I've been waiting for you forever

"Eliza, are you going to tell us where the hell you've been all day?"

Jack greeted his daughter like this when she got home at nine in the evening. Eliza had told her parents she was going to go to the new mall that had just opened in town, reassuring them that she would only be gone for a couple of hours, but instead she had left at lunchtime and had come home when it was already dark outside, which was why her father had such an altered tone.

"You haven't answered any of our calls or texts! Your mother was dying of worry, she thought I was involved in an accident!"

"Don't put words in my mouth that I never said." From the kitchen came the voice of her mother Rose, decidedly calmer and more patient.

"But you have to admit that you thought about it! You were worried, we both were, Eliza! Why didn't you answer when we called you?"

"And what have you been doing all day, then?" Her grandmother Helena, who had stayed for dinner that night and, it seemed, was always on the lookout for an argument, jumped into the discussion.

Eliza gave her an irritated look and turned only to her father, deliberately choosing to ignore her: "Dad, I'm sorry, I should have answered, but I had my phone on silent."

"And why did you stay out so long?"

Eliza ignored her grandmother again, even though she could sense her anger growing towards her. "Dad, like I said, I'm sorry. I only wanted to be out for two or three hours at most, but the mall is so big, I wanted to see it all and I didn't notice the time passing." Eliza felt so guilty lying to her parents. She had never done it before, but she was afraid that if her father found out that Eliza was using her credit card to help a stranger hide in a hotel, a luxury one at that, to escape the police, he wouldn't be so understanding; It was likely that he would confiscate her paperwork and leave Arthur without a roof over his head.

Eliza wasn't about to risk Arthur going out on the streets begging again, he could freeze to death with this cold this time of year. She hoped she sounded convincing, but from the way her father's expression softened, she knew he must have done a good job.

"Okay, no detention this time."

"Jack, our daughter is twenty, for God's sake! She's too old to be grounded by her parents!" Rose said, coming into the room and smiling at her little girl before pulling her into a hug. "Just answer when we call next time, okay? We were worried about you."

"Sorry, Mom. I promise." Eliza hugged him back, grateful to have such loving and understanding parents. They could be a little overprotective at times, but they only cared about her happiness and well-being.

"I imagine you must be hungry. Do you want me to heat up some pizza for you?" Eliza thanked her mother but shook her head.

"No, thank you, actually I ate a lot for lunch and now I'm not hungry at all." She couldn't tell her that she had spent the afternoon with Arthur. After his terrible confession to her, Arthur had cried for a long time; Eliza had stayed beside him, stroking his back as he sobbed, curled up in the huge bed of the hotel room. Eliza, lying on the covers next to Arthur, had let him vent without saying anything, because there were no words for that moment. She had continued to stroke his back, watching as Arthur's face slowly relaxed and sank into sleep. He looked so vulnerable and defenseless as he slept, Eliza thought. The wrinkles on his face had smoothed out and he looked a little more serene; there was even a smile hovering on his lips, further softening his features.

Eliza hoped he was having a good dream, one in which he was happy. Arthur really deserved to be happy, after what he had been through.

Eliza moved a little closer to him and began to sing in a soft voice:

I would like to build a little paradise for you up there

A place where you can finally find peace

After living hell on earth

I would like to make you feel a little less alone

I would like to be the smile that rises shyly on your face

I would like to know how to erase that horror that weighs on your heart

I would like to be the laughter that flows from your lips

I would like to be the sound of your happiness

I would like to be able to simply heal your pain

"It's beautiful." Arthur's voice, who had woken up in the meantime, took her by surprise. "It's beautiful, the song. Did you write it?"

"I wrote it now," Eliza admitted, a little embarrassed. "For you."

"For me?" Arthur smiled at her in a way that was so sweet that she forgot her embarrassment. "Thank you. No one has ever said anything like that to me."

Afterwards, they had watched a movie together, Eliza sitting with her back against the headboard and Arthur's head in her lap, her fingers gently stroking his hair.

They had ended up ordering dinner too, this time from McDonald's, and stuffing themselves with hamburgers, fries, and chocolate ice cream.

Eliza had said goodbye to Arthur with a smile and a promise to come back the next day. But what excuse would she make up for her parents to justify all the time spent away from home? While she was thinking of something believable, her grandmother Helena returned to pester her parents.

"So, are you going to let her get away with it like this?"

"Mom, Eliza has already apologized, and besides, Rose is right, our daughter is old enough to spend time away from home alone." Jack intervened, but Helena did not give up and continued: "Maybe she wasn't alone, maybe she was with a boy."

Her grandmother's hypothesis was correct, but Eliza refused to respond to his provocations. Instead, he ignored her completely, and after saying goodnight to his parents, he went up to his room.

The last thought he had before falling asleep was that he couldn't wait for the next day to come so he could see Arthur again. Unaware that Arthur, at that moment also curled up under the covers, had closed his eyes with the desire to see Eliza again as soon as possible.