Addicted to You (Devils Right Hand MC #3)

Chapter 20

Axe's POV

When someone is cut open, you stitch them up. That is a simple medical fact that has been in place for decades, but when you really think about it stitches are kind of barbaric. Your flesh is split in two and blood is rapidly spilling out of the wound so the only way to fix it is to weave a high-tech sewing needle into your skin. I mean, stitches are necessary, but they do more harm to the area than most people realize. But without them, you bleed to death, plain and simple.

Stitches hurt. They force you to confront a wound you would probably rather forget about. But they save you. They put you back together and stop life from literally draining out of you. After all, a wound can only really heal after stitches pull it back together.

Gabby stitched me back together. I didn't even realize some of my wounds were still bleeding. She forced me to acknowledge them because that's the only way we could be together. I had to realize I was still bleeding and then be brave enough to let her fix them. And she fixed them without even trying. Her simply breathing the same air as me healed them. Admitting she loved me healed them.  Admitting I loved her allowed the wound to fade into a scar.

I'll always carry these wounds. Wounds from Mel's passing and the guilt I feel surrounding that. But they've faded so quickly. In less than a week they faded to scars. They're still there and they still remind me of the past, but they don't hurt. Not like they used to anyway.

I'm trying to do the same for her. I know she has wounds, maybe more than I do. I'm trying to be her stitches and I think I am. I think we can heal each other.

After she sang at the wedding a switch flipped inside of me. I was already thinking of asking her on a date after the wedding but hearing her sing and seeing how well she fit into my family, I knew a simple date wasn't going to be enough. From that simple event that really didn't have anything to do with me, I knew I loved her. I knew from that moment that she was my second chance at love, maybe my real chance at love. And once I admitted that to myself there was no going back.

That was three days ago. Sunday we went to the beach and then I called out sick to work yesterday to which Grease just laughed and said to enjoy the time off. Two uninterrupted days aren't enough but it's a start. It's the start of what I know will be the rest of my life.

"What time do you go in to work tonight?" I ask her as she lays in bed naked but covers her body with a thin quilt. Today, we have to rejoin the real world. God, I wish we could just stay like this forever.

"I'll be there for dinner and then I work til midnight. Grace just has me til closing on the weekends," she answers. I know her schedule, it's been the same for months, but I keep forgetting it every time I look at her.

"Us being on opposite schedules is going to really suck," I mutter as I sit on the edge of the bed. I work the typical 9 to 5 and she works 5 to 12.

"You're at the bar every night anyway so you'll see me all the time."

"Yeah, but I can't do this," I chuckle as I move my mouth to kiss her cleavage.

"What a shame," she moans. After a few seconds, she snaps back into reality and pushes my shoulders away from her. "You have to go to work."

"Do I?" I pull away from her and just stare for a few seconds. How can someone be this flawless?

"Yes, you do," she laughs as she tries to push me off the bed.

"Okay, fine," I chuckle as I stand up. "Love you," I add as I lean over and kiss her goodbye.

"Love you, too," she smiles as she lays back in bed. She has to work all night so I'm sure she'll try to get a few more hours of sleep while I'm at work. "Axe?" She calls when I am only a few feet away from the front door.