Lost in Hollywood

Shades of Grey

Sky stood in the doorway, wrapped in darkness, looking like a dream, but with every heartbeat, sleepiness was leaving Eli's system. His mind cleared up. This was real. She was really here—

"I had— a nightmare," she whispered, her voice almost lost in the shadows. "Can I come in?"

Eli swallowed hard to clear his throat that suddenly felt a bit thick.

"Yeah. Of course."

She closed the door as silently as she could and slipped across the room like a ghost. Everything was bleached of colours, the world was painted by sharp contrasts and shades of grey. Sky's skin was white as milk in the pale moonlight, her eyes were black. The loose pajama set she was wearing revealed more than it hid - the shape of her slender waist, a universe of bare skin on her thighs and arms. Before Eli could even take it all in, she was in the bed with him, crawling under the sheets. The warmth of her body called to him like a flame to a moth.

"Hold me?" she asked, a trace of tears still in her voice.

The words failed him. It took a heartbeat or two for her words to register, but when they did, he quickly made room for her in the bed. He wrapped an arm around her body and pulled her close, her back against his chest and his belly. The curve of her body fit perfectly against him, and oh God, how it made him ache, as if his bones were carved hollow.

"What happened?" He breathed, his lips close to her ear. "Are you okay?"

"Just— just a bad dream." Her words came shaky, as if she was still trying to suppress the sobs that wanted to break through. "Didn't want to wake Dad up. I feel like— like I'm always waking him up. Can I just— stay here for a while?"

Thoughts were flashing through Eli's mind too fast for him to make sense of them, or to catch one. Her Dad— Nicholas would fucking flay him alive if he found them like this. He had made it perfectly clear Eli wasn't to go anywhere near Sky during the night, or there would be consequences. But he hadn't even left his bed. It was Sky who had come to him. Did it still count?

Yes, it did. Eli knew it. He knew that having Sky in his bed like this was breaking all the rules. He knew he should go and wake Nicholas up and ask him to take care of Sky. And yet—

And yet, he knew he couldn't do that. Sky had come to him, to him, asking for help. She needed him. If he sent her away now, it would ruin everything between them for a long time. Possibly forever.

"It's okay," he sighed, pulling her closer. "You can stay here as long as you want to."

For a moment, or for the rest of the night. For the rest of your life. All the way to the fucking afterlife. Please, never leave me again.

It took everything not to say that out loud. His throat worked painfully as he swallowed those unsaid sentences, and just held her. He was shirtless, only wearing his boxer shorts, and with every inch of his skin, he could feel her pressing against his body - the heavenly curve of her hip under his arm, the round softness of her ass pressing against his lower belly. Oh God, how much he had missed this, having her close like this, breathing in the scent of her hair with every strained inhale.

"You want to talk about the nightmare?" He asked softly, after a minute of silence that felt like a lifetime. "Was it— about Kyler?"

She tensed, her breath hitched. For a moment, he thought she wouldn't answer, but finally she did.

"No. Cody."

Of course. He should've guessed. He should have kept his stupid mouth shut.

He cradled her against his chest, a bit tighter, but her body kept shivering as if she was fighting to keep herself together.