THE PICTURE OF YOU -rafe cameron-

043; waking up next to him

As JJ created his own chaos back on the island of Kildare, Myra awoke peacefully in the hotel bed out on the mainland, miles away from her older brother. She blinked her eyes as to get adjusted to the bright light of the late morning sun that flooded in through the blinds. Everything was still. The life of the town could be heard from the street outside. Myra stretched her arms out, a slight cracking of her shoulders ringing out into the otherwise quiet room. As she turned her head to the right, she saw Rafe sound asleep next to her. His dark blonde hair laid messily against his forehead and his left cheek was buried in the big pillow underneath him. Myra felt a little dumbfounded upon finding him there with his arm snaked around her waist. She could remember herself waking up in a frenzy after having had a nightmare last night and she could remember him getting up from the couch to calm her down. Nevertheless she couldn't remember what the nightmare had been about, nor Rafe wrapping his arms around her. But here they were, in bed snuggled up together, closer than ever before. It was a new sensation to Myra, yet it felt almost familiar and comfortable. She had after all slept very good considering the nightmare. She sighed, sinking back into the bed, nuzzling her head in a little closer to Rafe's. He looked peaceful as he slept, even more so than she had even seen him awake. His chiseled and usually stern face was relaxed, with his lips slightly parted. He looked vulnerable and almost angelic, Myra thought. Something made it so she couldn't tear her eyes away from him, no matter how hard she tried. She just stared as Rafe's bare chest slowly rose and fell as he breathed in and out, a gentle rhythm mixing into the morning air. It was yet another warm summer, it could be felt in the room even though the AC was on.

A moment later Rafe stirred a little, slowly waking up. It broke Myra's evident stare. He opened his eyes after another minute or so, their gazes instantly meeting. His ocean blue eyes shone brighter than the sun, both warming and soothing Myra even further. His gaze averted for a split second, as if he was surprised about how close they were. As if he was surprised to see her there in the same bed as him. Yet he stayed still, his arm still wrapped around her, lingering.

"Good morning" Rafe spoke groggily, his voice echoing with its morning rasp throughout the hotel room. The mere sound of it sent shivers down Myra's spine. He didn't sound displeased, rather the opposite. "Good morning" she hummed back gently, not able to hold back a slight smile as she looked at him. He looked even more handsome with his head laid to rest on a pillow and the morning sun dancing upon his face. He was laying on his side, the covers pulled up to just above his hip. Myra felt her heart beat vigorously. She had never been in this position before, only ever having shared a bed with a few of her friends who were all girls. The only boy she had ever shared a bed with was her dad when she was a young girl and her brother whenever their home situation got messy. It had never been like this, it had never made a thousand butterflies come alive inside of her stomach, or perhaps even a million or a billion?

"Did you manage to get some sleep?" Rafe asked, his voice still raspy and low. He blinked his eyes gently, as if he was not fully awake yet. "I did, yeah" Myra answered, nodding her head faintly. "Good" Rafe hummed back, a hint of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He moved a little, his fingertips trailing against the exposed skin upon Myra's lower back. He was warm, so were the sheets in which he laid. "I'm sorry that I woke you up last night" Myra excused herself, glancing up at the tall ceiling of the hotel room. "Don't worry about it" Rafe was quick to answer, the faint smile from before now fully visible, "it's fine". "Yeah but still... god, I haven't had a nightmare in a while now" Myra muttered to herself, almost feeling a little embarrassed. Rafe's eyebrows fell into a slight furrow as he looked at the pouge girl next to him, seeing her wandering gaze. Her eyes trailed along the ceiling, over the lamp and down along the windows to the edge of the bed. "Do you get a lot of nightmares?" Rafe asked, the tone of his voice lingering with a hint of concern. Myra's gaze now found it's way back to Rafe quickly. "I wouldn't say a lot, but yeah... every now and then I suppose" she answered. "How come?" Rafe asked curiously. He was now beginning to see a part of himself within Myra, a part he tried his hardest to forget and neglect and more so hide. "I don't know" she shrugged, once more gazing away, reluctant to speak the truth, "I guess I'm just prone to them". Rafe nodded his head slowly, a little disappointed with the answer that had left her lips. Just being prone to nightmares, was that even a thing? It made him question a lot of things. He stayed silent for a moment, letting the noise from outside mix with the gentle sound of Myra's breathing. Inhale, exhale. It filled the room as he thought, gazing down at the sheets. They stayed like that for a second before he changed his mind, deciding to press her a little on the topic. He had a compulsive need to know more now that he had gotten a taste of it on his tongue.