Chapter 27

So many questions circle his chocolate brown eyes. But he doesn't say anything. The smell of his cologne almost makes me fall over. I slowly reach out and touch his face. My hand goes to the back of his head and I gently run my fingers through his hair. He grabs my face with both his hands and kisses me. Warmth fills my body and my heart. He pulls away and leans his forehead against mine. I breathe deep, smelling as much of him as I can as if he's going to disappear any second. He closes his eyes, and I can feel his breath on my lips. He's breathing heavy. My fingers make their way to his curls again and I let my hands get lost, gripping his hair gently. "I'm sorry, I love you so much." I whisper. He rubs his thumb across my lips. "Just tell me why?" he says, quietly. I don't say anything. He opens his eyes. I stare into them. He pulls away. He looks down at my arms. I try to cover them up, but that's impossible. I watch as his face goes from confusion, to realization, to rage. He clenches his fists and his jaw. I see the muscles beneath his white tee, tighten up. He grabs my shoulders. "He did this to you?" He asks, wide-eyed. I'm scared to say anything. "Lena!" he yells. I jump, than nod, a tear rolling down my cheek. He screams out loud, and punches the door. I know that didn't feel good. He ignores the pain. "I'm gonna fuckin kill him." he says, under his breath. His eyes almost turn red. "He's in jail." is all I manage to spit out. He leans his hand against the door and puts his head down. I don't know what to say to him. So I just stand there, like an idiot waiting for him to make the next move. After a long time, he says, "You're not pregnant." As a reflex, I touch my stomach. I'm not pregnant. "H-h----" "The doctor called me when I was leaving M town records." He turns around. "I raced home to tell you, but all I saw was an empty apartment." My heart feels like it's being squeezed and there's a lump in my throat. "Why?" he asks, almost desperately. I throw my arms around him and sob. Bruno's small, but I drown in his embrace. He holds me tight. "I didn't leave you, please don't think that, please." I say, with my face drenched with tears. He wipes them away, but it's no use. "Okay, Lena, you need to calm down, I swear you're gonna have a panic attack one of these days." He leads me to the couch, but I cling to him and tell him no. He looks at me crazy. I lead him outside. The only place besides Ahm's bedroom that doesn't give me a sick feeling in my stomach. We go to the backyard, which is just like the house, gorgeous. I curl up on one of the patio chairs. He sits next to me. He doesn't let me go the whole time. My hand is in his tight grasp. He stares at me up and down. "God Lena..." he says, and he looks like he's in pain. I don't blame him. I look down at my purplish blue bruises. Blurple. His eyes search mine for answers. As I remember back to that day, I get goosebumps, even though it's well over 70 degrees outside. He runs his fingers through my hair, the way I always do his. I don't want to talk about what happened. I slowly lower my legs and put my arms around him. He returns the embrace and I let my body go limp. This is all I want to do. Everything is better when I'm in his arms. And if I could stay like this forever, I would. He leans back on his chair, and pulls me onto his lap, holding me like a baby. I close my eyes and turn my head so my face is in his chest. His cologne smell penetrates in my nose, and right at this moment, I'm in a small bubble of happiness. He has his face buried in my hair and he softly scratches my head. We stay like that for what seems like hours. I sit up and look at him. The sun shining on him, makes his normally dark curls, look almost reddish, and his gorgeous brown eyes, hazel. His skin is bronzed and flawless. As if he couldn't get anymore beautiful. I suddenly feel uglier than usual, and I want to hide from him. He touches my chin, looking concerned. I feel myself get withdrawn, and I don't look at him. "Babe's what's the matter?" he asks. I stay quiet for awhile, than say "I'm ugly." He doesn't get mad like I'm expecting him to. He doesn't make a face, or pull away from me. He lifts my chin up. He lightly kisses me on the lips, both of his hands on my waist. "I'll never find a girl, more beautiful or perfect as you." he says. He waits for me to return the kiss, and when I do, it's like we were on pause and someone pressed the play button. He pulls me close to him, kissing me more intense. I wrap my arms around his neck, grabbing his hair. Our tongues tease each other. Oh god, that tongue. He kisses my neck, than sucks softly. I bite my bottom lip. I swear this boy can read my mind. He knows exactly what to do and how to do it. His hands go up my shirt, slowly caressing every inch of my body, and only than is when I realize. Were outside. I pull away from him. "What?" he asks, a little out of breath. I look around, than look at him, raising my eyebrows. He gets a little smirk. "No." I say, bluntly. He hugs me, his face in my neck. "Come on Lenaaaa." He pleads. His breath tickles me, but it just turns me on more. "What if someone sees?" I whisper, looking around again. "They won't.." he says, kissing me. I know he's just saying that so I can give in. It is a big backyard, and the house is the only one for a couple miles. He sees me contemplating, and he runs his tongue across my lips. He smirks, knowing what that does to me. "That's not gonna work." I tell him. He raises one eyebrow, than lifts my shirt, kissing, licking and sucking my boobs. Asshole. I push him back against the chair, pinning his arms, and don't hold back. He keeps laughing between kisses. "What?" I finally ask. "I like when you're rough." he says. I smack his arm. He smiles. "Do it again." he says, biting his lip. I grab his face and kiss him. He groans softly. I feel him trying to unbuckle his belt. I move his hand, and in one pull his belt is off. I can tell by the look on his face, that he wants to take control, but he's letting me. I kind of freeze, cause I realize I don't know what I'm doing. He rubs his thumb across my cheek. "Babe, there's no need to be nervous." The awkwardness that I'm feeling is overwhelming. He kisses me, putting me at ease a little bit. "Just go with it, move it fast, move it slow, you control the tempo." He says in my ear. I force myself to stop thinking, and do exactly what he told me.

