I LIVE THIS, I BREATHE THIS, YOU CRAVE IT

CHAPTER 6: This Can't Be Happening

It was nearing dusk, the last of the sunlight coming through our living room window as I stood in the kitchen. Soft rock music played through our stereo that sat on the bottom shelf of the TV stand. A silent true crime YouTube video played on the TV. The house was quiet, Barry and Luna sleeping in the bedroom with Rhea. I had vegetables cooking in a pan on the stove and rice cooking in the pressure cooker as I set the table for two. The kitchen light glowed softly above me casting a golden light over our white marble kitchen island. I moved one barstool to the end and one adjacent to it.

I thought about waking Rhea up when I got up, but after the few days that she's had mentally, I decided to let her get her rest and surprise her with a nice calm night. I had a movie picked out, I made stir-fry (with a few healthy tweaks, of course) and I even lit a few scented candles around the house. The living room was all clean and organized and I finished our laundry as I made dinner so that she didn't have to worry about anything when she woke up. The nights like these were my favorite. I love taking care of my girl the way that she takes care of me. It was in these small actions that we got reminded what we really mean to each other and I would do whatever I could to make sure Rhea knew how much she meant to me.

I took the vegetables off the stove and the rice was done cooking not long after. Once our plates were prepared and our wine glasses full, I went upstairs to wake up Rhea. Our bedroom was dark with our curtains closed and I could just make out the silhouette of Rhea curled up under the duvet as I opened the door. As soon as Barry and Luna saw me, they stirred. They were careful not to get too rambunctious, wagging their tails and quietly walking to the end of the bed to meet me. After I corralled them out of the room, I opened the curtains and sat next to Rhea.

She was curled up into a ball, the duvet covering everything but her face. Seeing her so peaceful made me reluctant to wake her, but we had to eat and I knew she wouldn't want to have her sleep schedule ruined either. So I pulled the duvet down a little and ran my hand through her hair gently so that I didn't startle her.

"Time to wake up," I whispered. She stirred a little at my words so I kept going. "Come on, honey, let's get you washed up and then we can have some dinner." I kept a steady stroking motion with my hand as I continued to speak and eventually at the mention of food, her eyes cracked open.

She groaned as her body caught up to her brain and I smiled. "There she is," I said sweetly. "I have some veggies and rice all ready for us downstairs and I thought maybe we could watch a movie?" I proposed.

All at once she bear hugged me and pulled me down to the bed, landing on top of me and effectively keeping me in her trap. I giggled as she lay like a dead weight on top of me.

"Five more minutes," she said, her voice muffled in my neck.

"Can't. Breathe. Suffocating," I said dramatically.

"Okay, okay," she laughed. "Let's go. Shower time." She rolled off of me and out of bed. I took her hand when she held it out for me and she pulled me up to stand in front of her. Grabbing my face with both of her hands, she gave me an aggressive peck on the lips before she pulled me with her toward the bathroom.

"Wait, I already showered," I said as she pulled me along. I put up a half-hearted struggle, deciding that showering again wouldn't hurt. Especially if it was with her.

She didn't say anything as she pulled me to the bathroom and started the water. I stood in the doorway just looking at her. She was still naked from our excursions a few hours prior and looking as gorgeous as ever. Her hair was messy from sleep before she ran her hands through it to get it off her face. The little marks on her wrists were something that I didn't notice until just now. Most likely from her tugging on the cuffs earlier, but I needed a closer look. I walked over and silently grabbed her forearms and pulled them down to where I could inspect them. Gently running my fingers over the marks, I followed my touch with a kiss on each of her wrists.