Forever Rain

Chapter 23

Damon

The early morning light shines through the bedroom window, illuminating the beauty within my arms. How witless I was to think that anyone else can fit into my arms as perfectly as her. Little streaks of auburn glistens as the rays dance on the strands of her hair. If she was awake, the striking green of her eyes would have bestowed my heart, and I would be a powerless madman, ready to take her on for another round. The rhythmic sound of her breathing eases all my troubles, and I want nothing more than to capture this moment for an infinite amount of times.

I look around her room, large and open, clean and expensive. In the eruption of last night's tantrum, I haven't fully processed what a beautiful place she has compared to the house I had visited back in Bountiful. It had wounded my gut to witness the living condition she has endured over so many years, to realize that she never wanted me to see her house for fear of humiliation. I was stricken with anger that no one had done anything to help her, to give her a life more deserving, more worthy, of the intelligent and witty girl that held an incomparable charm.

She deserves this. She's worked for this. I understand now what she meant by us being a distraction to each other. We wouldn't have completely ruined each other's lives if we had stayed together, but we may not have been able to accomplish all this. Our love and lust would have been too consuming, causing us to lose focus on everything else, persuading us to believe we could lose it all just to have each other.

We had to strive with the void of our soulmate, because there was nothing to fill it, and we both worked harder to accomplish our goals. Now that we have found each other again, we are meeting with a newfound confidence, and she can finally lift her head and walk with it held high as she should have all these years.

But what if fate hasn't brought us back together? Could I bear the thought that I had given her up for a career, or would she rather have all this success without me? It's comical how often I think about losing her, even when I'm with her, as if she's a mythical creature that is too good to be mine, for me to cradle and appreciate.

"What are you thinking about?" I'm startled by her seductive morning voice, but not as much as those astonishing eyes as she looks up at me. "I've been awake for a while, but you were lost in thought. So I risked being creepy and just stared at you the whole time."

I laugh and kiss her against the top of her head. Oh, my Rain. I want you to be my Rain forever. "You wanna grab something to eat before we both pass out?"

☂☂☂

I asked for breakfast, and she prepared an entire feast in nothing but my T-shirt. She didn't let me help after I burned the toast, so I've been deduced to table setting duties. As we sat on the breakfast bar to devour our food, I couldn't seem to shake this gleeful smile across my face. It feels right being here with her, waking up with her, eating breakfast with her. Hell, I want to eat all my meals with her, every day for the rest of my life.

"Rain, don't leave me again." I place my fork down and envelope both her tiny hands in mine, sweeping her bangs away to display those gorgeous eyes. "Even though I don't entirely agree with why you initially did it, I understand the purpose behind it. But now, there's no good reason you can tell me why we shouldn't be together."

She's hesitating, chewing on her bottom lip, avoiding my eyes. I don't push or pry, but I wait patiently for her to process her thoughts, because with Rain, you will get nothing from her until she's ready to disclose it.

"You can't imagine how much I want this with you. It's more than I have ever felt for anyone, only you. I've been running from it since that first day of Calculus, but now I know, I'm sure, that no one else can make me feel the way you do."