Phantom

Chapter 12: Love
“Can I carry my own things this time?” I begged as Nathan pulled our luggage out of the trunk.
“What kind of man would I be if I let a petite little lady like you carry her own luggage?” He asked with a smile. He picked up my rectangle purple luggage bag and placed it effortlessly above his shoulder and headed for the front door of the house I hadn’t seen in so long.
I sighed, rolled my eyes, and followed into the house.
He walked up the staircase to put my bags down in a room.
I stood in the doorway looking around inside of the quiet house. Everything was the same since the last time I was here. I walked down the wide hallway in between the staircases. The tables against the stairs were visibly covered in a thin sheet of dust and the flowers upon the table were completely dead, the pettles were frail and brown. I poked one that still held onto the stem and it fell off with a snapping sound.
I walked into the TV room. Everything there was the same as well. The blanket was still crumpled over the couch from when Nathan and I laid there before we fled to my home. I went into the kitchen. There were still a couple dishes from the day Sarah and Keith left.
“Hungry?” Nathan asked, making me jump.
“Just a tad.”
“Let’s see what I can whip up with the food around here. Tomorrow we need to go grocery shopping if we want to eat,” he said while he looked through the fridge. “All of this food is… rotten,” he mumbled while throwing out a copious amount of food.
I sat in the kitchen while I watched Nathan cook with his limited ingrediants but even if they were limited, I was sure he would be able to create a meal utterly fantastic. It didn’t take long for a mouth-watering scent to fill the air.
Nathan walked in and out of the kitchen into the dining room carrying in plates, wine glasses, candles, and so much more. It got me nervous.
“Time to eat,” he said and held out his hand.
I took his hand and he led me into the dining room. The room was dimly lit and there were three candles on the table. I looked at the food and it was spaghetti with garlic bread. There was a bottle of what looked like wine in a bucket filled with ice.
“Does it really take that long to make spaghetti?” I joked. “And I don’t drink.”
“It’s special spaghetti,” he said and chuckled. “And it’s apple cider, silly. I know you don't and I don’t drink either.”
He pulled out a chair and I sat down. He walked around the table and sat across from me. He took in a deep breath and smiled. “Let’s eat!”
I took a bite of the spaghetti and chewed it slowly to find out what was so special about it. It took a while for me to find out. The spaghetti had an exotic edge to it. “Wow, this is great! What’d you put it in?”
He laughed. “It’s a secret,” he whispered and smiled.
“A secret family recipe?”
“Nope. I made it myself. I like experimenting with things when I’m bored.”
“And you want to be a journalist when you get older? You can be a cook!”
“You’ve never even read one of my pieces,” he said and chuckled.
“What kind of things do you write?”
“I’ve written a series which I finished a couple years ago and when I was young I would write picture books. I drew the pictures myself. I’ll show them you sometime. They’re back in Boston though.”
“You’re an artist too?”
“I took a couple of art classes back home.” He shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
“I should have known.”
He chuckled.
Our romantic dinner lasted longer than intended. It struck midnight and I finally realized I was sleepy. When I was with Nathan I always lost track of time and was oblivious to reality.
“Are you ready to sleep?” He asked.
I nodded my head and smiled with my eyes halfway closed.
“Let me show you up to your room,” he murmured. He walk around the table to me and the next thing I knew I wasn’t in my chair anymore.
“I can walk,” I insisted.
“Not really,” he chuckled.
I sighed but smiled slightly. To be honest, I loved it Nathan carried me and I was close to him. I laid my head against his chest to feel the best feeling in the world that was the beating of his heart.
He opened a door and laid me down on the bed. I opened my eyes. The room was lit by the moon that shone through the window. Right above me was Nathan whose face was lit up by the moon’s light. He was on the bed looking down at me, his hand resting on my cheek.
“This isn’t your room,” I murmured while examining the room that was probably the guest room.
“My room is right next to yours to the right. Your father would throw a fit if he found out you didn’t have your own room when it’s just you and I in this house,” he murmured.
“Right,” I agreed.
We laid there gazing at each other. I raised my hand and ran it through his perfect gold hair. I clutched a handful of his hair at the back of his head and pulled his head to me. He stroked my face with his hand and pushed the hair out of my face. I suddenly raised my lips to his and kissed his with a passion I’ve never experienced before.
Nathan pulled his head up and he looked at me surprised. “What was that?” He asked suspiciously.
“I don’t know,” I responded with a nervous laugh. “Hormones?” I felt my face turn a deep red. Nathan smiled impishly.
“At the moment… hormones are tolerable,” he whispered.
I giggled and brought my lips back to meet his.
I’ve never seen this side of me or Nathan before but I surprised myself even more. It was like this part of me has been hidden inside just like Clarabelle. I never knew I had a wild side.
His is breathe against my neck made me shiver involuntarily. As he started to bring his lips back to mine, he froze at my jaw.
“What is it?” I panicked.
He raised his head to look me in the eye. He sighed. “Natalia, I have to tell you something.”
“Tell me,” I insisted.
We both sat up to face each other.
“It’s nothing bad,” he quickly said. He probably noticed the expression on my face.
I sighed with relief.
“There’s no better time to tell you this than now. What I have to tell you… well, I just realized a couple weeks ago. What I have to tell you, I haven’t told to any other girl other than my mother…. Natalia… I love you.”
For a second, my heart stopped.
“Did I ruin the moment?” He asked.
I wanted to say no but I couldn’t find the words to say. I couldn’t even find my mouth.
“Well… I’ll see you tomorrow,” he climbed off the bed. “Goodnight, Natalia.” He opened the door and closed it behind him.
I felt like an idiot just sitting there. The person who meant the world to me just told me he loved me and I was just sitting there like I was paralyzed.
Finally, I regained feeling throughout my body and I jumped out of bed and threw open the door to the room. I turned to the right and slammed open Nathan’s door.
“I love you too,” I whispered. Nathan was just about ready to get into bed. “I love you,” I repeated. I ran to Nathan, throwing myself at him. We both fell to the floor but we didn’t care.
He smiled. “Do you really?”
“I love the ground you walk on. I love the air around you. I love the things you touch. I love the things you say…. Nathan, I love you.”
He scrutinized my face from below me and smiled. Suddenly he was kissing me just like we were back in my room.
“I love you, too,” he whispered.