[1] Midnight Lips | Ghost

𝐂𝐇. 55

VAL
༻❁༺

     It was hot inside the bathroom, the air so heavy I couldn't breathe properly, though it was escaping through the door that I had opened wide a few minutes ago, so I knew the cloud of steam wouldn't last long. I hadn't meant to take a hot shower, but I wasn't warm enough to take a cold one yet. I just needed a shower after our recent mission, which was a total success, might I add. We hoped the message we sent to Valeria was clear. If we hadn't gotten a response in the next 24 hours, then we'd proceed with plan B: Hunt her down.

Exhaling, I unwrapped the towel from my hair and gently dried it off before I started combing it. The shower did most of the job in relaxing me, though there was still a light weight on my shoulders from exhaustion. Nothing I couldn't handle. In fact, I liked the feeling. It made me feel like I was doing something other than sitting around.

My eyes caught sight of the black cloth laying on the edge of the counter. I knew as soon as I saw it that it belonged to Simon; one of his simple black balaclavas. Setting my comb down, I didn't even hesitate when I grabbed it. Where was he? I hadn't seen him since we returned to base—two hours ago—and from the silence in the next room, I could tell he hadn't set foot in there either.

No matter which place Simon was currently blessing with his presence, he always found his way back into my mind. I couldn't take him out of my head no matter what I did, nor could I forget his hands on my body from this morning–when he said he needed me and I promised him that later he could have me–and all of those times before.

I smiled, then bit my lip catching myself. My Simon.

The faint scent of freshly clean and a little bit of spice invaded my nose. I brought the mask close to my face and inhaled until my lungs were filled with the smell that could only be Simon. Obsessed, that was the only word that came to my mind. His eyes, his hands, his mannerisms, his little chuckles, God, I was obsessed. What would I do if he actually showed me all of himself? If he let me in and kept me there? I had no clue, but I still wished he could trust me fully and show me.

Not yet, I thought.

I pulled away and looked at the front of the mask, the image of a white skull drawn on it contrasted with the black and it mocked me. How could Simon survive wearing a mask for every second of the day? Wasn't he tired of it? If I were to be him for a day, I could never manage to put up with it.

I met my eyes through the mirror. I could never. How would Simon feel if our places were switched? If I was the one that couldn't handle showing my face to him? I held my breath. I could never. Without even thinking, I gripped the hem of the mask and pulled it over my head to prove my point.

Oh God, what was I doing? I couldn't breathe but not because of the cloth, but because I didn't know what the hell I was doing and I hated it. I hated the way I looked too. I hated that my eyes were the only thing on display and how they reminded me of so many broken memories. Yet... I still loved them. My eyes were beautiful, there was no point in denying it. Sage green, round shaped, lashes long. They stood out and I fucking loved them.

A sound came from the room outside. I didn't have time to react or to take off the mask, because in a blink Simon was already by the bathroom door and looking at me. "Darling?" he asked it in a way that said, "What are you doing?" his narrowed eyes never leaving mine. He was wearing the same mask, but I guessed it suited him better than it did me.

Despite the ball of embarrassment forming in the pit of my stomach, I straightened my spine and held his eyes. "How do I look?" My fake bravado was transparent, and I feared what Simon would think of me. I always did, but now more than ever.