Lyle and Ivy walked to the nearest convenience store and bought four large tubs of icecream of different flavors.
''V. You are back?'' The girl at the convenience store asked when she saw Ivy.
''Hey. Yeah. I'm here for the weekend.''
''Oh... so you are really not playing anymore?''
''I'm not. Thanks babe. I'll be leaving then.''
''See ya V.''
The walk back and forth were both quite making Lyle feeling like something important is slipping away.
''Ivy.'' Lyle came to a stop and waited for her to turn around.
''Hmm?''
Looking at that smile on her face, Lyle so wanted to wipe it off if he could.
So he did what he wanted to. Lyle pulled Ivy in a hug. This action came as a shock to Ivy so she couldn't react for awhile but when she got her mind back, she immediately pushed against his chest only to be held on tighter by him.
''You know, you don't have to act infront of me. If you feel uncomfortable then act uncomfortable. If you want to be angry, just burst out. If you want to cry, just go on.'' By the end Lyle completed his words, his voice had turned soft and soothing. His heartbeat was so clearly heard by Ivy that she even forgot to resist any longer.
''I...'' Ivy wanted to say something but her voice choked. Without her realizing, tears had streamed out of her eyes. By the time she realized what happened, her breathing had already become erratic. She was already sobbing. Ivy was already unable to stop her sobs when Lyle slowly rubbed her head making her loose herself completely and cry.
On the other hand, Lyle felt hot tears on his shirt but he didn't care. He simply focused on rubbing her head to indicate that he is still there. He didn't speak a word but continued holding her tightly in his arm.
That uncomfortable feeling of being pushed away was finally gone. Only he knew how uncomfortable he felt seeing that smile on her face the entire time they walked towards the store. He felt like he had gone back to seeing her distant smile. That he was no longer someone she could smile freely with. That made him fee uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable that it had been stifling.
Lyle held Ivy for God knows how long when her tears seemed to stop but there was still light sniffling. It was only when he had to add more effort to hold her up did Lyle realise that she had actually fallen asleep. So he tried to adjust her posture to piggyback her but she held him tightly making it impossible to tear her off without waking her up. So he adjusted her a little to carry her like he was carrying a small child and then walked home.