Breathless // lp

Chapter 12.

Ash almost choked on air when she shot up from the bed, her sweaty palms clawing at the sheets and her eyes wide. Her red hair flew up before settling down in front of her face until she hurriedly swiped them away. She squinted through the darkness, struggling to see. 

When she saw that Liam wasn't there beside her she almost let out a scream. Tossing back her covers, Ash whimpered at the feeling of the cold. Somehow she managed to pull herself up to stand and cautiously walked towards the bedroom door, pulling it open slowly. 

The place was deathly quiet, and that urked her. What if Liam left? Had he left her? Her breath quickened just at the thought, but she quickly calmed herself as soon as she saw his familiar form with his back turned to her. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, his head tilted back as he took a huge gulp of water from the glass he was holding. 

Ash hurried towards him and wrapped her arms around his torso, making him drop his cup and stare at it in shock, about to yell, but when he heard Ash's low whimpers and cries he immediately softened.

Ash snuggled closer to his bare torso, until Liam pried her from behind and brought her to his front so he could wrap his arms around her.

"Hey, hey shh Ash it's alright!" Liam whispered, smoothing back her red hair as she slowly quieted herself. Her eyes fluttered as she looked up and tried to see Liam in the dark. Finally she met his glistening eyes and stared.

"B-Bad dream," Ash said softly, shaking her head.

"I know, it's alright," Liam sighed, ruffling his hand over her hair. They both stood there until Ash's legs started to ache and she started to slip down his side. He chuckled softly and scooped her up, not letting go of her until they were both snuggled under the covers.

While Ash had fallen into a slightly deep sleep, Liam was left wide awake. Trying to push his troubling thoughts away, he rolled over and sighed as he slowly let sleep overtake him

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The light beams trickled through the gap in between the curtains, making Liam stir in his sleep. He squeezed one eye open and dared a look to his side. And there she was. Sunlight pouring across her sleeping form, she looked almost angelic.

She lay with her lips slightly pouted and her eyes closed softly. Liam's face broke into a smile, ear to ear, as she fidgeted in her sleep. Once she had resumed a comfortable position her mouth turned up ever so insignificantly that he nearly missed the action with a blink. The light ray that escaped the block from the curtains left a line of glittering gold running diagonally along her blushed cheek.

Careful not to wake her, Liam brushed his fingers lightly along the side of her face, sweeping away any hair that had rested on her skin. Regrettably, Ash's eyes opened slowly - like a puppy waking up to the world for the first time - until finally a sleepy smile arose on her face. The normal dark-green color of her eyes was slightly blurry due to the recent wake that clouded her pupils.

"Hi babe, you okay?" Liam asked softly. She nodded slowly, entranced by something as she scanned his face.

"Look, I know things haven't exactly been easy for you these past few nights, and I can't help but feel as if that night...impacted you stronger than I thought. What did that man do to you, did he hurt you?" He asked cautiously. The smile fell on Ash's face, and her eyes crashed to her lap as she sat up sadly.

Slowly, she nodded her head. Biting my lip, I sat up as well and rubbed her back knowingly

"Did he-" 

"Don't say it," Ash gasped, shaking her head. Her hair fell over her eyes and bounced across her cheeks until she swiped them behind her ear. "Don't...Just don't say it." She brought her hand to mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.