Deadly Infatuation

Chapter 55

Two weeks later

Max

I study Lily as she packs the last of her things belonging to her apartment into the box by the front door. It's hard to think that two weeks have passed since I was in hospital recovering from a bullet wound and even though I was given the okay to be discharged, the lasting effects of the wound are still with me. Because of the damage to stomach and blood vessels, I've been forced to take things slowly and have been recovering at my parents' home with Lily, neither of us wanting to stay at my place or hers. They now only serve as stark reminders of every bad thing that happened inside them and with my new house being close to complete, we decided to start afresh and live their together after not wanting to be apart from each other again. Though I know Lily is excited to be taking this next step with me in our relationship, I can tell that she seems sad as she looks around her empty apartment. I move across the room on my crutches and kiss the side of her head. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she sighs. "It's just hard to think about the reason I am leaving this place. I had three happy years here, though all that comes to mind now when I think of this place is when Callie attacked me."

It's a memory that I'd also like to forget and on more than one occasion I have found myself dreaming about it, though the worst ones I have when I sleep lately are with Callie holding a gun to Lily's head. In my dream I try to run to them, to stop what she is about to do, but every time I'm too late and I see the life go out of Lily's eyes. I wake up in a cold sweat afterwards and sometimes I find that my cries in my sleep have manifested into real cries which wakes Lily and causes her to worry. I'm hoping that with time the dreams will cease, and it's something I'm actively working on with my therapist.

"Maybe after a while you will be able to only think of the good memories you had here."

"Hmm. Maybe."

"It could be something Dr. Graceland can help with," I suggest.

"I guess. I still find it hard to talk to him about things like this, though. It's not something I like having to relive."

"I get it, but they are trained in dealing with trauma like this and I'd rather you have him there to talk to if you wish than to not have him. We've both been through a lot in such a short period of time for our mind to process fully."

"I'll think about it," she offers quietly.

"Thank you."

Lily picks up the box with some struggle and if I wasn't weak still, I'd offer to carry it for her. "Can you get the key out of my back pocket? The landlord said I can leave it in the light fixture outside and he'll collect it later."

"Sure." I move behind her and remove my right hand from my crutch and slide my hand in her back pocket. When I pull the key out, I keep a grip of her pants and spin her around quickly, which causes her to yelp in surprise. I grin in response and kiss her unsuspecting lips.

"What was that for?"

I give a shrug. "No particular reason."

She gives a small smile and blushes. "Oh. Okay."

Balancing carefully on my crutches, I lean forward again and kiss her with more ardent need. Lily parts her lips with a sigh and I tease her with my tongue as my hand sneaks up her body and traces the outline of her bra. Letting out a low groan, she pulls back. "Max," she whimpers. "You heard what the doctors said. We can't."

"That was ages ago. I think I'm capable of getting to second base with my girlfriend, and third base and fourth base," I say in a low, seductive voice, reaching out for her again.