Protect me.

Bitter sweet symphony.

Adam's POV

The next couple of weeks were full of the same bitter sweetness. We joked, we laughed, we kissed,  we held hands, we watched dozens of movies, we shared stories, she tried to teach me how to plait, I taught her some guitar, she sang for me, I sang for her, we fell asleep together, and woke up in each others arms, we walked at dawn and at dusk, when we couldn't sleep, she taught me about tornado's, and hurricanes, and other such things that fascinated her, I taught her to play some piano, she taught me how to make the best apple crumble I have ever tasted, I tried to teach her  to drum, she preferred just bashing them, and laughing hysterically, she told me about her childhood, I told her about mine, although there wasn't much to tell. Each day that passed was like reading an exciting new page in a beautiful, crazy, wonderful, novel.

Foolishly, I was too caught up in the beginning to realise that a miserable ending awaited me, just pages away. 

She was getting thinner, and her leg wasn't healing properly. She was weak and in immense pain. I knew she didn't want to go back to the hospital, so I didn't press her. Even though it will killing me, and her. She knew how desperate I was for her to get better.

It's so incredibly hard to take care of someone when they're so obstinate not to help themselves.

One afternoon, exactly one month after I had first stumbled upon her, one month in which we had spent every waking moment together, she lay in my arms, distracting me with her soft lips, that teased mine, as the vivid colours of Beauty and the beast blurring on the T.V flickered in the corner of my eye. The credits rolled and she unlocked her lips from mine.

She got up to make a simple bathroom trip and just...

Collapsed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat by her side for three whole days while they worked to fix what she had worsened by being so stubborn. They operated on her leg whilst she was out and fed her supplements through tubes. The rest of her body was slowly recovering but her face remained sheet white. The life drained from it.

She woke up three days later. 3 long, grudging days. At approximately 3:54pm her eyelids fluttered open to reveal two beautiful amber irises.

'Hey Fee, it's Adam, I'm here'

'My head hurts' it was barely a whisper

'Fee you collapsed, you got so weak you- you've been comatose for three days, they fixed your leg a-and they've being feeding you through tubes Fee I-'

My voice faltered, I had held back the tears for three whole days, and now they were coming all at once.

'Fee I didn't think you were going to make it...'

She nodded feebly.

I swallowed hard.

'They told me something Fee. You've been here before haven't you. Several times. Broken ribs. Broken jaw. Third degree burns. That man didn't kidnap you Fee you know him. You've been subjecting yourself to domestic violence for four years now Fee. And from your own brother.'

Her eyes grew wide and her face malformed into a hostile scowl.

'Had a little snoop around did we..' she croaked, her tone ice cold, her eyes like daggers, holding me in my seat

'Why wouldn't you tell me this. And most of all why would you let that happen to you for four fucking years Fee'

'Everybody has issues. Hurdles they cant overcome without someone by there side, helping them over. Yes, Adam. My brother has problems. But  I love him. And he needed me.'

'You're insane.'

'Maybe. But I'd like to hear that you wouldn't do the same if it was someone you loved'

I sat there, jaw clenched, fists in painfully tight balls, tears flowing freely, staring at her.

'GO ON' she yelled, coughing, and wheezing, her breaths sharp

'I WANT TO HEAR YOU SAY IT' she started to hyperventilate

'FOR CHRIST SAKE FEE, STOP! YOU'RE KILLING YOURSELF'

She started to weep, her breaths laboured.

I pulled her into my arms and held her. She convulsed In my arms, shoulders shuddering, whole body shaking. I gently stroked her hair.

'Shhhh, Fee I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice I just-I can't cope with this, you need to promise me you'll get better'

'Y-You n-need to take care of m-me, YOU PROMISED' she howled

'Fee, I did everything I could, you almost died Fee, and I cant bring you back once you're gone' My tone was desperate 'I'll be by your side every day, and then, when you're healthy, I can take you home with me, forever if that's what you want, and I'll never hurt you Fee, I know this has been so hard for us but I love you'

The sobbing started to died down almost immediately and she looked into my eyes.

'The kind of love you have for me is the same kind of love I have for my brother. Its fucked up.'

'That may be true. We're no ordinary people Fee. We've got our quirks. Periods in our lives we'd rather forget, but I think that just makes the love I have for you all the more special, wouldn't you agree?'

'No' she growled

'That's okay. I didn't expect you to.' I laughed light-heartedly and kissed her softly on the forehead.

She shot me an unfriendly glare before rolling all the way over to the other side of the bed, so that her back was facing me. 

I was going to be here a while. There was plenty of time to earn her forgiveness.