

"I know." Viaan breathed out, suddenly he felt homesick, more precisely his missed his mother, her warm hugs and constant taunts.

"Take care, Maa."

"You too." His mother said. "Don't forget to brush before sleeping."

Viaan let out a laugh and nodded. "Okay." And then he cut the call, looking at the sunflower in hand. It was his mother's favorite flower.

He raised the flower upwards to the sun, he noticed how it automatically turned to face the sun.

"Your mother?" Alesha asked, coming up from behind him.

"Yeah."

"Ah getting more pocket money from your rich family?" She teased.

Viaan just gave her a tight lipped smile. "Not really."

"How does it feel to have a rich father? Amazing huh?" She winked at him, not knowing the troubles he had.

Viaan shrugged. "It's not as amazing as everyone thinks." He answered her truthfully.

Alesha looked at his distressed face and decided to change the subject. She motioned to the flower he was holding. "Pretty."

He nodded and gave her the flower.

Alesha looked at it, not taking it. "What?"

"For you." He smirked at her.

Alesha scowled. "I hate sunflowers."

Viaan narrowed his eyes at her. "Really?"

She folded her arms aggressively. "Do you know nothing about me?"

Viaan shrugged. "I know your vomit stinks." He sassed.

Alesha gasped at the insult. "You idiot." She screeched, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" Viaan dropped the flower, rubbing his shoulder. "You have such bony fingers."

Alesha glared at him even more, she raised her hand to slap him again and Viaan laughed, winking at her and spinning around, running into the house.

She scoffed at his retreating figure. "Idiot!" she gazed at the fallen flower and bit her lip. She bent down and picked it up, smiling at it softly. "I love sunflowers." She muttered under her breath, touching the petals delicately.

Olivia sat on couch, her face buried in her hands.

"What's up with her?" Viaan questioned.

Rishit sighed. "She says she's missing Jeffery."

Viaan rolled his eyes. "Men like him are why the reputation of all men is tarnished." He glowered.

Rishit patted Olivia's back. "Yeah, you need to forget him."

"How?" Olivia moaned. "How do I forget him? I am just so angry at him." She hiccupped, looking up. "I hate myself for missing him. I feel so pathetic but I can't help it."

She hit her head on the couch's headrest. "Ugh. What should I do? Drinking didn't help, I have already deleted his number. I even cleared our chats and call logs."

"Photos?" Viaan piped in.

"Those too." Olivia paused, biting her lower lip. "Except of the ones I look good in."

Viaan shook his head at her.

"What?" she cried out defensively. "It's only because I look amazing in those, nothing else."

"Just delete them all." Rishit advised. "Why take chances?"

"Even then, will it work?"

Rishit didn't know. He hadn't dated anyone as toxic as Jeffery and he certainly hadn't gone through such a terrible breakup. "It will help." He consoled.

Olivia twisted her lips. "Eh. I need a good solution. A real one."

As if on cue, Lima came downstairs, dressed in a full dark purple dress with a golden belt. A purple lip shade and purple eyeliner, she looked like the Queen of Paradise. But then they saw the gun in her hand and all eyes widened with fright.

"Oh my God!" Viaan screamed. He pulled an equally shocked Alesha in front of him, hiding behind her. "Please don't kill me. I haven't even seen Greece yet, I want see Paris too."

Alesha elbowed him, glaring at him. "Really, Viaan. Hiding behind a girl?"

Rishit slowly stood up, staring at the long gun resting in her hands. "Wh-what?" he scratched his head. "What the hell is that?"

Lima lifted the gun, pointing it at him. Rishit jolted back in instinct, raising his hand. "Is that real?"

Lima smirked. "Want me to confirm it?"

Rishit licked his lips, his hands lowering. "No thanks."

She grinned and lowered her gun. "I am going shooting."

Olivia blinked. "Shooting?"

Viaan, realizing that she wasn't going to shoot them, straightened and came out form the hiding. His shoulders huffed. "That's right. Shooting other stuff, not us."

Alesha clicked her tongue, narrowing her eyes at him. "Scaredy cat."

"It's actually just darts." Lima answered Olivia. "But shooting darts with hands is so-" Lima shrugged. "Well boring. So I use a gun."

"Is it fun?"

Lima smiled at Olivia. "Very much so. You put up a paper or something on the trees and then take aim and shoot. It feels really good. I usually take print outs of Ryan Gosling and shoot them."

"Why? You hate him?"

"Well, it's mainly because he got married and not to me." Lima responded frankly.

Olivia and Alesha chuckled, nodding their heads. Viaan was grinning too. Rishit didn't seem to enjoy that comment so much.

"Want to join?" Lima raised an eyebrow at Olivia.

Olivia bit her lower lip, contemplating it. "What should I shoot?"

Lima smirked. "Pictures of small dicks?"

Olivia gave a loud throaty laugh, her first real laugh in two days. She nodded vigorously. "I would love that."

After a few minutes, five people stepped out, all holding guns that rested on their shoulders. Their faces were firm and inexpressive. Their swaggered elegantly into the hilly area, with one mission in their minds – shoot darts at printouts.

And that is exactly what they did for the next three hours, they aimed and shot at trees, most of the times missing it but when they hit the target, their screams echoed through the lonely hills. Their laughs and joyful yells were new to the birds who chirped on the branches.

Olivia shot at printouts of small dicks and Jeffery's elongated face with a huge grin on her face. "That's for slapping me, you asshole." She screamed and shot her dart right on his nose.

Alesha had decided to be funny and had taken out color printouts of Viaan's sleeping face. Viaan did not appreciate the humor at all.

He had quietly settled into shooting photos of tigers and lions. "I don't want to shoot them in real life but it would be dope to say randomly in conversation, 'Hey you know, I shot a tiger once.'"

Rishit had let jealousy take over him and had a few prints of Ryan Gosling. "I think his acting sucks." He blatantly fibbed.

Lima had color printouts of Disney Princesses. "I think they are so overrated." She said. "It's high time we say that you don't need to be a Princess to have a fairytale."

Mr. Pence watched from the side, a slight smile on his face. In the past 10 years he had known Ms. Fox, never had she smiled this bright, never had she laughed so loud, never had she been so cheerful.

It was a sight to witness, a sight he was afraid would disappear soon.

~~~

I want a Lima! And a Rishit! Ahh, I want them all!