* * * *

I wrap his shirt tigher around me, and press the sleeve to my nose. I inhale, smiling. I rest my chin on my knee, staring at Bruno. He's laying in the sand, asleep. The wind blows slightly, making his curls sweep across his forehead. I don't wake him. My heart doesn't feel as heavy as it did yesterday. He makes me feel, complete? No, I won't be complete until I have my sister with me. Whole. That's the word. Brendan tore who I was and everything I believed in, away. He emptied my heart and soul. And Bruno restored that in me. He twitches, and than opens his eyes. I smile. "Hi." I say. He stretches, and crawls over to me. He touches my chin and kisses me softly. "Hi." he says. He grabs my neck, letting his fingers get lost in my very messy, wind blown hair. He stares at me, going from my eyes to my lips, than back to my eyes. "You are so beautiful." he says. My face gets red, and I want to look down, but I force myself not to. His eyes are filled with so much love, and I know, he means it. He runs his fingers over my bruises, and I see his jaw tense. "He's a dead mutha fucker." he says, clenching his fist. I kiss his hand. I don't want to talk about him. He's out of my life. I hear the soft sound of footsteps behind me. My blood freezes. I'm afraid to turn around. Bruno looks over my shoulder. He raises his eyebrow, than smiles showing all his teeth and dimples. "Hello!" he says, cheerily, and waves. "Um..Hi?" I close my eyes in embarrassment. Bruno looks back and forth at me and Preeti, with an amused smile on his face. "Lena?..Can I talk to you for a quick sec?" she asks. I turn around. She's trying to hide her smile and I know she's bursting inside. I slowly get up. Bruno gently grabs my leg as I walk towards Preeti. Her eyes are as big as basketballs. I push her towards the front, but realize I'm just in Bruno's shirt, so I check to see if anybody is around, than quickly run in the house, dragging her behind me. I shut the door and she yells, "Who is that sexy piece of ass out there?!" I cover her mouth, as if Bruno can even hear from way outside. She busts out laughing. "Lena Osvala, you naughy little thing you!" She has this smirk on her face. My face is red, and I keep playing with the ends of my hair. "And why have you never mentioned Mr. Sexy out there?" She asks. "It's a long story Preeti." She nods, smiling. "I bet it is." She says, wiggling her eyebrows. I push her playfully. She laughs, than gets this serious look on her face. She looks around. "I didn't hear from you after you talked to Adrian, so I got worried and came to see if you're alright... This is the last place I'd expect you to be." she says. I wrap my arms around myself, feeling the darkness this house brings upon me. "I have to...I'm waiting for my sister." I tell her. She has this confused look on her face. I turn her around. "Look, I promise, I'll tell you everything later. I'm kinda....busy at the moment." I tell her. She smiles again. "I get it." she says and taps my nose. We walk outside. "I'll be waiting, call me asap." She says. I nod. She walks down the steps and waves. She starts walking, than yells "BYE MR. SEXY!" My eyes gets wide and she runs, laughing. I shake my head, smirking. When I get to the backyard, I see Bruno laying back, playing with the sand. When he sees me, he lays down and closes his eyes, making a very unattractive, fake snoring sound. I sit on him, and kiss his neck. He smiles, with his eyes closed. "Don't disturb Mr. Sexy when he's