5 Unsaid Feelings

The birthday party had gone well. As soon as they had reached Sarah's parents' house they had both been pulled away from each other, much to Sarah's relief. As Eric helped with decorations in the backyard, Sarah was helping her mom check off last-minute things from her list and instructing some of the workers. Eric loved seeing her like this, completely engrossed in her work, truly in her element. This would explain why after every little while Sarah would catch him looking at her with a smile and all she could do was blush and look away. Sarah’s internal voice reprimanded her for her reaction. Every time she saw him look at her, she would be reminded of the thoughts she had for him. She couldn't help but think how unfair she was being to him. The problem wasn’t that she didn’t love him, there was no doubt that she loved him. You can call it human complexity or human confusion because while Sarah’s feelings of love, care, and affection for Eric were very real, they seemed to coexist with feelings of irritation and uncertainty. These thoughts were all that spun in her head at the party. She couldn’t help it, it was too confusing, and she needed to make sense of it all. It was almost 9 p.m. at this point, and the majority of guests had left, only a few close family members remained and had settled in the living room. As expected, Sarah was in the kitchen making sure the hired staff was putting away everything correctly before they left. Standing in the kitchen supervising, she soon got caught in the flood of emails waiting for her. In that moment she hated Zane Wilkins and his stupid goth-themed engagement party with her entire being. She had managed to set all the changes into motion before she had to leave for the party, but now as she scrolled through her inbox, she had to deal with the reaction of it all. She was furiously typing out one response after another, completely unaware, so much so that she didn’t realize that the kitchen was now clean and empty. She was finally pulled out of her little bubble by her mother. “Sarah sweetie, where are you lost? Everyone is asking about you outside.” At that moment, with her mom’s hand placed on her shoulder, she felt all the exhaustion crash into her. She couldn’t help but let herself fall into her arms, trying to find some solace. “Sarah, honey are you okay?!” Her mom circled her arms around her body regardless of the alarm she felt right now. Sarah was the quintessential eldest child, fiercely independent with every aspect of her life, but took responsibility for everyone around her. She wanted to solve everyone's problems and stave away all of their worries but wouldn’t let anyone else near her issues. Hence as Sarah buried herself into her mother's arms, the alarm bells were going off for Mrs. Stone. After a minute of just standing in the middle of the kitchen in that embrace, Sarah finally pulled away with a sigh, “I am fine Mom. Just tired.” she said, rubbing her palms over her face. “Are you sure honey? Is Eric not taking good care of you? Do I need to give him a talk?” Mrs. Stone said making a horribly funny stern face. Sarah let out a laugh as she rolled her eyes, Mrs. Stone took hold of Sarah and she laughed as well. “No. Seriously Sarah. Is everything okay? You and Eric? Work?” she asked her with a soft smile on her face, her eyes searching her daughter's face for the smallest clue to what was going on in her head. “Yes, mom! Everything is fine with Eric and with work and all. You know me! I tend to take on a little too much at times.” she said, cajoling her mother.“You can say that again!” she said, glaring at Sarah. “What is stressing you out right now?” The first person that popped into her head at that moment made her audibly groan. “ This client, or rather, client's brother. The event is only a few days away and this man has just completely changed the theme. That too, to goth!! I mean who wants a goth engagement party, for heaven's sake!?” “Aah honey! I know you won’t believe what I say, but you know you will pull through, no matter how idiotic this man’s requests get. I mean, you have definitely dealt with worse in my opinion. Do you want to stay the night honey? Just relax?” “Aah, I wish! I need to be at the office early in the morning to make sure I can pull off this theme change. In fact, I think Eric and I should get going now. Love you, mom!” With that, she pressed a kiss to her cheek before making her way to the lounge. Just as she entered the lounge, Sarah's father piped up " Ay! Where have you been honey? We were just talking about you!" He said giving her a smirk. Sarah squeezed her self on the loveseat between Michael and Michelle, making the two groan. "And what is it that you were talking about?" Sarah questioned, narrowing her eyes at her Dad who only continued to smirk, his gaze shifting between Sarah and Eric. Sarah looked over at Eric, only to see him shaking his head with a small smile on his face. "Dad was trying to convince Eric to propose already." Michael said with a wicked grin on his face as he saw his own expression twist into one of horror and shock. "Oh my God! I cannot believe you." Sarah groaned, burying her face into her hands as heat crept up her neck. Everyone in the room started laughing at her reaction. She peeked over her hands to look at Eric who was chuckling but his eyes were serious. He's still hurting. She thought. But after a beat, she muttered, "Eric, can we please leave? I might die of embarrassment if we stay." Eric nodded, getting up and offering her his hand. "Oh come on sweetie! I just want to walk my baby down the aisle" Mr. Stone continued to tease. "Dad, when we feel like it is the right time, we will let you know." It was hard for Sarah to hide the slightly annoyed edge to her voice, but she couldn't help it. "Now, goodbye, we have work in the morning. Love you." She said, kissing him on the cheek. Soon enough the pair was on the road, after wishing everyone goodbye. Perhaps it was to avoid an uncomfortable conversation or just genuine exhaustion, but soon into the drive, Sarah dozed off. She woke up slowly, her mind fighting the haze and realized that Eric was gently shaking her. An hour had passed and they were pulled up outside her apartment. "Baby, we are at your place, wake up." He called to her softly. As she opened her eyes, he gave her a small smile and against all instinct, she felt so overwhelmed with love for the man in front of her, that she couldn't help but say "Do you want to stay over for the night?". He seemed stunned for a minute before a grin stretched his handsome face. In that moment, that night, everything felt alright with the world.