[Entry for the Once Upon A December, @BadassReads Winter Prompt - Unedited - word count: 5k]
Growing up with an abusive mother, Elara hated everything in and about Everwood - a small village where everyone avoided her loud and rebellious younger sel...
Nights unfolded into shared warmth, sweaty limbs entwined in tangled sheets, soft snores, and lazy sleepy 'banging' as Elara called it. Mornings followed suit, marked by leisurely embraces and a gradual intimacy varying from slow morning sex, to playful kisses and a gentle exploration of each other's bodies.
Days passed. Snow fell. Desire burned.
Yet, amidst the quiet beauty of their connection, a subtle tension lingered in the air.
Kale was unlike any man she'd ever brought into her bed. He was excessively gentle, remarkably sweet, and overwhelmingly affectionate—qualities she considered too good for someone like her. Someone messed up in the head, scorned by the entirety of Everwood, and unable to forge meaningful connections with those around her.
Stability was an unfamiliar concept. Yet, Elara often found herself feeling safe by the mere brush of their skins. In those tranquil moments, he would reach for her hand, his touch tender and reassuring, intertwining their fingers as if promising to be a steady presence in her life.
His gaze held a softness that tickled her heart. When she spoke, he listened. When she teased, he responded in kind. When she withdrew, he gave her space. His way with words and ability to decipher the unspoken soothed her tumultuous mind.
He would surprise her with small acts of thoughtfulness, like preparing her go-to comfort food after discovering it through a playful round of twenty questions. Occasionally, he'd leave her short, quirky notes. Unnecessary, since phones existed, but cute as hell.
If the previous gestures weren't sufficient to thaw her icy barriers, Kale managed to create a significant crack with a suggestion she never saw coming. Elara had never imagined he would invite her to meet his family. While they were neighbors, their interactions had been limited to a few polite greetings. What took her by surprise even more was the warm welcome she received around their table.
He was a lonely child just like her. Consequently, his mother fawned over the two of them, almost shoving the food down their throats. His father, though, was a lot more reserved but exuded a no less inviting warmth. Kale, it seemed, was the perfect combination of both their personalities.
It only took two weeks for Elara to conclude that Kale was a beautiful soul that was too good for this life. She feared she might taint him with her baggage.
Once guarded and distant, she now found herself grappling with the intensity of her emotions. Her dark thoughts, though slowly diminishing, cast a shadow on the otherwise bright moments they shared.
Snow continued to fall. Yet, instead of reinforcing her icy fortress, it caught the fire of their blazing passion. The walls began to crumble in the face of everything Kale represented and offered, exposing her to emotions and connections she had long evaded. It was a daunting realization — that what she had been yearning for lay hidden within the very fears she sought to escape.
Kale sprawled over her mother's worn mattress, the messy covers shielding his drool-worthy body from her hungry eyes. She traced the contours of his face for a lingering moment before slipping away to the chilly corridor of her hauntingly empty house.
He embodied everything she had ever wanted and needed – like a gentle breeze on a hot day or a flickering flame after an eternal winter. His mere presence filled her with inexplicable giddiness. He set her body aflame, burning away the lurking monsters in her mind. Yet, despite the bright passion, he remained a steady foundation beneath her stumbling feet.
However, amid this therapeutic connection, one pervasive thought persisted: if he was her remedy, what was she to him? If he was dangerous to the trauma etched into her soul, she recognized herself as an even greater threat to the peace he embodied.
So, Elara resorted to a familiar pattern that served to ease her scattered thoughts—she ran, leaving Kale to wake up to a sorry excuse of a note and the howling wind of her abrupt departure.
'I'm a disease.'
E.
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