Through my Window by ARIANA Godoy Chapter 48,The Gifts – RAQUEL –

Through my Window by ARIANA Godoy Chapter 48

Medication . . . Therapy sessions . . . Psychiatric consultations . . . And a lot of other things related to Joshua’s condition are all I heard in the hospital as the day went on. I don’t know if it’s from tiredness or lack of sleep, but it was hard for me to pay attention, let alone understand what they were talking about. My mother practically dragged me out of the building when the clock hit midnight again because I had officially spent twenty-four hours there. She said I needed to rest. Dani arrived to keep Joshua company in my place so his parents could rest too. They were devastated. After crying on my best friend’s shoulder for a while, I said good-bye to Joshua and left. This is not how I imagined starting the new year. Apparently, life likes to hit us when we least expect it to see how long we can hold on. I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach and left without air, even though I’m breathing. My mind keeps trying to understand, to look for reasons, to point fingers, to blame myself. I still remember my conversation with Joshua before I left: “I know you want to ask, so just do it.”
Joshua smiles at me. “It’s okay,” he says. I rub my arms in an attempt to buy time to choose my words carefully. “Why? Why did you do it?” I ask. Joshua looks away, sighing. “You wouldn’t understand,” he says. I sit down on the hospital bed next to him. “I’ll try to understand,” I say quietly. He looks at me again. “Give me time, I promise to tell you, but right now I . . . can’t.” I put my hand on his shoulder and give him a reassuring smile. “All right, I’ll be patient,” I tell him. He places his hand over mine. “I’ve missed you so much.” “Me, too, Yoshi. I . . . I’m sorry.” “Shhh.” He grabs my cheek gently, forcing me to look at him. “You don’t have to apologize, Rochi.” His thumb caresses my skin. “But . . .” His thumb moves to hover over my lips. “No, stop.” The touch of his finger against my lips tickles. “Okay.” “Now go home and rest.” He lowers his hand and sits up, giving me a kiss on my forehead, then lies back down. “Go, I’ll be fine with Medusa.” I laugh a little. “Don’t call her that or you’re going to have a very long night.” Joshua shrugs. “It’s worth it. It’s the most appropriate nickname I could think of.”
Dani comes in, muttering something about the quality of the hospital’s coffee, and finds us grinning like idiots. She raises an eyebrow. “What? Were you talking about me?” “Nope,” we say at the same time. And I leave them, fighting over nicknames and nonsense as usual. I arrive home to an empty, silent house. I close the door behind me and rest my back against it, playing with the keys in my hands. I slide down against the door until I find myself sitting on the floor. I pull my knees up to my chest. I know I need to bathe and sleep, but I can’t find the energy to do it. I just want to stay here. I take my cell phone out of my pocket and look at the dark screen. It ran out of battery a few hours after I arrived at the hospital, and I wonder if Ares has sent me any messages. Maybe he’s too busy celebrating New Year’s with his family to notice my lack of texts, and I can’t blame him. I haven’t told him what happened with Joshua. My mind has been so focused on trying to understand and believe all of this has really happened, that I forgot to send Ares a message. Then my cell phone died, and I didn’t want to tear myself away to go charge it. With slow steps, I go upstairs and take a hot shower. I can’t deny that the water feels good on my skin and eases my tense muscles. Now that I’m a little more relaxed, I let the Greek god invade my thoughts. I miss him so much. These weeks have felt like an eternity. It’s so disconcerting when you get used to seeing a person almost every day, and suddenly you don’t see them anymore. It’s still a few days before he comes back, and I know it will be hard, especially now, when I would kill for one of his hugs, and to feel him next to me, giving me security. In my pajamas, I sit on the bed and plug my cell phone in to charge. I watch it turn on, and message alerts begin to echo throughout the room.
Rocky is sleeping peacefully in the corner; the sounds of notifications don’t seem to bother him at all. Quickly, I open Ares’s conversation. I have a lot of messages from him and I didn’t expect to. 12:15 a.m. I was calling to wish you a happy new year, and you didn’t answer. 12:37 a.m. Witch? 1:45 a.m. Why don’t you answer the phone? 2:20 a.m. Did you fall asleep? 9:05 a.m. Raquel, I’m starting to get worried. Are you okay? 10:46 a.m. Shit, Raquel, I’m really worried now. That was his last message. I bite my lower lip as I begin to type a response; however, I don’t even finish typing the first word when my phone rings in my hand. Incoming call: Ares <3 My heart speeds up, threatening to burst out of my chest. I take a deep breath. “Hello?” There’s a second of silence, as if he didn’t expect me to answer, as if he was used to me not answering. “Where are you?” he asks, and the seriousness in his voice surprises me. “At my house,” I reply. “Look out the window.” And he hangs up. I stare at the phone in confusion before my gaze falls on the window. It’s snowing again, so the
window is closed. I get up and walk over to it, moving the curtains aside. Ares is standing on his patio. He’s wearing jeans and a black jacket over a white shirt, and he looks a little tanned. His black hair is in that messy style that suits him perfectly, just him. I’d like to say that I’m getting used to seeing him, that I’m getting used to the depth of those blue eyes, the confidence of his posture, and how beautiful he is, but I’d be lying. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, and especially now that I’ve gone two weeks without seeing him. My body reacts to him as usual, my heart pounding desperately, my stomach turning, and my hands sweating a little. However, it’s not the physical reactions that always take me by surprise but the sensations, what he makes me feel, the excitement that fills my chest, how he makes me forget that there is a world around me. Snowflakes fall on him, landing on his jacket and in his hair. I can’t believe he’s really here. I fumble to open the window. He gives me that smile that would take anyone’s breath away. “Hello, Witch.” I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless, and he seems to know it, because he quietly hops the fence that divides our yards and climbs up the ladder to reach my room. I step back, facing him. His eyes look right through me. I want to speak and tell him what happened, but from the way he looks at me, I know he already knows. Without warning, he pulls me forward until I crash onto his chest. He holds me tight, making me feel safe. And at that moment, I don’t know why, but tears well up in my eyes, and I find myself crying inconsolably. Ares just comforts me, caressing the back of my head. “He . . . almost died . . .” I struggle to say the words. “I don’t know what I would have done if he . . . I feel so guilty.” He just lets me cry and mumble all the things I want to say, pressing me tight against his chest. God, I’ve missed him so much. We break away, and he
takes my face in both hands, his thumbs wiping away my tears, and then he presses his lips lightly to mine, giving me a soft, gentle kiss. He rests his forehead on mine. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks. I step back, putting distance between us. I can’t concentrate with him so close to me. “I . . . I don’t know, it all happened so fast. Besides, you were so far away; I didn’t want to bother you.” “Bother me? Raquel, you are one of—if not the—most important person in my life. You will never bother me; your problems are my problems. I thought the whole point of being a couple was to be able to count on each other. It upsets me that you feel you can’t count on me.” “I’m sorry.” “Don’t apologize, that’s not what I want, I just want you to tell me if you’re ever in a difficult situation. Don’t keep quiet because you don’t want to bother me, okay?” I give him an honest smile. “Okay.” “Do you want to talk about what happened?” he asks. I take a deep breath. “No,” I reply. “Okay.” Ares picks up a dark backpack that I hadn’t noticed on the floor and puts it on the computer table. From it, he pulls out a beautiful gift bag. “Merry Christmas, Witch,” he says, extending his hand with the gift. I stare at him, surprised. “You didn’t have to give me anything,” I say. He strokes his chin as if in thought. “I think you told me you only accept gifts on special occasions, so I have to take advantage of this moment.” “Do you remember everything I tell you?” I ask.

