Chapter 38

Chapter 38
Sidney took a deep breath before opening the door. A wave of disappointment washed over him when he saw that it was a hotel employee. “Mr. Crosby?” he asked.
“Yes.” Sidney said curtly.
“I’m very sorry to disturb you, but Miss Somers in Suite 4416 would like to know if you will meet her in her room. She said something about a message you left earlier…” Sidney quit listening to the man and quickly brushed past him, breaking out in a jog towards the elevators. She wanted to see him, and that was all that mattered to him.
Sidney was breathless when he arrived outside her door. He took a moment to compose himself, running a hand through his unruly hair and wiping his hands down the front of his pants. He knew he had dark bags under his eyes from not sleeping much, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that now. He timidly reached up and knocked quietly, but firmly, on the door. Leanna answered the door a moment later, and smiled warmly at him and ushered him into the room. Lauren was sitting on the couch, her hands folded into her lap. He immediately smiled to himself, knowing she only did that when she was nervous and trying not fidget. Leanna quietly retreated to her bedroom and closed the door, leaving Sidney and Lauren alone.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence that was really only a few seconds, Lauren looked up and met Sidney’s gaze with hers. He was relieved to see the anger in her eyes was gone, but the hurt was still there. Neither of them could seem to find their words, so they stared at each other, unable to look away.
Sidney couldn’t take it anymore. He shoved the coffee table out of the way and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in hers. She looked down at their fingers, intertwined, and smiled to herself at the way it still felt so natural. When she looked back up at him, his eyes glistened with tears.
“I’m so sorry…” he said, burying his face in her hands. “I love you so much and I’m so sorry I hurt you. It was so stupid and I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry…” he murmured. She ran her fingers through his hair.
“Sidney, I love you too.” She managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper. He looked up at her and pulled her down onto his lap and wrapped her in his arms. She buried her face in his chest for a few minutes, taking in his scent and once again feeling the safety of his arms. He ran his fingers up and down her arms, breathing in the sweet peppermint smell of her shampoo. When she pulled away from him to look up at him, she let out a small giggle when she saw that the front of his shirt was wet from her tears. She delicately put her hand on his chest, feeling his heart pounding beneath her fingertips.
“Lauren, I love you more than anything. And these past few weeks have been miserable. I know that sorry isn’t going to make up for the way I treated you, but I just hope someday, somehow I can make it up to you.”
“Sidney, why did you shut me out? If we’re going to be together, that means we have to stick together. You can’t shut me out every time something gets rough, and I can’t shut you out either.”
“I know, you’re right. But when they wrecked my car, I just pictured you being in the car next to me and I freaked out, knowing something bad could have happened to you.”
“I know, but you can’t worry about things like that.”
“Lauren, is there anything I can do to fix things? Or is it too late?” He looked up at her with hope in his eyes.
“Sidney, I still love you. I don’t think that will ever change. But promise me something?”
“Anything.” He said.
“Promise you won’t shut me out again, and instead you’ll tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours.” She said, running her fingers through his hair again.
“I promise. I love you, Lauren.”
“I love you too, Sidney.” She kissed him gently on the lips. He wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. He kissed her eyelids and continued to hold her in his arms, whispering in her ear.
At some point, they fell asleep on the floor, still holding onto each other. Lauren woke up a few hours later to Leanna whispering to someone on the phone. Lauren squinted in the darkness, trying to find her.
“I don’t really know what they talked about, but I think things are better. She didn’t kick him out.” Leanna whispered, not realizing that Lauren could hear her. Lauren started to get up, but Sidney stirred and pulled her back against him. She smiled and kissed his cheek in the darkness. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered into his ear. “I need to talk to Leanna real quick.” He released her and she went into her sister’s bedroom.
“Uhh, I gotta go. I’ll call you back, Liz.” She hung up the phone and looked at Lauren.
“Calling Liz already?” Lauren said with a smile. She wasn’t surprised. Liz and Leanna always seemed to be plotting behind her back.
“I was just updating her on everything. So, umm, are you guys okay?” Leanna asked cautiously.
“Yeah, I think we’re going to be fine. He really hurt me, but I love him way too much to ever let him out of my life.”
Leanna smiled in relief. “I’m glad to hear that. As much as I wanted to pinch his gorgeous head off for hurting my baby sis, I was rooting for him to make things right again.”
“Thanks Le. By the way, did you plan all of this? Him coming down here, I mean?”
“No. But I talked to Mom a little earlier, and apparently he showed up at the house looking for you, and she told him where we were, and apparently he got on the next flight down. I’m really glad he did, Lauren.”
“Me too. And thanks Le, for everything.” Lauren said, pulling her sister into a hug.
“No problem. Now go take that boy to bed so you don’t break your necks trying to sleep leaning up against that couch!” Leanna laughed. Lauren nodded and went back out into the living room.
She smiled when she saw Sidney’s silhouette in the darkness. He had fallen back asleep, and his head was leaning back on the couch. She knew then, more than ever, how much she loved him. Her heart finally stopped aching now that he was back with her again. She watched him sleeping for a moment, taking in the peaceful innocence that surrounded his sleeping face. She walked over to him and crouched down beside him. She put her hand on his cheek and kissed him softly. He put his hand over hers and kissed her back.
“Come on, let’s go to bed, or your back is going to hurt like hell in the morning.” She said, pulling him to his feet. She led him by the hand into her bedroom. They both stripped down and crawled into bed. They both smiled contently as he pulled her into his arms. Back where she belonged. Sidney didn’t plan on ever letting her go again. Both of them finally got the sleep they had desperately been missing out on in the previous weeks.