Fallen

Chapter 21

I sat back on the couch and watched my mom clean Martin's wounds in the kitchen. She surprisingly didn't ask questions as to what happened to him, or why I was with him, or even where Jeremy was. She immediately got to work cleaning his wounds. At first I held his hand as he screamed in pain while my mom cleaned the gash in his arm, but I soon found my place on the couch. I heard whispers coming from the kitchen. I looked up to see Martin smiling and my mom lightly laughing.

"Are you done?" I called from the couch.

"Yeah, he's good." My mom spoke, but was still looking at Martin. She whispered one last thing to him and got up from her seat.

"Well I'm going to meet your father at his book signing. We won't be home until late." She approached me and kissed the top of my head. "Be responsible." She whispered before she stood and waved goodbye. I stood from my position at the couch and walked over to Martin, who was still sitting on the kitchen stool.

"You okay?" I asked as I approached. He reached out and grabbed my hips, bringing my frame to stand between his legs.

"I'm good, baby." He placed a kiss on the lower right corner of my mouth. I giggled and pressed my lips to his. His hands immediately moved around my back and hugged me close. I played with the curls on the back of his neck as we kissed. He pulled away and placed kissed down my neck.

"Are you hungry?" He asked between kisses.

"I'm always hungry." He chuckled against my neck and placed one last kiss before meeting my eyes.

"I'll make you dinner." He got up from the stool and opened the fridge.

"Well, you really don't have groceries," he laughed. "What about pasta?"

"I'll eat anything." Martin lightly chuckled before getting out a pot to boil the water.

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It was around 5:30 when Martin finished. I had made the table and gotten us both a glass of water. He served us both portions of the vegetable pasta he made. We sat down together at the table and started eating.

"Mmm!" I moaned when I put the the spoonful in my mouth.

"Do you like it?" Martin asked.

"Yes," I said with a full mouth. He chuckled.

"You have a habit of talking with your mouth full." I quickly swallowed and wiped my face with a napkin.

"Sorry, I'm not used to having to care."

"It's okay. I still think you're adorable." He winked at me.

"That's why I like you," I shoved another spoonful of pasta in my mouth.

"Why do you like me?" Martin set down his utensils and stared at me.

"What?"

"Why do you like me? What do you like about me?" He waited patiently for me to answer.

"I care about you, Martin. I don't just like you. I feel like I can let my guard down around you. You don't care how weird I can get, I still feel accepted. And you have a sense of mystery about you. It's unexplainable but I about drawn to you." Martin stared at me for a second before he ran a hand through his hair. He sat deep in thought for what seemed like forever. He inhaled deeply and spoke.

"When I was ten, my dad played baseball with me in the backyard almost everyday. I couldn't hit the ball with the bat, so I practiced until I could. I wanted him to be proud. The smile on his face showed me I had succeeded when I made the baseball team in middle school. I can clearly remember everything from that day. It was by far the best day in my life." He stopped speaking for a moment and smiled. I stared at him confused as to where this story was going. I waited silently for him to continue.

"I had to quit when I turned fifteen. I blew a muscle in my arm and couldn't play anymore. After baseball, there wasn't much for me and my dad to talk about. Only months after that, Mom started getting chronic headaches. Sometimes it got so bad, she would wake up in the middle of the night screaming. My dad would cradle her, saying everything was going to be okay. But I could see that he was scared. My parents are so in love, I can only hope to have that love. My mom adores my father, and he worships at her feet. I saw the anxiety in my dad's eyes the day we took my mom to the doctor. We were both scared." In that moment I realized he was telling me his story.

"Martin, you don't have to." I reached out and grasped his hand.

"No, let me tell you." He closed his eyes and laced his fingers through mine. "They found three tumors in her brain. She was diagnosed with stage three brain cancer." I pulled his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckles.

"I'm so sorry."

"My dad started on getting her treatments right away. She did chemotherapy and radiation right away, but they didn't help. She lived in pain. That's when my father started to drink. He didn't have hope, so he's trying to kill himself with her. He's drunk almost every night. When he gets too drunk, or mad, he blames me. His belt has become his best friend. I stopped going to school so much a couple of years ago because I couldn't handle the pain. I hid in the woods behind my house on most days, or I would sit at my mothers bedside. She never knew. She still doesn't know. I hide it from her and I know he doesn't tell her." I got up out of my chair and moved to him. He looked into my eyes and I saw the tears starting to form in his. I sat on his lap and hugged him close to me.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered into his hair.

"Don't be, baby." Martin kissed the side of my head. "I'm okay."

"I dirt bike because I need the money to pay for her morphine." I leaned back in his lap and held his face.

"What?"

"None of the treatments worked. I just want to make sure she is comfortable. I want her to be happy." He gave me a small smile. He touched his lips to mine tentatively. The kiss tasted of saltiness from both of our tears. His story touched my heart, especially because he hadn't told anyone. Martin trusted me with the most intimate part of his life. I needed to show him how much that meant to me; how much I cared for him. I pulled away only centimeters, our lips still slightly touching. I tried to say the words. I tried to tell him how I felt about him, but I couldn't let myself do it. I couldn't let my walls down just yet. I needed to know I was safe. Instead I took his bottom lip between my teeth. He looked up as if he was startled, then slammed his mouth back on top of mine. He rose from his seat and lifted me with him. He held me bridal style and set me laying down on the couch. Our lips detached for only a second before he came down directly above me. He slid one arm under me and pulled me up towards him. His kisses were sweet and kind, but also forceful and longing. I knew in this moment, there was no place I'd rather be.

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Now we know who Martin is...
He's got a bad story but he's a good guy.

Thanks for all the reads guys.

Please feel free to VOTE and COMMENT. 

~GracePamela1