Carved in Her Bones

Peter- Now

As I lay beside her, watching as her chest rose and fell in sleep, the faint rhythm of her breathing the only thing grounding me in that moment. The quiet was deceptive—beneath it, the ache I felt twisted tighter, a desperation I hadn't known myself capable of. She'd thrown my carefully built walls into chaos, filled my mind with thoughts that made me reckless. And I couldn't ignore the torment roiling in me, the fury of knowing she would be leaving for Berlin.

It felt so fragile. This was supposed to be simple. But each time I watched her, each time I kissed her, my control fractured. I had bought that apartment thinking it would give me some peace. A compromise, I told myself—a way to feel she'd still be mine while she was away. And yet, there she was, talking about staying with Tadgh, someone who'd known her before I did, a person who'd once loved her. The thought of her in that city, even with our plans, filled me with a possessiveness that I could barely temper.

I had to admit I'd never felt this way before. I wanted her with a raw, unfiltered need that went beyond any rational bounds. She had whispered "I love you" in Spain, but I hadn't heard her say it since. Had she changed her mind? I reached for her in the dark, feeling her warmth, as if just the touch could ease the storm inside me.

And as if she felt it, she stirred, waking, shifting onto my lap, straddling me as her gaze met mine, her hair tumbling messily over her shoulders.

"Is this... is this okay?" she whispered, her voice unsteady.

"What?" I asked, feeling her fear mirrored in my own.

"This. Us." Her eyes searched mine, filled with questions and vulnerability that she usually hid. "The way I feel about you... it scares me sometimes."

"What scares you, Rhian?"

"Everything," she admitted. "Mostly losing you. I feel like I shouldn't say it out loud because it sounds insane. I've never... I've never needed anyone like this." Her voice trembled. "Sometimes, like yesterday when we didn't talk all day, I felt frantic. Like I was going to come apart. And then when I'm near you, even when we're arguing, it's like I can breathe again." She brushed her thumb over my jaw. "It's ridiculous. It's unhealthy. But every part of me wants to be closer. Closer than I even knew was possible."

Her words resonated, striking a place in me that I barely recognized. "It's not crazy," I said, keeping my voice low and steady. "I feel it, too. You don't understand, Rhian—I'm not myself without you. It scares me, too, what you do to me. The way I need you. If it's unhealthy, then I don't care. I don't want healthy. I just want you."

She looked at me, something dark and vulnerable swirling in her gaze, and I knew she felt the same pull I did—one that was inescapable, unrelenting.

I lowered my voice, holding her closer. "I don't want you to be anywhere but with me. I'd give anything to make that happen. And if it makes me a villain, so be it. I'll be whatever I have to be, if it keeps you here."

She stared at me, her expression softening, and when she kissed me, I felt something in me surrender, realizing that she tasted just like my own obsession. I was consumed, and it was dark, and it was ours. And in the quiet after, with her lying beside me, I knew that whatever lay ahead, there was no way out—for either of us.

"Rhian," I started, my voice quieter than I intended. "I want to meet your family. Your friends."

She stilled, her eyes searching mine, a flash of surprise and something else I couldn't quite read flickering in them.

She laughed, but it wasn't light. "Really? You want to see my world?"

"Yes." The certainty of it surprised even me, but it felt right. Necessary. "I want to know the people who know you. To understand you, every part of you. I don't want anything to be hidden from me." My voice was raw, laced with an intensity that felt dangerous, even to me. "I want to know you, Rhian. Completely."

She bit her lip, looking away for a moment. "It's... different. They're different. I don't know what they'd make of you, Tomas." She paused, her tone softening, vulnerable in a way that made my chest ache. "I've kept things... separate. My life with you is... new. It's not something I've shared with them."

But I felt it. The need to be part of her life in every way, even the ones she might not be ready for. This thing between us—it was bigger than just us. And despite the weight of her hesitation, I was undeterred.

I pulled her closer, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Then let's show them." My voice was steady, but I felt the pounding of my heart beneath my ribs. "Let's show them everything about us. About you. I want them to see who you are when you're with me, just like I want to know every part of you."

She sighed softly, a flicker of vulnerability passing over her face. "Alright. I'll bring you to meet them. But, Tomas... this is all of me. And it's messy. They might not understand what we have, but..."

I pressed my forehead to hers. "They don't have to understand. Only you do."

And as we lay there, in the quiet that settled over us, I could feel it—a new layer of trust, something deeper and sharper, binding us even tighter. Her world was about to open to me, and mine to her. Whatever happened next, it was going to be real. And dark as it might get, we were both too far in to turn back.

We met Tadgh that afternoon in a quirky little café near Berlin Central Station. The place was exactly what I'd expect Rhian to love—walls lined with mismatched frames, books piled on every available surface, and a playlist that felt like it was plucked from her own head. Tadgh was already at a table, waving to us with a wide grin that instantly melted away any tension I'd felt.

He greeted Rhian with a bear hug and turned to me with an outstretched hand and a friendly gleam in his eye. I'd imagined this meeting a hundred different ways, each one somehow fraught with the territorial jealousy I'd been holding onto. But Tadgh was... unexpected. Charming, witty, and so unapologetically himself. He immediately asked if I wanted to join his trivia team, laughing as if he'd known me forever. Rhian was completely at ease around him, and I could see why—they shared that rare, deep friendship that just made sense.

It was so obvious Tadgh was protective of her, but not in a way that set off any alarms in me. If anything, he was more curious about me. And, despite myself, I was suddenly very fond of him.

When Rhian and I got back to the hotel that night, something had shifted. We'd passed another test, one more hurdle that brought us closer. It was like we'd reached a quiet understanding: we belonged to each other, and whatever came next, we'd face it together.