A Forbidden Love (edited)

Is This Real?

"Kai?" As she spoke her voice wavered. She was blinking the sleep out of her eyes and I sat in a lounge chair to the corner of her giant room. As she saw me tears began to fall. A silent sob shook her body. She had never looked so small. So frail.

I had wiped the blood from her mouth. She was still pale like a ghost. Her eyes impossibly wide and her hair a golden halo around her head. If you'd told me while I was in the prison world, I'd be with someone who looked so angelic I'd laugh. Even now it was hard wrapping my head around vampires and werewolves. Witches had always been in my mind, but now there were more.

My vision fell back to her as she shook trying to hold in her cries.

"I'm here. I'm here." I rushed to her side, holding her face more gently than I think I'd ever held anything. I was on my knees now gazing at her. Softly, I stroked her hair back as they did in movies. Her bed was hard against me, but I could feel it shake as she tried to calm herself. She sniffled for a moment before gazing at me. Her eyes were like the ocean fathomless and deep. I could stare at her forever.

We must've sat in silence for a while as she calmed herself. When she finally was calm she gazed at me and we slipped into a slight awkwardness each of us taking the other in.

A soft smile started on her face accompanied by a short laugh. "You are so cheesy. You literally copied the exact move that boy did when his girl was dying. Remember? From the movie we watched together?"

Her voice carried a melody beautifully, it was almost angelic. There was something about her that made me both want to drain her of her magic and feel something so distinctly her surrounding me and protect her all the same.

I remembered the movie clearly. We had watched it shortly before I myself had died. When she'd been recovering in bed before I syphoned her magic. I thought she'd been asleep until I heard her laugh. It was the first time I had truly felt her near me. I didn't say any of this to her. I didn't want to be that guy rambling on and on. I hate that guy. Instead I cleared my throat taking what emotions I felt out of it, turning it to humor.

"Cheesy?" I kissed her lightly on her nose. I couldn't help myself.  All I wanted was to kiss her until I couldn't breathe. "Are you sure? Me? Doing something out of a movie?"

She laughed slightly. "No, Kai. I'm talking to the ghost who haunts my room." I noticed then despite the melody it held, her voice was still dry, but I was grateful for her to be back. My heart never ached before, as it did in the time she was gone. It was a weight so heavy I felt as if I might die at any point without her.

Her pointer extended and her hand was shaky likely as a side effect of having just been brought back from death. She bopped my nose with it a light giggle emitting, "Boop." She giggled more, her eyes happy despite the earlier tears, "I am positive you are cheesy."

I smiled her giggles were infectious and my own laugh rang loud and true. I had missed her so much, but now I felt a different weight. A weight that threatened to squeeze me in its embrace of happiness.
Suddenly, she paused her laughing, her eyes were dark. Serious. The abyss they held seemed to stretch forever now. I knew it would drown me if I wasn't careful. Drown me until I died like Joey:
Her smile stilled and she looked concerned. Her voice wavered and everything that was once lyrical softened. "Do you love me?"

It struck me suddenly flying into me. I'd never told anyone I loved them. Not even anyone in my own family. I couldn't even remember someone telling me they loved me. I'd been called a monster. I'd been shunned. My family never told me they loved me. Not even Josette or Joey, the two I was closest to. I was frozen, but needed to speak. I hated how rough my voice sounded. It grated me to no end.
"That's a sudden question. Isn't it?"