Chasing

Travis is speechless for the next few seconds, staring deeply at me while I squirm under his intense gaze and hoping he will just take my word for it and leave Klan out of all this. After a long period of stretched silence, Travis nods.

“Fine, I won’t tell Kian anything.”

I heave a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Travis. I really can’t thank you enough.”

He hands me the rest of the tea in the mug. I glady chug down what is left of it and hand it back. In the process, my fingers graze his ever so slightly and he stills, eyes locking with mine with a swirl in them that entrances me for a few seconds until he somehow manages to break away and straighten up. I clear my throat, my cheeks burning up as a result of the awkward situation.

“You should get some rest.” He says and turns his back walking out the door before I can give an answer to his words.

Two days have passed since I woke up in Travis‘ house. It feels like I am overstaying my welcome here but Travis doesn’t seem to mind. Instead, he reassures me everytime that I can stay for as long as I want. He’s stopped asking questions and just goes about his business, putting extra effort into making me feel comfortable in his home. His house is larger in comparison to that of Kian and it has a warmth that three years of living with Kian couldn’t offer.

His home is a reflection of him; almost like how Kian’s home reflects his character. The memories of my move into Kian’s house are just as fresh as the ones of his mother bullying me while he pays little to no attention to me. It had been hard to adjust to the dull and pale look of his home when I was used to bright colors and pretty aesthetics from my old house.

“You can go ahead and have your room repainted however you like, I don’t care but don’t you dare change anything in my house, do you understand me?”

Those were his exact words when I made the suggestion that the house could use a little bit of color for newlyweds. Those words had also made my stance in his home clear because it was the first time I knew we would not be sharing a room as a couple.

Staring at the cute minnie mouse tea cups on the island in Travis‘ kitchen, I can’t help but feel this deep feeling of sadness again. All I asked from Kian was the barest minimum,

“Leslie.” Travis” voice calls behind me before my eyes can start watering again. I turn to look at him and smile like my exploration of his house doesn’t make my heart ache a little bit. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

I raise one of the minnie mouse mugs with the intention of teasing him, “Aren’t these a little too cute for a business man?”

Travis laughs heartily, “This stays between us.

laugh too, the feeling of sadness disappearing just as fast as it came. I am leaming things about Travis that I did not know before and each one is even more amusing than the last.

“Leslie,” he calls now, his face turning serious, “Are you ready to know who that card belongs to?” He asks. I nod immediately because I have been waiting for this moment for the last two days.

Travis asks me to meet him in the car in a few minutes and I hasten to freshen myself up before joining him in the car. We drive for over thirty minutes to get to a suburban area of the city that I have never been to. This part of the city is free from the hustle and bustle of the usual life, quietness descending on us the moment we arrive there.

Travis stops the car at the driveway of one of the many houses and I step out, looking at the giant house in front of us.

Travis leads the way and like the person behind the door has been expecting us, it opens and out rolls a graying man on a wheelchair.

“Sir,” Travis acknowledges the man with a bow but the man isn’t looking at Travis. No, he is looking at me with shock written all over his face as he rolls towards me on the wheelchair,

I shift uncomfortably on one foot when I notice the tears in the man’s eyes. I look at Tristan who also looks back at me in confusion until the man says something that stuns me even more.

“My God! I finally found you.”