Imperfect Desires

Just as Nora had predicted, it was indeed Darren at the door. When Nora opened the door, he eagerly looked inside but didn't found a sign of Xiu. He was expecting Xiu to open the door for him and even felt a little disappointed when she wasn't the one at the door.

"Is she ready?" Seeing Nora's expression, he added with a complicated look, "Is she still sleeping?" That was the only explanation that he could think of.

Nora looked at him for a moment before saying, "Not sleeping. She's just... resting."

Darren's expressions changed as he questioned, "Why? Is she feeling unwell?"

Obviously, Nora wasn't gonna pass on Xiu's exact words to him and that's why she chose to go with the safe route as she said, "She has a stomachache. She must have eaten something bad last night. She isn't feeling well... Huh? Where did he go?" By the time, she finished making excuses, she realized that Darren was already gone which left her even more perplexed. 

"What did he say?" was Xiu's first question when she saw Nora coming back to her room.

"I told him you have a stomachache and he vanished," replied Nora casually.

Xiu facepalmed herself as she said, "Thanks a lot for that excuse. He's gonna freak out now."

Nora frowned at her reply since she couldn't understand what she meant but it didn't take her long to realize Xiu's meaning. Because soon enough Darren was at the door again. He was raking his fingers through his wet hair when Nora opened the door again for him and saw a bag full of medicines in his hand.

Without waiting for Nora to open her mouth to say anything, Darren entered the apartment and went straight to Xiu's room. "Sweets, you're okay?" He came to her side and tried to pull the duvet off her face but Xiu didn't let go. "I brought medicine for you. Although I don't know much about your condition, I still bought everything that could be useful. I asked Dylan to send a doctor as well."

He heard her sniffling and panicked, "Sweets, are you crying? Is it hurting that much? Should I take you to the hospital? Let me call the driver." He pulled out his phone when Xiu held his hand and looked at him with bloodshot eyes. Her nose was also red and tears were brimming in her eyes. "Sweets..."

"You're overreacting," said Xiu while rubbing her nose. 

"I'm overreacting? You're crying. It must be really serious," said Darren matter-of-factly.

Xiu sighed out as she wiped her tears and said, "I'm crying because it's raining outside. I'm crying because my face is gifted with these ugly pimples. I'm crying because my Aunt Flo chose this very day to visit. And I'm crying because I accidentally punched my nose while pulling my blanket up. Can my life get any more unfair?"

As her words registered in his mind, he pursed his words with a complicated expression on his face. "So, you're on your periods?" he didn't know whether he was asking for confirmation or stating a fact.

"That's one way to say it," replied Xiu and when she saw Darren's lips curling up, her tear ducts opened again. "You can't laugh at that."

Darren sat down beside her and hugged her saying, "To be very honest, it's really funny that you punched yourself." Xiu tried to squirm out of his embrace but he didn't let go. "But it's okay. Stop crying."

The way his hand rubbed her back gave her such a comfortable feeling that Xiu ended up crying even more. "Shhh... It's okay. It's alright." 

Did you ever get a really good hug from someone that you just don't want to let go? In Xiu's hormonal imbalanced moment, she found his hug really precious. So precious that she cried her heart out. "First of all, my skin is sensitive right now and that punch really hurts. Second of all, if you kept hugging me like that I won't be able to stop crying."

"Oh," Darren tried to pull away but she didn't let go.

"Who told you to let go? Just keep hugging me now," Xiu rebutted with a bit of an attitude. "You can't just offer me a hand and pull away when I get comfortable."

"You just told me that..."

"Stop talking. I know what I said," stated Xiu in a firm tone and shut him up. She hugged him for a good ten minutes and cried to her heart's fill before composing herself and saying, "I'm done."

Darren's brows arched up slightly when he noticed the way sadness had vanished from her face. She leaned her back against the pillow and closed her eyes. "Is this crying a part of mood swings?" He questioned. "I mean you cried like the world's ending and now, you look like everything is fine."

"It's not mood swings. It's called time management." Darren frowned at her response and she elaborated, "I have a rule. I can't let myself cry for more than ten minutes. That is enough time to wash up my emotional rust."

Darren shook his head at her answer before ruffling her hair. "I have to say, you are a unique piece." He leaned close to kiss the tip of her nose and said, "Your red nose looks adorable right now."

Xiu obviously didn't take his words to heart and said, "You should leave. Sorry for ruining the day you planned for us again." When he didn't move at all, she added, "I'm really not a good company during these days. Please, leave before I start saying that I hate you. I already have enough stupid things to keep me sad for a week." She tilted her head sideways and with her hand on her abdomen, she said, "I'm so going to die with these cramps. And this weather is so not helping."

Darren patted her head and walked out of her room. Xiu watched him leave with her mouth agape. "Eh? He really left?" She pouted in disappointment. "Idiot! You're not supposed to take my words seriously."