The Hurt Game

❧ twenty-nine

"Princess," a quiet murmur echoed through my ears, followed by a gentle breath caressing my skin. I shifted a little, turning my head away from the source before my eyes fluttered open.

A small yawn escaped my lips as I rubbed my eyes and sat up straighter in the seat. My eyes met Royden's, who was patiently waiting for me to wake up. He showed me a tiny smile and extended his hand. I slid my palm in his and he intertwined our fingers.

"There you are. We are at my place," he explained to me. My eyes wandered around. Indeed, we were at the parking garage of the apartment complex. Around us the parking lots were empty even though we were close to the entrance of the building itself.

Slowly I stepped out of the car. Royden kept his grip on my hand, let me lean against him if I needed the support to keep me on my feet. His hand was warm. My body shivered and I pressed myself closer to him.

As soon as he had shut the door and locked the car, he guided me towards the entrance. I knew we were forgetting my bags, but I couldn't find much energy to acknowledge it towards him.

My head was still pounding, but the sleep I had managed to get in the car did help a lot. It had reduced to a light ache, nothing another nap couldn't fix. First, though, I wanted to jump underneath the shower and wash off my father's imprints on me―visible or not.

Heavily I leaned against the wall while we waited on the elevator. My eyes slipped closed and my head rested against the cold stones. Royden pressed closer to me, never letting go of my hand as his chest pressed against my arm. His warmth radiated towards me. I leaned against him, drawing as much warmth from as I could. He wrapped his free arm around me. His chin dropped on my head.

"I will get your things when we're back in the apartment, okay?" he murmured. I nodded my head as a small smile crept on my lips. Of course he knew.

He pulled away slightly, pressed a kiss to my forehead and lingered there. His lips were warm against my skin.

The elevator opened its doors as it stopped and quietly we entered. We were glad it was around dinner time; many people would be having dinner. Nobody would unnecessarily bother us.

As the elevator brought us to the highest floor, my eyes caught sight of my reflection. My nose was smudged with redness, the blood stained my skin. My skin was pale, almost as white as the light that shone down on us, lighting the little space we were in. Even though I knew elevator lights were never good on portraying your best qualities, I looked worse than I had ever looked.

"I look terrible," I commented. Royden looked down at me, studying me before sighing a little. His hand slid underneath my chin and lifted my head. Our eyes met.

"You've looked better, but still... you're beautiful," he replied. I shook my head a little and looked back at my reflection with disgust on my face.

"You're lying."

"Hey." His voice was soft. I looked back up at him, one of my eyebrows slightly raised. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my mouth. "You will always look beautiful to me."

My face heated and coloured with a blush, reddening completely. I rolled my eyes yet still leaned against him, wrapping my arms around him. I smiled to myself.

The elevator came to a stop, seventh floor, the highest in the building, and Royden and I walked out slowly. He supported me, keeping the weight off my feet mostly, so walking wouldn't take much energy from me.

We didn't speak. Our footsteps echoed down the hall. Royden unlocked his door and ushered me inside first. I stumbled towards the couch. Every single move was adding to the already existing exhaustion and I more or less collapsed on the couch, my limbs sprawling across the furniture.