Bliss

Chapter 17: What's In The Past, Stays In The Past

Dom's POV:

I groan quietly and rub my eyes. It's after 2 am, I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep. I don't know why I'm so restless.

I slowly get out of bed and leave my room, taking the few steps down the hall to Matt's room. His door is open and I lean against the door frame for a few moments before entering.

"Matt?" I say quietly as I place a hand on his bare shoulder. He shifts and opens his eyes.

"Dom, is everything okay?" he asks, sitting up slowly. The first thing I notice in the dim light is the fact that he isn't wearing a shirt.

"Hey, um," I mumble, sitting down next to him.

"Can't sleep?" he yawns as he grabs my hand. "You can spend the night in here if you want."

"Really?" I ask. He simply responds by nodding. "Thank you." It's dark, but I think that I can see him smile as he lies back down, pulling me along with him. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer, his chest against my back. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and something about his warm breath against my bare skin just soothes me.

"We should do this more often," he mumbles as he runs one of his hands up my shirt, resting it against my bare chest.

"Mhm," I hum. I smile to myself and close my eyes, focusing on Matt's warmth. He moves his hand out from under my shirt and pulls at the hem of it.

"Mind if we take this off?" he whispers, pulling my shirt up slowly. 

"Not at all," I whisper back, taking my shirt off and tossing it on the floor. He wraps his arms around my waist again and pulls me as close as possible. "Hey, Matt?" I mumble. "What did you mean the other day when you said-"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow morning," he interrupts. "I promise." I don't say anything in response, I just go back to thinking about Matt's warm breath on my neck. After awhile, his breathing becomes shallow and I know that he's fallen asleep. I glance at the clock on the other side of the room and it's almost 3 in the morning. I'll be lucky to get two or three hours of sleep tonight. 

I just can't stop thinking about what he said...

Matt's POV:

I wake up to find Dom still lying next to me. I prop myself up on one elbow and look at him in the morning light that's streaming through the window. 

Three months ago, Dom was so sure that he wasn't going to survive. But now, you can see that he's getting better. He's not as pale as when I first met him, he's not so thin, and he just has so much more energy. It's almost like he's a different person.

Dom shifts so he's lying on his back and he opens his eyes slowly. I lean over and kiss him passionately, taking his lower lip between my teeth. He doesn't hesitate to kiss me back and wrap his arms around my neck. He pulls away slightly, his lips still brushing against mine. 

"You promised," he whispers and I immediately sit up. I was hoping that he was too tired to remember me saying that, but he would have asked me again anyway. I slide out of bed and run my hand through my hair. I walk to the window and lean against the wall, looking outside. I can hear Dom walking up behind me and he places a hand on my shoulder. "Please," he sighs. I grab his hand and pull him back to my bed, sitting down on the edge as I motion for him to do the same. 

I pull my left knee up to my chest and roll up the leg of my sweatpants, revealing dozens of pale pink scars. Dom doesn't say anything; he just stares at my shin as his grip on my hand tightens.

"Why didn't you show me sooner?" he asks, turning and looking me in the eyes. 

"It was in the past and I like to focus on the present," I mumble, moving my pant leg back in place. He's still looking at me, but I turn away and close my eyes. I don't want to see worry in his gorgeous, grey eyes. We just sit there in silence for what feels like eternity. I'm a little shocked when I feel Dom's arms around me.

"I'll always love you," he whispers. "Despite your past. I just feel like we're meant to be together." I turn and wrap my arms around his waist. "When I look at you, I know that... that..." He pauses and laughs to himself. "That I'll always love you for who you are."

"You sure about that?" I mumble, burying my face in his bare shoulder.

"Of course," he responds as he moves away slightly. He looks me up and down and I can feel my face heating up. "Maybe we should put some more clothes on."

"Or," I say, a smile playing with my lips. I put a hand on his waist, the other on the back of his head, and I crash my mouth against his before he can answer. He just sits there for a moment before placing his hands on my waist and kissing me back. I shift so I'm straddling him at the hips and I push him down slowly. I have his shoulders pinned under my palms and I look down at him before smiling and leaning down to whisper in his ear.

"You sure?" I ask him quietly.

He nods in response and pulls me closer.