Page 62 of Teach Me How To Fly

He put his hands on each side of my waist and started to caress my lower back while he kept kissing me. Our lips were moving in sync, and the way he was kissing me made me go dizzy.

As I enjoyed our closeness, somewhere deep inside my mind I thought about how I managed to accept the physical proximity to Maksen so easily, as if he erased everything and replaced it with himself.

“Thank you, again,” he whispered over my lips and offered me another kiss, this time shorter.

“This is going to be my favorite way of yours to say thank you,” I replied, quickly realizing what I just said.

But it was too late, because Maksen’s grin made me realize that I couldn’t take back any words that came out of my mouth. I didn’t know what made me say something like that, but I really felt how strong the connection between us had become.

I was always drawn to him, but now I felt like I didn’t want to do anything but to be around him.

“We should go downstairs. Maybe Lydia is asking herself what’s happening.”

“Oh, right,” I quickly replied and stepped back from him.

I turned my back to let him pull his pants on even though I saw him in his boxers while I cleaned his wound.

I felt my cheeks heating up as I was waiting, and the moment he got behind me, I knew I had to open the door and just walk out.

I could feel his breathing hitting the back of my neck, and the warmth of his body was enfolding me entirely. However, once we stepped down the first stair and I heard Lydia calling us, Iknew I had to forget about any feeling that was wandering in my body and focus on what I had to do.

“We’re coming!” I yelled back as we reached the hallway.

The sound of her steps welcomed us once we got to the living room, and she stopped in front of me, not knowing if she could hug me or not.

I sighed and pulled her to me, wrapping my hands around her. It still felt like I was hugging my mother, but I had to remind myself that she had been lying to me too.

“I need to talk to you,” I said, moving away from her and sitting on the couch.

She nodded and then sat on the armchair in front of me. Maksen sat beside me and I saw how cautious he was with his leg when he came closer.

Lydia looked at me as if she was waiting for me to tell her that I forgave her and that we could return to the past, where everything was good and no painful truth was spoken.

“Before you say anything, I wanted to tell you that your father has been searching for you here too, and he’s very angry and alarmed about you,” she started talking and I felt a lump coming in my neck.

“He should be anything but angry. The only one who can be angry in this situation is me,” I briefly replied, feeling how the blood was starting to boil in my veins.

I didn’t even want to hear how my father was feeling. The only people I cared about now were me and Maksen.

“You haven’t told him that you talked with me, right?”

“Not even a word. He didn’t suspect anything, which gives you more time to think about what you’ll do next,” she replied, sure of herself.

“Firstly, I want to ask you why haven’t you told me the truth?”

She sighed, and her lips pressed into a straight line. She started playing with her fingers, and then I noticed she started chewing her lower lip.

“It wasn’t my duty to tell you the truth, Annalise. Your father made me promise to him that I wouldn’t ever tell anyone that you’re adopted.”

Each word that came out of her mouth was like a knife ready to stab my heart and cut it in half.

“Did Katya know I was adopted?”

“No,” she quickly replied. “She actually called me and she seemed really worried for you. She wants to talk to you.”

This might be the first and only time Katya is the only one I’m not angry at — oh, wait, I just remembered all the years that she mocked me and took me as a fool. Still, that only proves that her and Maksen were the only two people that were genuinely themselves around me.

“Good. Do you know anything about my real parents?”

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