Chapter 8- I Hate Playing Pretend
"Hey Alex, can you possibly go check in on Allie? Your mom and I are stuck grading. Bring her some non-hospital food if possible, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Hopefully that was just the right amount of apathy to convince them that I would only grudgingly do as requested. I had recently been playing noticeably less video games due to the arrival of my aunt a week ago, and most of the interruption in my routine was indeed centered around accommodating her. Not that I minded, of course, but it was important that my parents not know that. After all, they could hardly find out exactly how Alexa's and my relationship had...blossomed.
I headed on out to the hospital and found Alexa in bed, reading a magazine. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and she hopped out of bed, rushed up and hugged me.
"I missed you all night," she whispered, nuzzling her face into my chest. "I love you so much..."
"I missed you too," I said, kissing the top of her head and caressing her hair. "But you probably shouldn't be jumping up and down like that, you were admitted to the hospital for a reason, you know."
"Oh, it's just a formality at this point," she replied, smiling up at me and booping my nose. "All the doctors agree there's nothing wrong me with me, I'm the very model of health."
"Okay, but either curb your enthusiasm in greeting me or show the same level of enthusiasm for greeting everyone else," I chided. "We've been damned lucky to not arouse suspicions so far."
"Don't start your man logic on me," she sighed, taking me by the hand and leading me back to her bed, which she climbed into. "I'm a woman in love, after all."
I held up a bag of fast food. "Thought you might be getting sick of hospital food, brought you some junk as a final meal before they kick you out. Any idea when that'll be?"
"Well, probably not until your dad and Karen come to get me," she replied as she dug into the paper bag and began annihilating the food I'd brought her. "Since she's listed as my relative, they might want her around."
"So later today," I concluded. "'sides, it'll give mom a chance to fuss over you, which I know she's been looking forward to."
"I suppose I can allow that," she mused. "As long as I get some tlc from you too, of course."
We were silent for a few moments while she caressed my hands, looking down at the blanket that covered her lower half. She finally sighed, smiling forlornly.
"Being in love with you is very inconvenient, you know." Alexa remarked. "All the questions and objections people would have, blah blah blah..."
"I've mulled it over a zillion times, trust me," I replied, knowing exactly what she meant. "That's why we're doing the whole date ruse thing."
She squeezed my hands and nodded. "I know. But I will admit, there might be a tiny spark of worry deep down in me."
I tilted my head. "Why?"
She drew in her breath. "I guess deep down I worry that you might find someone you really like," she confessed. "Someone you could love."
I chuckled. "Alexa, believe me, if we can't figure this out between us and I end up with someone else, it's only because I settled. I don't know if there's another person anywhere on this planet who could come close to making me love them the way I'm in love with you."
She didn't look at me but kept listening.
"I don't know what's going to happen, I really don't." I continued. "But nothing and no one will ever fulfill me the way you do. Maybe I just have to live with that, but don't
you
ever doubt my feelings for you. I stood no chance whatsoever against falling in love with you."
My aunt nodded. "I'm pretty sure that's how I felt the moment I met you," she confessed. "I knew instantly that I could fall in love with you and I had no defences against it. It would either happen or it wouldn't, no matter how I tried to rationalize or prevent it."
I raised her hands to my lips and kissed them. "Regardless of what happens, this whole accident thing has made me realize exactly how much more amazing my life is because of you. In one week, you've made me feel like a new and better person. That'll never change now. Your impact on my life and my heart was immediate and... eternal."
She smiled warmly at me. "And I can tell you're being honest, and also that you've never said anything remotely like that to anyone before. I've told people I've been intimate with that I love them, but I've never been
in love
with someone the way I am with you."
She kissed my hands and then smiled at me slyly. "Go close the door and put the sign on it. Who knows, this might be our last chance to make love for a while..."