Tempest // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 68

Sebastian gathered a few pillows and blankets and set up a makeshift bed for himself.

The images of what he'd done replayed in his head, and while he was happy at the time, he now realised it was probably a very bad choice that was going to have very bad consequences for Rosie.

He listened to her drift off to sleep, her voice making tiny hiccups. Evidence of her crying.

Sebastian tossed and turned, forcing himself to try and get some sleep, but it eluded him for hours.

Until a gentle padding of bare feet across the floor roused him and he opened his eyes to see Rosie sliding in beside him.

"You okay?" He asked softly, lifting the blanket for her to climb under.

"No," she sniffed, "Could you hold me?"

He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he was going to make things worse for her, but he knew that in that moment, all she wanted was comfort. And he would always provide her with that when she asked.

So he wrapped his arms around her tightly, feeling the warmth of her skin against his bare chest as he felt her begin to sob again, her body heaving and chokes coming from her throat.

He let a hand wander to her hair, sliding his fingers in between the golden locks and gently massaging her scalp. He didn't know what exactly was causing her to react that way, besides the fact they'd slept together though surely that wasn't the case since she was now cuddling up to him, but he did understand that all she needed and was seeking was comfort. And that he could do.

He continued to stroke her hair gently, finding his other hand gently intertwining with one of hers on its own accord and began to hum gently into her neck.

"Rosie, Rosie, give me your answer do..."

Her heavy sobs began to subside to a gentle hiccup until Sebastian was certain he'd lulled her into a sleep.

"I'm half crazy, all for the love of you..."

Sebastian sleepily closed his own eyes, thankful Rosie was asleep and not hearing the way his voice croaked as he hummed the song he'd sung to her before, confessing the love he'd always held for her knowing she'd never know.

He hummed until he lulled himself to sleep, relishing the familiar feeling of Rosie in his arms despite the fact they were on the floor and not the perfectly comfortable bed, but he wouldn't dare disturb her.

Rosie woke up before Sebastian in the early hours of the morning, realising she was curled up against her naked ex-boyfriend, naked herself, and the deep seed of regret that had been planted began to grow.

She softly lifted Sebastian's arm off her torso and shimmied out of the makeshift floor bed, taking care to stay silent and she stretched her neck and back from sleeping on such an uncomfortable surface.

She tiptoed across the room, collecting a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself before sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the window she could barely look at now. But she stared beyond it, peering out over the streets of Cairo as the sun began to rise, casting pink and orange hues across the buildings and into Sebastian's room.

As much as she tried not to, the soft sleeping sounds still coming from the man on the floor seemed to soothe her. Once annoying, his open-mouthed breathing felt like a relief, but then that feeling made her feel even worse.

Rosie's head was an utter mess.

She crept about the room, careful not to disturb Sebastian and collected some fresh clothes from her suitcase, hoping that a cool shower would calm her thoughts enough to decide on a plan.