sleeping." He says. I laugh, and he pulls me down, squeezing me. "I'm sorry about that, she's a little, out there, but in a good way." I tell him. He rubs his nose with mine. "It's okay. She seems, fun." I nod. "She's one half of the small team that helped me land that........person in jail." I say. He stays quiet. I look up at the sky, and the sun is starting to go down. I didn't even realize what time it was. I sit up and hit his belly. "Come on, get dressed." I tell him. He groans, and turns on his side. "Get up lazy." I tell him. "I'm gonna make a song one day just for lazy people." He says. I laugh. "And what are you gonna call it?" I ask. He shrugs. "The Lazy Song." "Wow, how original." I say, sarcastically. He gets up and I give him his shirt back and get dressed. I slowly walk to the house, not wanting to go in. I pull his hand, and run upstairs, in the safety and security of Ahm's bedroom. Bruno looks around. I sit on the bed, hugging her pillow. He looks at the pictures on her wall. They're mostly of her and Adrian. A couple of her and her friends, and than at the far end, pictures of me, Joe, and Mami. He stares at one of me and Ahmity. I was 8, and she was 10. He lightly touches it, than sits next to me. He looks at me, his eyes full of questions. I sigh. "He found me, but I don't know how." He doesn't speak, move, and I can hardly hear him breathe. "I didn't just go with him. So please don't think that." I say. He nods, holding my hand. "I never seen him like that, he looked really crazy. I fought him, as much as I could, but he was too strong." I hug the pillow tighter, remembering. I feel my eyes tear up, but I refuse to let them fall. I'm done crying over that asshole. "He brought me back here, and uhm...This..happened." I say, looking at my bruises. He clenches his jaw, but keeps his cool. "He, uh..he locked me in my room." I say, my voice breaking. "I got out, but Ahmity didn't. She can't really walk, about 3 months ago she had an accident, and it left her in a coma for awhile. When she woke up, her speech and mobility skills were impaired." His expression is a mixture of rage and sympathy. "I ran to the first place I could think of, the place where I work and told Preeti everything. She called the police and he got arrested." Bruno smiles. "But he turned the whole thing around, and I was the suspect." Bruno makes a 'what the hell?' face. "He's crazy, and bi polar, with anger issues and depression. He's good at making people believe his lies." I say. "But Preeti got him. Her best friend Sonia, is Brendan's ex girlfriend. She told them everything, which was everything he did to me, and boom! The fucker's in jail." I say, recapping the events of the whole day. Bruno doesn't say anything. He looks mind blown. "Wow." is all he comes up with. I nod. "Where is Ahmity?" He asks. I look at the floor. "She's missing." I say. He scoots closer to me, playing with my hair. "Babe, if you need help finding her---" "She'll come back." I say. "How do you know?" he asks. "She left me once, and that was too many times." I say. "But how can you be sure?" he asks. "She's my sister." I say, looking at him. He nods, understanding. "So, is that why you're....back, here?" He asks. "It's the only place where I know she'll find me. I just have to wait." I tell him. He puts his arms around my waist. "Than I'll wait with you. I'm never letting you out of my sight again." He says. I smile, feeling that familiar comfort that only my Bruno can provide.

