Heartdriven

51. The Gods May Throw A Dice, Their Minds Cold As Ice

Alice had barely spoken to Sebastian, except responding in few words. She slept the entire flight, and held him close constantly, and held his hand as she followed him through the airport. Her face was covered by her hair, shy by her bruises.
He had spoken to the newspaper for her again, they had been quite understanding and she was put on sick leave until her Christmas break, so she could enter the New Year without worrying about anyone but herself.
He had been used to her looking at him as he was driving, but as they were headed to his house, she was leaning on the seat towards the window, looking outside.
They drove into his garage, after he parked the car, he puts his hand on her thigh, startling her.
"Alice... let's go inside."

He showed her around the house, but she wasn't quite attentive. She was holding him close again, her arms around his.
"Do you want something to eat, or drink? We could order some food... tell me anything you need," he said and put his arm around her.
"I'm really tired..."
The darkness had not left her eyes for a moment, and he showed her to the bedroom. He found her an extra pillow and blanket, as she turned away from him to undress. She was very careful as she laid down in the bed, not being able to lie on her bruised side or comfortably for her sore stomach. He undressed himself and lied down next to her in the bed, holding her close in his arms.

Sebastian woke up to the sound of the shower running. He moved his arm around the bed, and Alice was not there anymore. He hurried out of the bed and started looking for towels, spotting some of his bathrobes... she would like those. He snuck into the bathroom and placed them on the counter for her.
Maybe he could make her some breakfast. Yes. He ran to the kitchen, going through his fridge. Eggs and bacon? Hmm. Oh, she liked buns. He could heat up some buns for her, with melted butter... did he have any Nutella? Yes. He heated up the oven and put some food on the table.
Listening in, the shower was off again and he put the buns in the oven for her. He set the table and sat down waiting for her. But she did not come. He went back to the bedroom, and she had gone back to bed. He quietly left again, closing the door behind him, and ate the breakfast alone.
She stayed in bed all day, as Sebastian unpacked his bags and hers, trying to make it as easy for her as possible. He snuck inside the dark bedroom to not wake her up, and pulled a little blue velvet box from his pocket, hiding it under his clothes in his closet. That little box had been in his pocket for a while, waiting for a time when it was needed. But that was not now.

And the days went by, only noticed by the colours changing and fading on Alice's face and body, the few times she appeared. Sebastian had gotten her to eat and drink after the first few days, luring her out of the bedroom with pizza.
Alonso messaged Sebastian every day to check up on her, but it was hard giving updates when there were none.
Daniel visited one day and she tried, she really tried, but she couldn't. She barely spoke, he wanted to hear her voice again... he didn't recognise her sound anymore, her vibrance was gone.

Sebastian laid on the couch at night, watching television, when Alice walked out in the living room to him.
He shut the television off and sat up, "Are you alright, Alice?"
She walked over to him and lied on top of him, and he held his arms around her, pressing her close to his body, and she rested her head on his chest. He gently stroked her hair, and she moved her head to face him.
"I love you, Sebastian." She sat up on his lap and held his hands.
"I love you, Alice."
She leaned down to him, and kissed him, before walking back to the bedroom. He sat for a moment and followed her. She was lying in the bed again, and he undressed and lied next to her, holding her from behind. She put his hands in hers and kissed them.
Feeling her body close to his, the smell of her, the warmth of her body against him... he wanted her, he wanted her so much. She turned around and faced him, placed her hand on his cheek and kissing him.
"Alice...", he whispered and tried to distance himself from her... he wanted her so much.
She kissed him on the neck, holding her arms around him and her legs around his waist.
"One more week, Alice..." He couldn't take it anymore, and sat up, turning his back on her.
She got up from the bed and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. He went after her and knocked on the door.
"Alice... please... can you come out again?" He could hear her sniffling.
"No, it's okay, I'm fine!" She didn't sound fine.
"Alice...", she interrupted him, "Just... leave me alone." He went back and sat on the bed, waiting for her.

He woke up later as the morning sun was peeking through the curtain, having fallen back on the bed in his weary. Alice was not in sight and the bathroom door still closed.
He walked over and slowly knocked on the door again, "Alice... can you please open the door?"
He stood up against the door and heard a few steps before the door unlocked, standing for a moment before he went inside. She sat in the empty bathtub, holding her own legs to her body, but he could see from the imprint on the bathmat that she had been lying there.
He crawled over the edge of the bathtub and sat down in the opposite end to her. He didn't want to say anything, he didn't know what he could say, what he should say. Nothing could make the situation better for her before she was ready, he just wanted her to know he was here for her. He reached over and held her hand. She was cold.
"Let's take a bath," he said and got up, pulling off his shirt.
She looked up at him, and he helped her up, and out of the bathtub before turning on the hot faucet. Alice slowly undressed and stood naked before him, with her arms crossed to cover herself, but the bruise on her side was still very much visible. He poured soap in the filling bathtub and undressed himself fully next to her. He turned off the faucet and smiled to her. He held her hand and stepped over in the bathtub as she followed and he slowly sat down. She waited until he was placed and the water had calmed itself, and sat down between his legs, resting her back up against his chest, and he covered her in soap.
He was feeling her body... her body... close to him... her chest... her breasts... her body between his thighs... she was touching him, his legs... it wasn't helping his desires, but it was giving her comfort to be held by him. She turned around to face him, sitting with her legs spread over his lap, and leaned towards him.
"Alice... one week..."
She leaned against him, placing her hands on his chest, and kissed his neck, "I just want to kiss you...", and he let her.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, as she continued kissing his neck, her mouth moving towards his face and his mouth, connecting her lips to his and locking together. Her hand on his chest moved down between them, reaching between his legs, holding onto him and softly moved her hand around his yearning towards her.
He held her tightly by her shoulders, breathing in her mouth. There was nothing he wanted more than to be one with her. She leaned back from him, her legs spread around him as she sat between his knees, continuing massaging him. His hand moved forward, firmly holding on to her breast, his other hand moving up her inner thigh, resisting the urge to feel her inside.
His urgency increased as her movements became more rapid, and his fingers dug into her thigh and breast before she finally released his tensions.
She leaned back in the bathtub, under the water, with just her head over the bubbles, holding onto to the edges of the bathtub to not go completely under. She had been momentarily distracted by him, but was no more and had returned to her distanced face, and she went under the water.
He sat quietly waiting for her to come back up, his eyes becoming moist from more than the water... he wanted to help her, he was there for her, she was in his head, she was everything... he couldn't bear it... he would do anything for her to find happiness.
She finally returned to the surface and stood straight up, avoiding his eyes, getting right out of the bathtub and covering her exposed body up with her hands again, looking for a towel. She was never shy, she would walk around naked for him, now she would barely let him see her. She found a bathrobe, hiding herself and walked back out in the bedroom.
He released the water from the bathtub and got out himself, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist, as he followed out in the bedroom. She had gone back to bed.
He quietly got dressed and walked out in the living room, gently closing the bedroom door behind him. He looked for some breakfast, preparing for Alice as well, in case she wanted some. But she stayed in bed all day.