214 Cassandra End

With the truth finally revealed to her, Liz could only stay where she was and stare at Will while he gazed at the moon, which was reflected in his eyes.

A single teardrop emerged from each eye, and if Liz hadn't been looking so closely, she might even have missed them as Will immediately used his hand to wipe them away.

After doing so, he was about to take another swig of the strong alcohol, but he was stopped by Liz, who put a hand on his to make him pause.

This was something that Liz would typically not take the liberty to do, but, right now, she could tell that he was just drinking for the heck of it. The alcohol was meant to dull the pangs of pain that still remained due to what he had gone through, and she knew that there was a much better option which would achieve the same effect.

Will was startled at first, but he then obliged, allowing her to guide his hand to place the glass back on the table in front of them.

Yet, what she did after that slightly startled him.

As they were sitting beside each other, he was angled slightly to the left, where Liz was. He saw her leave his hand and place both of hers on his shoulders, before she leaned forward with her face heading toward his.

He didn't know what to feel, but he felt an urge to just follow, as telling the story had taken everything out of him.

As she came closer and closer, he finally closed his eyes, and, surprisingly, he felt her soft, luscious lips on his left eye, kissing him gently and with so much affection that it couldn't even be put into words.

Pain, sour and bitter, had welled up inside him because of the memories of that time. Yet, this kiss gave birth to a feeling which drove away that bitterness away, bit by bit.

After kissing his other eye, too, Liz moved closer and used one hand to gently position his head on her shoulder.

After she did so, she gently kissed his forehead, before continuing to hold his shoulder while they let silence and the sounds from the city of Argentina take their hold over the balcony they were in.

Liz had forcefully pushed away all her thoughts regarding what she had just learned, as she had understood that it had been painful for Will to just tell the story, which was something he had done for her sake.

In that case, empty words weren't needed, at all.

All she had wanted to do was give him her support.

She had moved naturally, as her heart saw fit. For some reason, she had felt that him resting his head on her shoulder was the best way to make him feel what she wanted him to feel.

It would let him know that she was there for him, and that she would always be there.

This was typically a posture that girlfriends adopted, but, at this moment, she truly felt that that was a pity. Why didn't boys or men deserve to feel the same comfort and security that came from being held in this way?

Will's mind had gone blank the moment his head had touched her shoulder, as this hadn't been what he was expecting, at all.

Typically, there would be questions, or condolences, or promises.

Yet, there was only silence.

Only, this silence spoke louder and had more effect than any words could ever have had.

She just wanted to let him know that she was there to hold him, when necessary.

To be his rock to hold and stay on the ground, while tempestuous winds threatened to sweep him off his feet.

He felt it deep inside him, and he couldn't help but once again thank all the gods who had made it possible for them to meet.

By telling the story, he had expected the wounds to reopen.

Yet, if he had known that the aftermath would be that those wounds would be soaked in so much love and care that they would have no option but to be smothered into non-existence, he might have opened up sooner.

He had to say that he loved it. His broad shoulders quivered, as he felt oh, so, vulnerable, but he wasn't scared.

He let himself be held and comforted, and there was a beauty and satisfaction in that which he had never felt, from anyone.

In this way, both of them stayed still for a long time, until, finally, they fell asleep in that position, with Liz bending to the side to let her head rest on Will's.

As Liz woke up the next day, she suddenly panicked.

She had promised herself that she wouldn't fall asleep, as she wanted to comfort Will all through the night.

Only, she hadn't slept the night before, so she remembered falling asleep even when he was awake.

Wondering whether she had ruined it, Liz looked to the side to find her hands empty, which made the panic increase.

Yet, a voice drifted through the room behind her, which made her calm down.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up before the sun hits you, or it'll get very uncomfortable."

Yes! He sounded normal!

As Liz rejoiced and entered the hotel room while skipping with joy, she beamed when she saw Will wheeling in a large breakfast table.

The events of last night, and everything about Cassandra was still in her mind, but she was still keeping those thoughts at bay, intending to analyze them to her heart's content when she was alone.

So, she was about to go forward and pick something for herself, but Liz stopped when she heard Will speak again.

"You'll have to be quick. We're already late for a meeting."

That was odd. All this time, Liz had been free, while Will had had to attend meetings non-stop. Why was he calling her, suddenly?

Seeing her expression of confusion, Will chuckled and solved the mystery.

"In case you forgot, you were appointed as an official Director yesterday, which means that you also need to be present with me in meetings, from now. Unless you want to miss the first one, itself, I suggest you hurry. It's time to show a lot of people who they ought to look out for, Liz, 'cos I really think you have a shot at stepping on all of their heads. I, at least, can't wait to see that. At all."