(A Dual POV)
Anne
I forced myself to look back up at his eyes, which were now staring over my head towards Dr. Sawyer's office. His hands were still holding my arms.
Then slowly, he looked back at me with a smile, held both sides of my face, and brushed his lips against my forehead.
I stopped breathing.
My heart suddenly adopted a rhythm that involved skipping every other beat. I was almost sure it would stop entirely.
"We'll catch up later, Anny. Gotta go help Mum," he said, gently rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs.
I nodded swiftly.
He gave my face one final stroke, then stepped back and walked towards the exit.
My lips quivered as the surge of everything that happened rippled through me. A glittering evening that had turned so dark, so fast.
But I was happy. I hadn't stayed silent. That would have killed me for the rest of my existence. If nothing good comes out of this, I was ready to stand by Andrew till the end.
I turned towards Dr. Sawyer's office and saw Andrew standing a few feet away, wearing the brightest smile I'd ever seen on him.
My heart soared.
He walked, more like ran, towards me. Once he got close, he wrapped his arms around me, lifted me off the ground, and began swinging me around, bursting into breathless laughter.
"Anny! You did it!" he yelled joyfully.
My heart swelled.
"You mean he agreed?!" I asked eagerly.
He laughed heartily, dropping me gently.
"My dad's a stubborn man, but when a certain individual knocked some sense into his thick skull, he decided letting me be wasn't the worst thing that could happen." He grinned from ear to ear.
My face heated up. I bowed my head to hide my reddened face.
"Aww... is someone blushing?" he teased.
"Shut up, freak!" I pushed at his chest. He grabbed my hands and pressed them against his chest.
"Thank you, Anny." He held my gaze, his eyes clouding over.
I wrapped my arms around his, pulling him into a hug. He held me, slipping his face into the crook of my neck.
Soon after, his whole body began shaking as if a dam had finally broken. He didn't say a word, but the way he trembled told me everything. Every whimper that escaped him sounded like years of weight finally falling off his shoulders.
I gently rubbed his back, occasionally swiping at my own tears.
After several minutes, he released me.
"Sorry," he choked out, and we both burst out laughing.
"So… what happens now?" I asked.
"Well, I'll be leaving in a week," he said, sniffling.
"What! So soon?!"
"I'll be gone for just a couple of weeks, Anny, don't feel bad."
"How long exactly?!" I poked his chest.
"Two or three weeks, maybe," he said with a grimace.
"Alright, I might be able to deal with that. But anything past that, you're dead. Got it?"
"Anny?" he called out, staring at me with all seriousness.
"Yea?"
I looked at him expectantly.
"I need to tell you something..."
He hesitated, scrunched up his face, and then exhaled deeply.
"But that'll be when I get back," he finished.
"Why not now? Is everything alright?"
"Of course!" He laughed nervously.
"Are you sure you're okay, Drew?"
"Yes, Anny," he assured.
"If you say so," I said, unconvinced but letting it die for the time being.
"Come on, let's go back to the party," he said, taking me by the hand.
I let myself be pulled along, turning briefly to look back at the spot where I'd been standing, part of me still anchored there, feeling the ghost of Vincent's lips on my forehead.
I turned back to Andrew and stared at the side of his face, watching his jaw relax as the corner of his lip stretched into a smile, probably at something or someone he'd seen. Another part of me wondered what he had swallowed back.
Andrew
I wanted to tell her. I had it ready, sitting right behind my teeth, but I still couldn't get it out.
I'd never been that nervous in my life. This lady, with her round brown eyes, her terrible singing voice, and the way she laughed with her whole face, had completely dismantled my nerves.
I thought of her all the time. I spent time with her often and when I wasn't with her, I longed for her. She was seriously driving me crazy, yet I couldn't tell her. I was totally hooked from that first moment I laid my eyes on her on that hospital bed. She'd made everything right in my life since she entered it.
Well, I tried to hide it, deny it even, because I'd never felt this way before. It was a scary yet exciting feeling. Vincent had cajoled me about it before, but I hadn't been able to admit it to him either. I had lied to his face, making up all sorts of excuses about why Anne and I couldn't be a thing. He may have believed me, although I know Vincent could see right through me.
Anny never judged me. Take this small, stupid thing that happened weeks ago. She had been explaining some medical terms to me, her hands moving in that unique way they did when she talked, as if the words alone weren't enough. When she caught the blank look on my face, she just started again from the top without a single sigh of frustration. Like my not knowing wasn't a problem. Like she had all the time in the world for me to catch up.
Nobody had ever done that, not without eventually reminding me that I should know better by now.
I didn't know exactly when she became the measuring stick for everything. I just knew that when I was with her, I felt like the version of myself I wanted to be, and when I wasn't, I felt the gap.
As soon as we stepped into the hall, I spotted my brother walking briskly toward me.
"Now's the time to play Dad's song," he whispered with a smirk.
"Wait, what?"
Anne overheard him and squealed from my side.
"It's already with the DJ. All I need is your thumbs up."
I looked from my brother to Anne, who was nodding vigorously. She was rooting for me. The lady who had somehow decided, against all logic, to root for me, wanted this. Why not?
"Fine!" I sighed, turning back to my brother.
Almost immediately, he signaled to the DJ, who made a brief announcement before the first notes came through.
The whole room went quiet as the sound of my guitar wafted through the room, followed by my voice. I heard myself and squinted at how foreign I sounded.
Various sighs and gasps went around the room. Some older women held their hands to their chests in awe; others closed their eyes as if savoring the music. A good number of ladies darted their eyes towards me, fluttering their lashes invitingly.
But they were all a blur. All I could see was the lady standing beside me, swelling with pride, all of it for me.
Why can't I just say it?
Because she had already seen me at my worst, and she was still standing there.
That was the part that scared me. I feared rejection, alright, but it wasn't that. It was that she would say yes, and then I would have to become someone worthy of it. I didn't feel worthy.
I felt her hand slip into mine, and she squeezed.
"Drew, look at all their faces!" she beamed.
I followed her gaze and stared back at the guests. Some of them had tears in their eyes now. I didn't know my song would have this effect on people. The feeling was overwhelming I felt dizzy. I had to hold on to my brother for support.
Slowly, those on the floor started moving to the music. A few others joined in with their partners.
Jane and Pamela came running from where they stood and simultaneously hugged me tight, squealing.
"It's beautiful, Andrew!" exclaimed Pamela.
"Yea! His voice gives me orgasms," Jane said, and they both laughed.
I turned bright red from that comment.
My mum came up to me and hugged me, tiny drops of tears visible in her eyes.
"I'm so proud of you, son."
I hugged her back, holding on tightly, shielding my face with my arm because I was getting emotional again, determined to keep it to myself this time.
Once I released her, she took my hand and led me to the dance floor.
From the corner of my eye, I could see my dad standing with his colleagues, looking all stoic, giving nothing away except that meditative look he wore whenever he was paying deep attention to something.
Things were falling into place, and I couldn't have been more thankful to Vincent and… Anne.