= Chris POV =
I pulled up to my designated parking lot and parked the car. Looking over at Sarah, I sighed, brushing some hair out of her face; she just looked so out of it. I didn't want to rouse her, but I did need to get her home.
I got out of the car and went over to the passenger side, opening the door and scooping up Sarah's body. Every time I carried her, my heart clenched as she was so light, she felt almost weightless, like a piece of paper. It made me want to feed her more; put some fat on those bones. It made me want to hold her close and protect her. I pushed the thought out of my mind for now and gently pushed the door closed with my knee, then headed towards the elevator.
After carrying Sarah in the lift and to our front door, I groaned as I fumbled around trying to locate a key card. Soon enough, I managed to get the key card from my pocket by cradling Sarah's body using only my right arm, pressing her close to my chest as I tapped the card reader.
I brought Sarah in and made a beeline for her bed, gently laying her down and then standing back, admiring her peaceful face as she slept. For a second I considered just taking her back to my room instead, but I sighed, pulling back, deciding that I should let her rest in a comfortable, familiar environment.
I sighed as I returned the front door, taking off my shoes and placing them on the shoe race, finally locking the door behind me. I took a few moments to breath. The house was utterly silent, but it was different from the past, where the silence would irk me and remind me how lonely I was.
I walked across the small apartment and pushed Sarah's door open again. For a few moments, I watched her as her chest rose and fell gently. I closed the door behind me and crossed the room, sitting on the edge of her bed, my thigh inches from her face.
Pushing away a few strands of hair that covered her face, I smiled as a warm feeling blossomed in my chest.
"If only I could understand your concept of love, I would do everything I could to fulfill it," I mumbled.
"My parents are in love," Sarah suddenly said.
I jumped, I had no idea she was awake.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," I said and got up.
Sarah's eye cracked open blurrily. She smiled, reached out her hands, and wrapped her fingers around my nearest wrist.
"Where are you going?" She asked bemused, "You woke me up, not you're leaving already?"
"I ..well…this is your room; I should let you rest," I said, but she shook her head.
"Stay. Don't you want to know the answer?" She beamed as she sat up, still holding onto me.
I slowly sat down, not really sure if I was talking to a completely coherent Sarah, but I'd take any version of Sarah any day.
"Yes, I'd love to know what you consider to be love," I replied earnestly, brushing stray strands of hair out of her face, my fingers lingering on the curve of her jaw.
Sarah tilted her head into my palm and sighed, practically nuzzling my hand, which sent shivers down my spine.
" Honestly, I have no idea. But when I think of my parents, I think 'Ah, this must be what love is like'. They are always together; even if the crop does well or badly, they always support one another, and I've never heard them say a single bad word to each other, and I lived with them for eighteen years!" Sarah said, releasing me to throw her arms up and hold up several fingers as if she were trying to make the number 18 with her digits.
I snorted and gently grabbed her hands and brought them down.
"You don't have enough fingers for 18, love" I grinned, but as I held her, she slumped forward against me, her head resting on my shoulder, and she immediately began to snore.
I released her hands and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, holding her close. I buried my face in her hair and sighed. A love built on companionship, loyalty, and trust, huh? Then why was she so desperate for casual sex? She constantly had me at a loss.
I thought about the two chubby farmers who were Sarah's parents. I remembered them always being together in the fields, checking on their crops. The orchards were always ripe with fruit, and in the summers of my teenage years, I remember working there, picking the fruits and checking the tree's progress as part of my job as a farm-hand part-timer while my mother went overseas. Not that Sarah had any idea; she often escaped to the city to stay with her grandparents during the summer when we were teenagers.
It was incredible that after all those years, they were still so passionate about agriculture, and they dedicated every season to working hard to make sure the next harvest was better than the last.
It took a lot of trust to get to the stage that her parents were at. Trust and… perseverance. Was that what it took to win over Sarah's heart? Trust and Perseverance?
I gently pushed Sarah down and folded her over so she was facing the wall. After a moment of hesitation, I lay down beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. I pulled her close so that her back was flush against me, and I buried my face in her hair. For just a few moments, I wanted to pretend that Sarah was all mine already and I didn't have all these silly games hindering me from truly expressing how I felt about her. I didn't want her to feel the pressure of committing to me if she didn't want to, but my patience was wearing thin, and with every passing day, it was getting harder and harder to keep my hands off her.
I held Sarah's body close to me and smelled her hair. Vanilla and cinnamon, much like the cinnamon bun she loved to eat when I made them for her. I should make her more. She is so slender that it makes my heart hurt. Sometimes, I felt that the city wasn't good for her at all.
I slip my other arm under her head and use my hand to turn her face to look up at me. The gentle snores indicated that she was still deep in slumber. I gently placed a kiss on her forehead, nuzzling her gently, quietly pouring my love out on her sleeping form.
"Little country girl, I should take you home where you belong. You always did look your best when you were sun-kissed and warm," I purred, stroking her cheek, thinking back about the times I used to watch her running around the fields and laughing as she caught butterflies near her home.