7 Ways To Love You

Chapter 13

 Reese's pov-

I normally hate kissing. I didn't even let Artemis kiss me. Kissing just seems so intimate, and germy. But when Seven slipped his tongue into my mouth it sent pleasure throughout me, instead of disgust, I won't lie, I was surprised. My arms were wrapped around his shoulders and my legs around his waist. Seven had one hand tangled in my hair and the other resting on my thigh.

He let out a deep groan into my mouth. He was starting to deepen the kiss and I knew I had to break it up now before it goes too far. I relished in the moment for another ten seconds before breaking the kiss. " Are you okay?" he asked, panting lightly.

I detached myself from him, " Yeah." I answered. I started swimming back towards the shore, I heard Seven swimming behind me. I didn't bother putting my clothes back on since I was soaking wet. I jumped the wall, not waiting for Seven and went straight to my dorm. I was about to walk into my bathroom when I was pulled back by my arm, " Wait." Seven said.

I turned to face him, " What's up?" I asked.

" I'm sorry if I crossed the line back there, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." he apologized.

It's not that he made me uncomfortable, truthfully I'm not sure how he made me feel, and that's the scary part, the unknown. I shook my head, " I'm just cold." I said, and it wasn't a total lie. I was in my underwear and soaking wet. I watched as his eyes trailed over my body. I felt uncomfortable but didn't let it show. His eyes were trailing over every single scar and mark left on my body.

I let him stare for a moment before I maneuvered myself behind the bathroom door. " I'm going to take a shower." he nodded, his eyes traveling back up to meet mine. I closed the door and let out a shaky breath. What the fuck happened tonight?

I hopped into the shower and washed all the lake water off of me. As incredibly soothing as I find being in the lake I don't even want to think about how dirty the water is. Especially because I don't ever think I've seen it during the day, god only knows how filthy it probably must look. I'm surprised I haven't found a leech on myself.

I put on the same outfit, but with new underwear. When I walked out of the bathroom the lights were off and Seven was already laying in bed. I wasn't exactly keen on sharing a bed with him but apparently he couldn't fit both of our beds in the room. As soon as I climbed into bed his LED lights flicked on and the room lit up with a red hue. I laid down next to him, our shoulders touching slightly since he took up a good portion of the bed.

" Are you alright?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

" I am, are you?" I asked, he shifted slightly so he was lying on his side, facing me. " Never been better." he replied with a cheeky smirk.

" What is it about silence that bothers you so much?" I asked suddenly. For some reason he always feels the need to fill the silence but I'm not completely sure why. Is it because it simply feels uncomfortable or is it something more than that?

He took a deep breath before speaking, " I can't stand the silence, it's deafening. It's a constant reminder of how alone I truly am. Sure, I have friends and I have my father but I don't truly have them. When I get panic attacks at night, the only thing I have to comfort me is the noise that surrounds me. My friends aren't there, my dad isn't there, I'm all alone. At least noise allows me to deceive myself. It's not nearly as harsh as the stillness of reality." he said in blatant honesty.

I guess I can understand that, he's not ready to face reality, like so many others. But it's inevitable, one day it's going to be silent and he won't be able to do anything about it. He's going to be stuck facing the harsh reality that he's been avoiding for so long. That's going to be one hell of a rude awakening.