Tainted Tides

Chapter 21

*Dec's POV*

I sat against the hard wooden planks, sobbing. It was all just too much. Mark. Anth. My father. Just too much. As seconds turned into minutes of me sobbing, and some clarity shone on my emotions, I realized I wasn't really angry. I was hurt. I was hurt by my father. Hurt by Mark. But not by Anthony; Not this time. 

There was the reason I was in love with him. I could never believe that he'd hurt me. Logically, I knew he would never let me get hurt; through his actions or not. That was why I stepped in front of his attacker, not an hour ago. That's why I didn't pull away when Robbie put me on his shoulder.

That's why I called him Anth.

With my knees curled up to my chest, my arms wrapped around them tightly, and my soaking face buried inside them, I knew I needed Ant. I just hoped he needed me too.

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand on my knee. The touch, comforting and familiar. I raised my swollen eyes to confirm my assumption; Anth. As I met his gaze, I saw something I hadn't expected. I'd expected to see anger, annoyance, even pity; instead, I saw regret and tears.

"I'm sorry, Dec," he said, his voice barely over a murmur. He sat on his knees, placing them by my feet, and repeated, "I'm sorry." My arms fell from my shins to my feet, and my gaze fell the hand on my knee.

"I'm so sorry," Anth repeated through a choked sob. Every time I heard those 2 words, I could feel each specific thing he was apologizing about; I could feel the intent behind each word. The first one had been about not trusting me about Sarha. The second had been about yelling at me in his room. The third, that one had been about the storm; the gun; the blind anger; and the sheer thought that I would do anything to hurt him.

His head fell in shame as he muttered a slew of apologies, all for what he had almost done. That. That was the one thing would never do: Apologize for hurting me.

I let my knees fall apart, carrying his hand with them, and pulling his body into mine. His sobbing form fell into mine and I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his neck as he did the same with my chest. He practically laid on top of me, between my legs, as we both cried. What started as tears of grief, and regret, turned into tears of relief, and gratitude.

Relieved to finally be in each other's arms, and grateful to have lived long enough to experience it. 

We sat that for an immeasurable amount of time, uninterrupted - likely to Robbie's credit - until our tears ran dry. Ant pulled away from me and met my swollen eyes with his own.  in the depths of his ocean blue eyes, I saw what he hadn't dared show before; vulnerability. He parted his lips to speak, but before he could make a sound, my mouth was on his. his lips tensed momentarily in surprise but he quickly relaxed and kissed back with fervor. Our lips melded together, gently. I struggled to know where his lips ended and mine began; it was everything I needed. As my searing lungs overwhelmed my need for Ant, I pulled apart with a gasp, resting my forehead against his and looking into his eyes, I muttered, "It wasn't you. I'm sorry."

Visible confusion washed over his face as he replied, "Wh-what are you talking about?"

I sighed. "Sarha gave me a prophecy before we left. She told me that I would be betrayed, and that 'Past wounds would bare once more'. I- I thought,"  a choked sob spilled from my mouth, as Ant placed his hand on mine, on my thigh. "I thought you were going to hurt me like Mark had... and then when Robbie got hurt..." tears once again poured freely down my cheeks, "I just- I'm sorry!" Ant pulled me into his chest, as I had done earlier, and stroked my back to calm me down. I felt the tension drain from me with every downstroke of his hand. He placed a soft kiss on my messy brown hair, instantly draining my sorrows away. Within seconds I stopped crying, yet still melting into his arms. It felt like someone finally truly cared.