Chapter 27 - Grown-up Fairytale

"Baby, please wake up. Please answer me." I felt someone shaking my shoulder. Slowly, my eyes fluttered open. Glace was right in front of me, a worried expression on her face. At the sight of me opening my eyes, her own widened in happiness. She looked up at the sky momentarily as if saying a silent thanks to whoever was upstairs.

"I thought I was going to lose you," she said shakily. "Good thing you didn't fall far from the edge—just a couple of feet or so. Don't scare me like that ever again, Dulce. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die." She laughed humorlessly, trying to calm herself. But I could see that she was still nervous. Her chest went up and down quickly.

When I didn't reply, she said, "Okay, baby, let's try moving your arms first. Tell me if it hurts, alright?" Proceeding to do her task, she gently moved my left arm. When I shook my head slightly, she did the same with the right, then my legs. Satisfied that everything was working as it should and I hadn't broken anything, she carefully carried me in her arms.

"You're lighter than the first time I carried you," she mumbled, almost to herself. "In case you're wondering, that was that time when that diva princess Denise spiked your drink. I so wanted to kick her ass in that moment."

My eyes traveled to Glace's face as she continued to walk us through the cemetery. My weight didn't seem to bother her. She was obviously glad that I was alive after falling. I touched the edge of her raven black hair and twirled it around my fingers. "Peter Pan," I murmured.

She halted when I spoke and looked down at me. "Excuse me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"You're my Peter Pan."

She shook her head, now beginning to look worried. "I'm not Pan. I'm Glace, remember? Your girlfriend?"

"You're Peter," I insisted.

She took a deep breath. "Dulce, you might have hit your head harder than anticipated. Just hold tight, baby. I'm going to take you to the hospital." At that, she almost ran back to the car. Or at least as fast as she could while carrying me. Once we reached the vehicle, she placed me down gently on the passenger seat and strapped me in securely.

Going to the driver's seat and starting the engine, she said, "You might have suffered a concussion or something like that. Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine." The tires squealed loudly as the car started moving.

I placed my hand on her leg, making her glance back worriedly at me. "I'm okay. Let's go back home."

She stared back at the road and frowned. "No. We're definitely going to the hospital."

"Turn the car around, Glace." My voice was firm. Commanding. "Do not argue with me and just do what I say. I'm totally fine. Just dizzy and sore but fine nonetheless. I'll explain everything once we reach your house." I clamped my mouth shut and stared at the road, ignoring her as she opened and closed her mouth, not sure of what to do. In the end, she did as I said and headed to her home.

When we pulled up to her garage, she got out of the car quickly and carried me again, all the way to her bedroom. Biting her lips, she sat down beside me on the bed. "I don't get what's going on," she said in frustration. "Please tell me you're alright."

I turned to her. "We need to talk."

She gulped loudly. "About what?"

"About us… About everything. About our past." I crawled to the head of the bed, wincing slightly at the movement. Fudge. Everything will be sore tomorrow, I thought with regret. But for now, Glace and I needed to talk. Forget the pain for a moment, Dulce. My back found the pillow, and I settled down comfortably, looking straight at her while I did so.

Not sure how to start, I began to apologize. "Glace, I… I'm so, so sorry, baby." Lowering my head, I covered it with my hands in shame. She was beside me in an instant, snaking her hands over my shoulder for a one-armed hug.

"What's wrong? What are you apologizing for?" she asked gently. "As long as you're safe and alive, there's nothing to feel bad for."

I sought the warmth of her embrace and stayed there. If only I had known. If only I hadn't forgotten. Then, I would have enjoyed her more and told her that I loved her over and over when I saw her that day. It was all my fault. She was lonely because of me. "I'm so sorry I forgot you, Glace."

She froze against me, her breaths quickening with each one she took. "What are you talking about, Dulce? Please explain clearly because I'm freaking out right now."

I tightened my grip around her. "I remember everything, Peter. The day we met, our first kiss, and why I gave you that ring." I leaned back and stared at her widening eyes. "I get it now. I'm your Wendy. I always was."

I couldn't paint the expression in her eyes. She was like a kid who had found out that Santa Clause wasn't real. Then, one day, by some miracle, Santa came to her house and proved his existence. Glace was that kid. The one whose dreams were crushed by me. And here I was now, bringing them back to her. I hoped that she could forgive me for forgetting.

She opened and closed her mouth, totally speechless at my confession. "Baby," I said softly. "I didn't purposefully forget about you. That day in the cemetery, as soon as you left, I had an accident. Only that time, I broke my legs and was so traumatized that I only remembered pain. I didn't realize that that was the reason why I was so scared of heights." I gave her a small smile that hinted at how guilty I was. "But don't worry because your Wendy is back, and I won't ever forget you again."

Glace took a couple of shaky breaths and swallowed hard. She took me by surprise when her lips trembled so slightly. The motion was so vague that I nearly didn't catch it. As our gaze met, her eyes pooled with small crystal beads of tears. Tears that she has been keeping in for the longest time, trying so desperately to hide the fact that it hurt her to see that I'd forgotten. And then, everything poured down.

She cried like a small child. Like the kid that she used to be when I first met her at the cemetery. She looked so lost, so scared, her body shaking with the sorrow that consumed her. I bit my lips in both sadness and joy. Now, there were no secrets between us. Glace snuggled into my chest and gripped the sweater I was wearing, very much like she once did as a child, but nevertheless, she did so with the grace that she didn't have before. I soothed her by stroking her raven hair softly. Part of me wanted to beat myself up for doing that to her.

