Book 5: I'll Wait, Dear (Steven Adler FanFic)

Ch. 34: Like Old Times

As soon as we had arrived at Steven's house, we took Cathy to sleep in the guest room. Steven lifted the comforter up for me and I lay Cathy's resting body in the bed. At first, Steven continued to hold the blanket up for me, but I gave him a questioning look.

"Aren't you gonna' lay down?" Steven asked with a smirk, nodding to the empty space beside Cathy.

I shrugged.

"I don't know if I can sleep right now," I admitted softly, my gaze falling to Catherine's peaceful face. "I've got a lot on my mind."

There was a long pause.

"Well, a lot happened tonight," Steven agreed, his voice a gentle lull. "But you need to try and rest, Rory."

I shook my head. "I don't know if I can."

More silence enveloped us.

I frowned. I wasn't trying to be difficult, I just honestly had no desire to sleep. I had too much racing through my mind right now. Like the fact that I would someday have to explain to Cathy how I had failed her as a parent. How her father had gone to jail for a night to sober up after almost attacking us both.

There was already enough about myself that I was too ashamed to tell her; how I was a stripper to make ends meet, how I had been raped and she was the product of that rape, and how I had run away like an idiot when the man who loved me had been standing right in front of me all along.

I was a bad mother, and the thought of it brought me to tears.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Steven asked, immediately rushing to my side when he saw the tears beginning to fall.

"I'm a terrible mother!" I sobbed, falling into him as he held me. His fingers tangled into my hair as he pulled me close and held me to his chest. "I'm so scared, Steven. I'm so, so scared."

"Why are you scared?" He asked softly, petting my hair as he held me.

"What if she turns out bad? What if she makes mistakes? I don't want her to get hurt, ever. I don't want her to be like me!" I cried. My arms wrapped around his waist and I crushed myself against him. The warmth of his body was like a blanket, and I hoped to find some comfort in it.

"What's so wrong about being like you?" Steven demanded. He had let me cry for a moment, but he now was lifting my face up to his, cupping my cheeks perfectly in his palms. "Huh? What's so bad about you, Rory?"

I sniffled, soft hiccups wracking my body as I tried to speak. "I...I...I had a baby so young...I let him rape me, and I let him back into our lives like an idiot."

"You're hopeless, Rory. Really, you are," he said with a chuckle, lifting a hand to push my bangs from my face.

"I know!" I sobbed, my tears coming down harder than before.

"No! No, I didn't mean it like that!" He laughed, pulling me to him and kissing the top of my head. "You're hopeless because you blame yourself for everything. Listen to me."

He pulled away from me, his face becoming serious as he spoke.

"You didn't let him rape you. He took advantage of you."

"But-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" He shushed me. I clamped my mouth shut and waited for him to continue. "Because he raped you, you had a baby so young. But what's wrong with that? You take care of her, you love her, and I doubt you regret having her."

"But I'm a stripper," I whined. "Who wants a mom who's a stripper?"

He smirked. "I think it's pretty hot."

I blushed and slapped at his arm. Still, I couldn't help but giggle at his lame joke. He waited for me to stop slapping him before he spoke again.

"I don't care what you say, Aurora. I hope Catherine turns out just like you, because you're just about the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."

I rested a hand on his chest, feeling his heart just below my palm, beating about as fast as my own.

"I meant what I said to you. In the car," I clarified. "I don't know why you didn't believe me."

His smile faded a bit and I felt his heart beginning to speed up even more. "I don't know. I just don't want you to say it unless you mean it. I just thought you were scared and hurt and needed someone and you knew it was what I wanted to hear."

I nodded, biting my lip. "You're right. I am scared, and hurt. I do need someone to comfort me, and I know that it's what you've always wanted to hear. But that isn't why I said it."

His eyes were studying me carefully, almost as if he was trying to read my mind. I felt like he was scared to believe my words, to trust me completely. I know I had hurt him before, and he was probably scared I'd do it again.

To my surprise, he brought a hand up to my own and pressed my palm even closer to his chest. He squeezed my fingers lightly.

"You know I love you," he said, watching me carefully.

"Of course I do. And now, you know I love you too."

Gingerly, I stepped onto my tip toes and I closed the distance between us. My lips brushed his softly, and he grabbed at the small of my back. The movement pressed our lips together firmly and the warm tingling that erupted throughout my body was enough to make me see stars.

His lips began to move, capturing mine in a slow, sultry dance. When his tongue began to find its way into my mouth, I didn't feel the desire to object.

Having him this close to me, finally being able to touch and kiss, it was absolute bliss. My head was reeling, and I felt dizzy. I tried to stay upright as the kiss grew more passionate, but my legs were weak and my knees were knocking. Luckily, Steven's hands held me firmly, never wavering as I trembled and shook in his arms.

Even when I was completely breathless, I waited until I was about blue in the face to finally pull away from him. Truth be told, the kiss was a long time coming, and I didn't want it to end. Steven, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed at all by the sudden halt of the kiss. He was beaming brightly down at me, his eyes practically disappearing from his face as they squinted to make room for his wide smile.

"What are you so happy about, Mr. Adler?" I teased, finally leaving him and crawling into bed beside Cathy. I needed to get away from him before things got too hot. I didn't have the energy, nor was I in the proper mindset for some of the things that I wanted to do with him right now.

"Oh, nothing," he snickered, crawling into bed behind me and spooning up to me. "Just happy to be with my family, that's all."

The word family caught my attention, and I smiled at the mention of the word. I was glad that he thought of us as his family just as much as I was starting to like the idea of it. The three of us; me, Steven, and Cathy. A family. The thought made my heart swoon.

"Yeah, well, go to bed family man," I ordered. "We've got a rambunctious toddler to deal with in the morning."

"It is morning," he reminded me with a peck on the cheek.

"I hate you," I muttered in response to his lame joke.

He laughed appreciatively. "Just like old times."