Sapphire Moon

The Little Big Things

Oliver's POV

Her whole demeanor changed in a matter of three simple words in the form of a question. "Your self-esteem issues?"

"That's what you're taking away from that?!" She shot up out of her chair and shouted at me. "And here I thought you would be different. Gosh, why am I so stupid?" She said as she started walking to the door. Just as she reached the door, I stopped her by grabbing her hand that was on the doorknob gently. She didn't move.

"I promise, that's not at all what I took away from what you told me. I'm sorry to hear about your mom, I didn't know you were a child when she 'passed'. My parents passed and it devastated me. I'm sorry my mouth doesn't always know when to keep shut. Just remember, she's in another room as we speak. Which I'm sure brings up more emotions than you're ready for and are not sure how to feel about it. To be honest, I'm just a little shocked you have self-esteem issues. You are perfect the way you are and I'm just baffled by it." Dawn turned toward me and let me take her whole hand in mine. "I'm sorry, I  shouldn't have..." I started to say as I was trying to let go of her hand, but she stopped me by grabbing my hand with hers and interlacing the fingers as she looks into my eyes.

"Don't apologize, I should've understood what you meant, or even that you were confused. I tend to have some major mood swings. Courtesy of my dad I'm sure. You may not want me as a mate once I tell you how broken I really am." She took a deep breath and let it out while shaking slightly. I could faintly feel her anxiousness and shaking through her hand.

"I promise you, nothing will make me love you any less. You are my mate. Good or bad, we're meant to be." She searched my eyes to see if she could find any hint of me being dishonest. She didn't and let out a sigh of relief.

"Not only do I not know if I'm going to shift tonight, but I'm bipolar. I've also got PSTD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD to a degree. I'm one of the most broken women you'll ever meet." Her eyes started tearing up and I couldn't help but pull her to me and wrap my arms around her and put my head on hers while she nestled into my chest.

"Dawn, I don't care about any of that. You could be a serial killer, and I'd still love you. I may not know much about any of those disorders, other than the OCD, ADHD, anxiety and depression, but I'm willing to research and learn. I want to support you in everything. I want to be there for you when you're having a really bad break down, or when you're anxious, or elated. I want to experience it all with you." She was sobbing at this point and I just rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head while she let out all the emotions she hadn't faced yet. After about ten minutes, she calmed down enough to leave my embrace. While looking down as she took a step back, I lifted her chin slightly and lightly kissed her. "Are you ready to change into something more comfortable or possibly go for a run?"

"Yeah, I guess we could go for a run. Can I still change in your room?"

"OUR room, and yes, you're more than welcome to come and go as you please from our room." She nodded and I opened the door for her and we walked hand in hand to our room. On the way there, we ran into Devin and Riley. 'Hey guys, you fairing ok? How's the ASL lessons going?' I mind-linked Devin and signed at the same time.

'It's going. She's a fast learner, but she's been acting weird. I'll tell you about it later. We're going to grab some food.' Devin replied while signing, but skipping the part about Riley's behavior. She must be learning faster than I thought since he skipped that. I nodded and started to lead Dawn to our room.

"What did he say? I know he mind-linked you and signed. I'm pretty sure he left something out by the way you looked at him funny."

"He said the training was going good and that she's a fast learner."

"But....." I let out a sigh. It's amazing that she can already tell when I'm omitting something.

"But, he said she was acting strange. He said he would talk to me about it later and that they were going to get food. That was all he said."

"I think I know why. If I tell you, you have to swear not to tell Devin. Riley should tell him, if she hasn't already."

"I swear on my life, may the Moon Goddess strike me down if I repeat anything to Devin." I said holding my hand up crossing my heart with the other one. "You can wait until we're in our room if you'd like."

"I think that would be best. It'll prevent any unwanted ears listening too." With that being said, she swung our joined hands back and forth like a little kid happy as a clam, until we reached the room. I opened the door and held it open for her, and she thanked me. I closed the door behind us and locked it. She looked at me with a cocked head that looked as if she were questioning my intentions.

"When my door is locked, it engages a spell that make the room sound proof from the outside. So they can't hear us, but we can hear them."

"Alright then, that makes sense. Where should I begin?"

"As far back as necessary."

"Riley has two second chance mates."