Forever Tied to you

22

Mason

Sophie has been acting weird all day. At first I thought it was regret from last night, but then she tensed up in the car, barely spoke a word on the plane, and has been rambling non stop since we arrived.

It's not that I minded her voice; in fact, I loved listening to her talk especially when her eyes would twinkle in excitement. That's not what was happening now though, she was rambling because she was nervous - a trait I had witnessed several times since I met her last week.

It seemed like her way of trying to avoid the harder conversations and I couldn't help but wonder if it was something she started doing on her own, or if it was because of some other reason, something deeper that maybe she didn't understand.

I carried her bag into our ocean front cabin, dropping it on the kitchen before deciding that, for now I wouldn't press her for whatever it was, instead I would try to simply distract her.

"Hey." I pulled her into me and kissed the side of her neck as her back pressed into me. "Whatever it is, let it go. This is our week of freedom. There's plenty of time to work everything else out when we get back."

"You're right." She sighed, turning to face me and putting on a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm kind of tired though, so I think I'll just go to bed if that's okay?"

"Erm, yeah, sure." I stumbled over my words as she gave me a brief hug and walked away in search of the bedroom.

I left her alone after that. Whatever was bothering her was clearly big enough that she didn't want to talk about it. Distraction was going to be hard to achieve unless I pulled out all the stops.

I probably shouldn't care, in fact I knew I shouldn't. This was supposed to be nothing more than a deal, one with a expiration that depended on the signing of a contract. Yet somehow, in a total of eight days, she had found a place in my life that I didn't want to get rid of.

I wanted her to stay, I wanted her to choose me in the way Sierra never did. That's part of why I let my mother talk me into this. Maybe if I made it feel real, it would become real. What better way than with a honeymoon that was as real as it appeared on paper, at least it felt that way to me.

When I finally caved and decided to call it a night I crept up to the bedroom to see her laid on her side facing the window overlooking the ocean. The moonlight was casting a glow over her body and I had never seen a sight more breathtaking.

Carefully, I slipped into the bed breathing in the smell of her citrus conditioner. It must have been new, perhaps something she tried out? I guess it didn't really matter, it wasn't just her smell that I was fond of, it was all of her, quirks and all.

I wanted to badly to pull her to me, to hold her close until we both woke up to the sunrise over the ocean, but given the way she had been today I knew treading lightly was the best course of action.

So I turned onto my back, closed my eyes, and hoped that tomorrow she wouldn't be plagued by whatever was bothering her.

...

A piercing shriek followed by a few elbows to the ribs startled me awake as Sophie thrashed around beside me mumbling incoherently.

"Soph." I whispered "Soph it's me." I tried again.

"Stop, get off me... no don't... please." She begged her eyes still firmly closed.

I wanted to let her work through it. That's what they say isn't it? Never wake someone from a nightmare? But watching her thrash, listening to the terrified strangled sobs coming from her body, I just couldn't let her suffer.

I put my arm under her neck and pulled her to a sitting position, folding her tightly in my arms as I rocked her gently.

"Sophie, shhh Soph, wake up. It me. You're safe it's just me." I tried to soothe her when her eyes suddenly opened and the shimmer of tears pooled within them tugged at the very depths of my heart.

"Ma-"

"Shh, Soph it's okay. I've got you, you're okay!"

She grabbed my shirt and snuggled deeper into me, almost as if I were the only thing she needed. As much as I hated that she was so scared, I wanted the feeling of her needing me to last forever.

"I'll never let anything happen to you. I lo-,"I almost put my foot in my mouth. "I'm your husband Soph, no matter how or why, my job is to protect you and I will." I spoke softly in her ear as he body slowly stopped shaking and she relaxed.

"Thank you." She sniffled, squeezing me a little more firmly. If I weren't so hyper aware of her touch I probably wouldn't have noticed, but it was almost as if I craved it.

"Don't thank me, I'm here if you want to talk about it." I offered and when nothing but silence followed I knew the effort was futile. "Do you want me to get you some water?" I shuffled to get up when she tightened her grip.

"No." She almost yelled. "I just, please don't leave me. Can you just hold me for a while?" She pleaded, her eyes still wet from crying.

"Sure thing." I smiled sympathetically and laid down.

Her head came to rest on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her and ran my fingers repetitively through her hair until her breathing slowed and she fell back asleep.

I tilted my chin and gently kissed the top of her head. In the dark silence that followed I vowed that I would take care of her. She had a tough outer shell, but something had broken her, someone had hurt her. I didn't need to know who, I just needed to make sure that while she was mine, she would never have to be hurt again.

I was going to make this the best trip she had ever had, make her happy. Maybe giving her everything is all it would take for her to stay?