LOVELORN

47|Remembering & marks

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ＺＯＲＡ'Ｓ ＰＯＶ

WHEN NAYA had stopped shaking in my arms, she remained in my embrace for a few more minutes before gathering the strength to pull away. Dad had long left to give us some privacy. I knew he would ask questions tomorrow, however.

I opened my mouth to speak but a gasp came out instead. For a moment, Naya's eyebrows furrowed before the realization of why I was staring at her face seemed to crash over her. The fact that the bruise was on the side of her face not turned my way and that her hair had been covering it, prevented me from seeing it before. But now that I was looking at her properly, there was no hiding the mark on her face.

Subconsciously, my hand reached out to her face, but she flinched away before I could get too close, making me immediately retract it.

"Did...did your parents do this?" I whispered, not because I was afraid that I would bother Dad, but because it felt almost wrong to voice it aloud. Too sensitive of a topic to speak about in a normal tone.

She turned away from me like looking at me would make it more real, or maybe because she didn't want me to see the bruise. Her face was blank, but I knew her and I knew she was reliving the memory in her head.

"I don't want to...I can't talk about this, not tonight. I'm exhausted."

"Naya, we have to-"

"I know. Just not tonight, please? I just want to sleep," she said, her voice pleading and pained in a way that made my heart ache.

I couldn't say no to that, even if I had a million questions and a million regrets. If only I had managed to get her away earlier, this wouldn't have happened. I should have done so much more to help her. But now she was here, and I wouldn't let her go back. Though it seemed she had no intention to. I assumed she'd left after a fight or that she'd gotten kicked out. Either option sounded possible and both were horrible.

"Of course. Whatever you feel comfortable with," I reassured her and unable to stop myself, held her to me again. Largely to provide her comfort, but also because I simply wanted her close, in my arms where I knew she was safe from harm.

Having zero contact with her this week had been torture when I had no clue what was going on. I had missed her so much, not just this week, but the past few months. It was something I never wanted to go through again. I promised I would never be the cause of any pain for her again, and I would do everything in my power to keep that promise.

"I got you," I murmured, planting a gentle kiss on her head. "I got you."

"I'm so tired," Naya said, so quietly I nearly didn't catch it.

I could hear the exhaustion in her voice, could feel it in her body. And I knew she didn't mean it just physically. Tears cascaded down my face, her words making it hard to breathe when I just wanted her to be happy. I couldn't stand to see her so repeatedly in pain, so constantly tired when she was everything good in this world. She deserved the sun and the moon and all the fucking stars. I was certain there was a piece of my soul missing until I met her. Maybe I never truly believed in destiny, but Naya was my light and I couldn't imagine a world that she wasn't in.

"I know, I know," I said softly, holding her closer and taking a deep breath to keep it together. 

After a couple of minutes, she moved back just enough to look at me tenderly. Her eyes darted back and forth between my eyes, the crease between her brows softening. She rested her forehead against mine, eyelids fluttering shut and hand holding my face. Her thumb moved up and down soothingly. I soaked in the feeling of having her so close, leaning into her touch and letting my eyes close as well.