Dandelion Lover

"God damn it, that little girl is making me madder than anything and anyone else!" I muttered as I walked down the stairs to the first vending machine I could find and dropped several coins in, to get some water for her. I still had some headache medicine in my car and after a quick trip to the parking lot; I was ready to go back in and confront her once again.

I stood there all night, drinking away after she started crying that she couldn't go home because her grandma would be worried about the state she's in, and how she couldn't face her, after all, that happened. But she still refused to tell me, instead she called me all kinds of names that I didn't even think she understood the meaning of before she finally fell asleep in the car.

I looked at her all night long, seeing her turning, groaning, crying in her sleep, from time to time she would let out a long sigh and a few quickened breaths that almost made me think she woke up. I hated my weak self, I hated that every time I saw her cry I wanted to wipe the tears off her face. When she turned restlessly or whimpered I wanted to hold her close and calm her down.

Even now, seeing her scared expression, I just wanted to relieve her of any troubles she has and put her mind at peace, but I couldn't do that, I had to find out what happened first and foremost and Vivian was still out cold in the neighboring room.

I returned to see Kate hugging her knees closely with the covers pulled over her body, leaving only her head out. She looked similar to a hurt child hiding away from people, hoping she wouldn't be noticed and just left alone. Unfortunately, I couldn't do as she wanted because we had to set things straight.

"Here's your water and some meds. I want to see you take them." I placed them on the nightstand near her and backed away. She looked wearily at them and after holding down her breath for a second, she took the pills and drank some water to wash them down.

I took a seat on the bed in a corner far away from her and waited for her to start talking.

"I..." she stuttered probably still undecided on what she wanted to say, "didn't know about him... leaving the company... or the other thing...." she added almost in a whisper.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curiosity taking over, and I moved closer in order to hear her better.

"Ann..." she muttered and I could see tears forming in the corner of her eyes. The simple name she mentioned and her reaction told me more than a hundred words could have.

I wanted to stop myself right there and keep my cool but I couldn't.

I moved my hand behind her back and pulled her into an embrace, her head lay snuggling tightly against the crevice between my neck and my shoulder while her breathing got rougher; I could feel her small body trembling slightly in my arms.

The smug look on Rob's face appeared in my mind but I couldn't budge. No matter the consequences, if she was fooling me or not, I was long gone. I had forgotten about everything and everyone and only the sensation of the light body in my arms quivering ever so softly against my c.h.e.s.t was all that mattered to me at that moment.

"I saw them..." she continued whispering near my ears after her sobbing calmed down a bit, but I didn't let her go. I probably wasn't able to, and she made no attempt to escape my embrace, she just sighed from time to time as she told me what happened.

"After you left, I went outside to ask Rob about what happened, and I saw him and... Ann... behind one of the neighboring buildings..." she took another long breath trying to keep herself from crying.

"They were..." and she stifled something that I could only assume was a sob. "They were being intimate..." she finally managed to say and I could feel her eyes close shut before she left out a long sigh.

"How could they do that, and in public nevertheless..." I was amazed at the shameless behavior of the two.

"How stupid can I be?" she muttered and I felt like I had just been stabbed with a knife when I heard her disappointed voice. She was disappointed not in Rob or Ann, but in herself for being gullible.

At that time, the words I had shouted to her the day before, came back and made the knife in my heart turn violently, to be sure I was feeling every type of pain possible.

"I'm sorry," I said while cradling her slowly, using one hand to pat her back while the other was securely holding her in place.

"I was unfair to you before, I should have known you weren't like him." I continued trying to soothe her, I could feel the warm tears falling on my shoulder. It pained me that I was part of the reason she was so miserable, but at the same time, I envied Rob for being able to place such a mark on her heart.

We stayed glued together for what seemed like minutes, as the sun was now rising fast outside the lonely window of the room, and I knew I had to let go but it was harder than I imagined.

When I finally willed myself to lessen my grip, I could hear a soft m.o.a.n of disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e leaving Kate's lips.

"It's okay," I said arranging her rich hair that was sticking to her face from all the sweat and tears she shed over the night.

"He's not worth you being troubled over, just forget about it," I concluded. She mumbled something to herself and raised her head to look at me.

Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying but she seemed even more beautiful to me. I was drawn into those eyes and I soon switched my view onto her lips. She had them parted a bit and I felt a strong magnetic pull drawing me closer to her. I wanted to heal her cracked lips with mine, forcing Kate to forget about everything, just as she made me forget about everyone. My head was inching closer and her eyes slowly fluttered and her cheeks lit up with a pink hue. She looked so precious, so natural and so...

"Ahem..." I heard a familiar voice behind me clearing her throat and quickly came back to reality.

"Vivian, you're up?!" I almost shouted while Kate's eyes were staring widely in surprise at the door. She quickly used her hands to push herself out of my embrace as if she finally understood what was happening.

"Am I interrupting something?" Vivian said with a chuckle and brought the chair near the bed smiling devilishly.

"No, nothing like that," I said as I forced to draw myself farther away from Kate without making it too obvious. "We were just discussing what happened yesterday."

"I see..." Vivian said and I could feel her doubt in the tone she used. Once seated, she looked once more at us then turned serious.

"I have an idea." She stated and the next word that came out of her lips made me look at her in disbelief