I took a deep breath, looking over at Lark sadly. As excited as I was to go on the trip out of the country, I was worried about what would happen while I was gone. I was going to miss the two of them, but I was also worried how Lark would react to someone new coming in.
Lark looked up at me with a smile. "Hi."
"Hi, Larky." I smiled back at him, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "How are you doing?"
"Good."
"Are you gonna miss me when I'm gone? Cause I'm gonna miss you a whole bunch!"
"Don't leave." He pouted, causing my heart to melt.
I stroked his head, looking down at him sadly. "I will only be gone for a little bit. I'll be back before you know it."
"Okay." He continued pouting.
"And I'll bring back presents."
His eyes lit up at the mention of gifts. "Really?"
"Of course. I would never come back without gifts for you." I smiled, laughing quietly.
"Lili. I like your fingers."
"Huh?" I looked down at my hand, realizing he was talking about my nail polish. "Oh, you mean you like my fingernails, right?"
"Yeah." Lark nodded.
"If you like it, we can go pick out some for you. You can even get glittery polish."
"Yeah!" He cheered, seemingly excited by the notion.
"Just let me finish packing."
----
"Daddy." Lark called from the backseat. "Did you see my fingers?"
Marco raised an eyebrow in confusion as he drove.
"Your fingernails." I reminded him.
"Finger…nails." Lark repeated.
"No, but you can show me when we get there." Marco glanced over at me.
"We painted his nails today. He even got to pick out the nail polish." I smiled over at him.
"I bet Lark enjoyed that." He chuckled.
Eventually, we arrived at Marco's business partner's house. They had invited us over for dinner. We had a nice, fancy dinner before heading back home. Marco even introduced me as his girlfriend to them. It was nice moving to this next stage.
We got home and put Lark to bed, before Marco and I decided to watch a movie together, enjoying each other's company. We were headed to bed when the doorbell rang. I went upstairs to check and see if it had woken up Lark, while Marco went to check who it was.
I peeked into Lark's room, seeing he was still in bed, asleep, before heading back down the stairs to see who it was. I walked downstairs, stopped as Marco yelled at me.
"Go to bed, Lili." I froze, looking over at him. He was standing in the living room, a girl sitting on the couch next to him. She was stunningly beautiful. "Go." He commanded, looking straight at me.
"What--what's happening?" I looked at him in confusion.
"Just…" He sighed. "Just go to bed, Lili. Please. I'll be up soon."
Unsure of what was happening, I listened to him and nodded, walking back up the stairs. I didn't know what was happening, or who the girl was.
I did my nightly routine and got into bed, waiting for Marco, but he never came up.
----
The drive to the airport was quiet, Marco refused to talk about what had happened last night and Lark was taking a nap in the backseat.
"Marco." I spoke quietly, looking down at my hands. "Maybe I should just stay here."
"No!" Marco looked over at me with wide eyes. After a moment he looked back in font of him. "No. You should go. It…will be good for you." Something about his delivery seemed off. Something was off about all of this.
"Marco…please just tell me what's happening."
"Nothing is happening, Lili." He grew frustrated.
"But that's obviously not true. Something happened last night. You just won't tell me what it was."
"It's not your business, Lili."
"But isn't it?" I gripped onto the fabric of my pants.
"Just let it go!" He raised his voice before taking a deep breath. "Please."
"Fine." I grew tired of fighting, conceding.
We drove the rest of the way to the airport in silence. Marco got out to help me with my bags, saying a simple goodbye before getting in the car again.
I didn't know what was going on, but I knew, things weren't going to be the same when I got back.
----