* * * *

"Lena.." My eyes fly open. I sit up and look around. Nothing but a dark room. I look next to me, and Bruno is sleeping like a baby. Ahmity's voice sounded clear as day in my ear. With a deep sadness, I lay back down, cuddling next to Bruno. He instinctively puts his arms around me. I feel myself drifting back to sleep, when I hear the front door. My heart beats fast, and I start shaking. "Bruno!" I whisper, moving him. "Hmmmm.." he mumbles and doesn't wake up. The front door closes, than I hear footsteps walking to the kitchen. The only person that I can think of being in the house is Brendan. I move Bruno again. "Babe, there's someone in the house." He opens his eyes, and sits up. The footsteps make their way back towards the front door, and than up the stairs. I cling to Bruno, scared out of my mind. He pushes me behind him, and I watch the door from over his shoulder. His tiny butt has his fists ready, and I almost want to laugh, but even though my Bruno is little, he can lay someone out in a heartbeat. The footsteps reach the top of the stairs. They come straight towards the bedroom. The door opens slowly, and a hand reaches in and flicks the light on. I blink, blinded by the brightness. Bruno puts his fists down, and when my eyes focus, I'm frozen. Ahmity stands in the doorway. We stare at each other. I feel like she's not real, like I'm looking at a picture or it's just a vision in my mind. "Mama's?" I say, timidly. She takes a sharp breath in, and I see tears rolling down her cheeks. I jump out of the bed, and almost tackle her. We squeeze each other so tight, our ribs almost crack. I smell her hair, and keep kissing her cheek over and over. "Oh my god!" I say, crying, not believing it's really her. She holds my face, smiling and crying. "I love you." She says. "I knew you would wait for me." I stare at her shocked. Her speech is perfect, and now that I think about it, the footsteps I heard, were normal. "Mama's, you can walk, and talk...fine?" I ask her. She kisses my forehead. "Mama's, I've been able to walk and talk for a long time." I'm so lost. She leads me to the bed. Bruno is just sitting there, not saying a word, and probably more lost than I am. Bless his heart. When she sees him, she smiles. "I know who you are." she says. Bruno smiles back. "And I know who you are." He says. She hugs him. "It's been a long time my little Brunito." she says. He laughs. "You're still the only one that can get away with calling me that." he says. She laughs, and it sounds like music to my ears. She looks at me, and her smile disappears. She walks over and softly touches my arm. Oh, almost forgot about those. Her eyes well up. "I'm so sorry Mama's. But there was nothing I could---" "Ahmity, I don't want to talk about it." I cut her off. She nods. "It's done and over with." She says. She looks from Bruno, to me, than back at Bruno. She smirks and I know what she's thinking. Same old Ahm. Not even situations like the hell we just endured almost 2 weeks ago, can take away her personality. I shake my head, laughing. "What?" Bruno says, with his eyebrows raised. "Nothing." Ahmity says, still with that smirk. When Bruno looks at me, she puts her thumb up and mouths 'Sexy!' I bust out laughing, and so does she. The love in my heart makes it feel like it's going to explode. The two people that I thought at one point I lost forever, are with me, in the same room and the same time, together. I feel like I'm going to burst from this overwhelming feeling of happiness.

* * * *

I dip the double chunk chocolate chip cookie in my tall glass of milk. "Dunk." Ahm says. "Drip" I say. "Lick." We both say, giggling. Bruno looks at us like were weird, and laughs. I fidget, and I want to ask her where she's been, how long was she there, so many questions I have, but I can see that she's enjoying being together, so I keep quiet. She'll tell me on her own time. Bruno sits next to me, putting his arms around my waist. A small smile plays across Ahmity's face. "You guys never fell out of love with each other, have you?" she asks. My face gets red, but Bruno strokes my hair, smiling. "Never." he says. Her eyes light up for a second, than they look sad. "Have you...have you talked to Adrian." I dare to ask. She clears her throat and looks down. She presses her lips together. "No." she says, coldly. I furrow my eyebrows. "Why no--" "Lena, maybe we should talk in the morning. It's late." she cuts me off. I swallow, than nod. "Goonight Hermanita." she says, kissing me on the forehead, than making her way upstairs. I look around after she's gone. Where am I going to sleep? Bruno sees me desperately thinking, and takes my hand. He opens the closet by the front door and takes out 2 blankets. He leads me outside, to the back and lays one of the blankets down. He sits, and pats the spot next to him. I smile, and obey. I cuddle up next to him and he throws the other blanket over both of us. I stare up at the stars. I feel him looking at me, so I turn my head. "What?" I say. He touches my bottom lip. "Nothing." He says. I look back up to the sky. The stars are beautiful. I tell him that, and he doesn't respond. "You don't think so?" I ask. "You're eyes are more beautiful." he says. I look down, letting my bangs fall. He turns my face to look at him. "Her eyes her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining." he sings. He moves my bangs slightly. "Her hair her hair falls perfectly without her trying." He leans in for what I think is a kiss, but stops right before his lips touch mine. "She's so beautiful, and I tell her everyday." He sings softly. I melt inside. He pulls back. "I know I know when I compliment her she won't believe me." He pushes me lightly with a smirk on his face. I laugh. He touches my chin. "And it's so, it's so sad to think that she don't see what I see, but everytime she asks me do I look okay, I say" He pushes me down and lays on top of me, intertwining our fingers on both hands. His nose touches mine. "When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, cause you're amazing, just the way you are." He lighty kisses my neck, and his lips are close to my ear. "And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for awhile." He stares into my eyes. "Cause your amazing, just the way you are." I have goosebumps all over my body, my legs feel like jelly, my fingers are tingling, (as well as some other things ahem), the smile can't leave my face, and I feel like I'm going to cry. This boy got me a hot mess. I kiss him. "I love you." I say. He smiles. "I love you more." He lays next to me, wrapping his arms tightly around me. I drift off to sleep, with a warm breeze blowing, a huge smile on my face, and my heart finally feeling....complete.