Through my Window by ARIANA Godoy Chapter 48
“Yup. Everything I care about stays here.” He touches his forehead. “Come on, take it. You don’t have any excuse to refuse.” Sighing, I grab the bag. Ares looks at me impatiently. He seems more excited than I am, and his excitement spreads to me a little. I put it on the bed and open it. The first thing I pull out is a golden box with chocolates that not only look expensive but foreign. “Chocolates?” “I know, I know, I’m a cliché,” he says, raising his hands. “There’s more.” “Hey, I thought it was one gift,” I accuse him. “As I said, I have to take advantage of this opportunity.” The next thing I pull out is a small square box that I remember very well: the iPhone. I give him an are-you-kidding-me look. “It’s a new one! It’s not the one from that time, I swear,” he says quickly. “I know you like iPhones and you haven’t been able to buy another one, and that phone Dani lent you is one phone call away from self-destructing.” “You are . . .” “Please?” He has those begging eyes that remind me of the cat from Shrek. “You just want a phone so I can take sexy photos to send you.” Ares acts surprised. “How did you know?” he demands. I roll my eyes, smiling, and pull out a small, elongated box. When I open it, my heart melts; it’s a gold necklace with a pendant with my name on it, but the R in Raquel is crossed with Ares’s name. It looks like a little cross of our names. No one has ever given me something so detailed and cute. I don’t know why I feel like crying again. He helps me put it on and gives me a short kiss on the back of my neck before stepping back and leaning against the computer table, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Thank you so much, Greek God, that was really nice of you,” I tell him honestly. “I never thought you’d be this sweet.” “I have my moments.” “I bought you something too,” I say. His eyes widen. He wasn’t expecting it. “It’s not much, and it’s not wrapped because I didn’t expect you to get back so soon.” Nervously, I reach under my bed and pull out the plastic bag containing the two little things I bought and give it to him. “I feel terrible for giving you your gift like this after you gave me something so nice,” I say quickly. Ares gives me a tired look. “Could you stop saying things like that? Let’s see. . . . Let’s see . . .” The first thing he takes out is a book and reads the title aloud: “Medicine for Beginners.” His smile fades, but his face fills with so many different emotions that my heart expands against my chest. He stares at me silently for a few seconds. “Thank you.” “Keep going, there’s more.” I watch as he carefully takes out a stethoscope. “I wanted to give you your first doctor’s instrument, so you can always take me with you when you’re a doctor.” I wish I could describe how he looks right now, with the emotions crossing his face, but I’d be at a loss for words. His blue eyes are watering as he slowly licks his lips. “You really think I can make it,” he says quietly. I give him a confident smile. “I don’t think so, I know you can make it,” I say, giving him the thumbs up. “Dr. Hidalgo.” Ares puts the stethoscope on the table and rushes over to me. “Shit, I love you so much.” His lips are on mine before I can tell him that I love him, too, and that even if no one else supports him in his dreams, I
always will no matter what.

”Madam winterss fight for her children by summer wine