"I'm here now. I will never let anything or anyone hurt you again. Not your dad, and most definitely not me," I said in a gentle whisper. "I'm so sorry it took so long to remember. You must have been really sad."

"I was," she sobbed. "I tried to keep the promise. Even though it was so hard to, and I wanted to tell you everything, I kept my mouth shut, just as you told me that day."

Now, I completely understood why she kept me in the dark. It was me who requested it from her long ago. She was just fulfilling my wish. Oh, Glace… What should I do with you?

I let her cry some more, calming her down by moving my hand up and down on her back. When she finally stopped, I helped her wipe the tears by using the hem of my sweater. "Are you okay now?" She sniffed and nodded yes. "Tell me everything," I pleaded.

"Where should I start, Dulce?"

I shrugged and hugged a pillow to me. "Anywhere you want."

She thought deeply, and her puffy eyes that still hinted at her previous tears concentrated hard. After, she looked back at me. "As you might have known, I became an actress just a couple of days after that meeting in the cemetery. I did my best, Dulce, to be deserving of you." The side of her mouth perked up in recollection. "Pretty soon, I had my own fanbase, and that was pretty cool. When I hit the age of 13, that was when things picked up. People were writing me letters, and a lot of celebrities wanted to befriend me. But you know that wasn't really who I was. I preferred to stay inside and keep to myself. Besides, I was obsessed with meeting you again.

"It was a fast-paced kind of lifestyle. There were a lot of what they call temptations, but I wasn't tempted for one second." She glanced at me seriously. "How could I when in my mind, I was already married to you? Besides—" She smirked. "—you're way hotter than those girls. Have you taken a good look at yourself in the mirror, Dulce? God…" She shook her head in amusement. I, for one, was glad that she wasn't crying anymore.

"You're such a cheeseball," I murmured, touching her face with my hand.

"I am," she admitted. "But only to you." Kicking her sneakers off, she settled herself comfortably on the bed. I did the same. "When I turned 17 last year, I knew that I should start looking for you," she said. "That's why I called Eris out of the blue and told her I was going to take a vacation from acting and all that stuff. Imagine my surprise when I bumped into you at the café, baby. At first, I didn't recognize you, but when I took a good look at your eyes, everything fell into place. It was like we were meant to see each other again that day."

I rolled on top of her and smirked. "Is that the reason you wore my shirt to your photoshoot?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. "I was advertising myself to you. But just to be sure, I did a little bit of digging. I searched for your info, which was fairly easy to do since you gave me your surname, anyway. By some stroke of luck, your mom was my makeup artist as well. Isn't that cool?"

"Totally cool." I poked her nose with my finger.

"Then, I enrolled in your school so I could be close to you," she said sheepishly.

"Stalker," I teased. Her face fell. "Don't worry. You're the type of stalker I totally would marry," I said before biting her lips.

"Dulce." Her eyes widened in surprise after I released her soft pink lips with my teeth.

"What?"

"Don't do that; You're turning me on."

"Then I should do it some more." I bit her lips again, placing them as gently as I could between my teeth. She hummed in appreciation underneath me. Releasing her, I caught her coffee-colored eyes, holding them in a deep gaze. "I'm ready, Peter Pan."

She frowned, her trimmed eyebrows almost touching. "For what?"

"To fly."

Biting my own lips, I moved to a sitting position and straddled her. Giving her a look that said how much I wanted her, I pulled my sweater over my head and let it fall on the floor. At that very second, nothing was aching anymore. Not my back or my legs. The only things that I noticed were the booming sound of my heart and the quickening of my breaths.

Underneath me, Glace's mouth fell open. God, she looked sexy. The 7-year-old her was nothing compared to the goddess that beheld me now. And I was confident that she would continue to grow more and more beautiful as we grew older together.

"Baby," I said huskily. "I'm going to do a lot of things today that you'll never forget about. Ever." She swallowed in response, her eyes darting quickly to my chest, which was still covered by my cotton bra. To remedy that, my hands found the clasp of my bra. I untangled it in one swift move and let it dangle playfully in front of her before tossing it somewhere in the room.

"Don't think about your dad or anyone at this second. We'll deal with that later. But for now, I'm offering myself to you."

"Don't worry," she replied huskily, matching my voice. "You got my attention." She pulled me down to her and whispered, "I'll make sure you won't forget this, Dulce."

I won't tell you what happened after that. Not in detail, anyway. But I'd like to say what I loved about it so you have an idea. I loved the way she touched me with her soft hands all over my body. Gliding. Sliding. Worshipping. I loved the way she smelled of coffee and cream and the way her lips reminded me of the cotton candy we ate at the amusement park.

I loved how my own hands fit the contour of her waist and how some part of me easily fit some part of her. I adored how she whispered my name like a prayer and how she trembled ever so slightly underneath me, her eyes squeezing tightly as she finally found what she was looking for.

My heart nearly ruptured in delight as our sweaty bodies cuddled in bed as we said, or rather showed, each other our yearning and passion. And finally, I loved her. The her that was 7 years old and the her I was with at the moment, all the way to the her that she would be down the road. I loved her. Just her.

As for me? Let's just say that I learned to fly that day. She taught me how. Just like she had promised.