dark places - jb & ag {completed}

{fifteen}

I took a quick shower and then got dressed in another pair of black jeans and a strapless black top. I loved that there was a door inside of the bathroom that led to the closet, because believe it or not, for some reason I was too shy to go out into the bedroom with only a towel around my body while I knew Justin was there.

When I stepped out of the closet, I found Justin standing in the middle of the room, waiting for me. His face broke into a wide grin when his eyes landed on me, and I couldn't help but mirror it. He took the few steps that separated us and then held my hands when he stood right in front of me.

"You look so beautiful, Ariana," he said, before kissing the back of my hands – one gentle kiss on the back of each hand, tender kisses that sent warmth over my heart, and it had nothing to do with the heat that was coming from his body.

I smiled shyly. "Thank you," I said, wondering how I could look so beautiful in his eyes when I just had my hair in a ponytail, not in a fancy style or anything. I still couldn't help the feelings that filled my heart at the realization that I was beautiful in his eyes, no matter what I was dressed in or how my hair was styled. His words made me believe so.

Justin then let go of my hands and walked over to the nightstand, where he picked up the glass of honey and the pills that Sophie had brought for me. When he was standing before me again he offered them to me. "You need to take these pills, Beautiful. It will help you with the pain," he said.

"Um ... but I feel fine," I said. I didn't know why, but the thought of drinking anything sounded unpleasant in my head.

"It's good that you feel fine, but you will feel great pain when the new wings come out. These pills will help you with that, and the honey will help make them work faster," Justin explained.

"Uh ... " I still wasn't sure about putting anything in my mouth, but I didn't want to decline Justin's request, not when he was looking at me with those pleading eyes of his.

I took the pills from his hand with a smile I managed to put there just for Justin's sake, but that smile disappeared and was replaced with a grimace once I put the pills in my mouth and tasted the awful flavor of them.

I quickly reached for the glass of honey and took it from Justin's hand, bringing it to my mouth, hoping that the sweet taste of the honey would help me remove the horrible taste of the pills. I was wrong.

The honey tasted as awful as the pills. I thought that maybe if I swallowed quickly I would end this and get over it faster, but I couldn't do that, I couldn't swallow. I started coughing crazily, spitting out the pills and the mouthful of honey that I'd sipped.

In a split second, Justin managed to take the glass from my hand. The next minute he was helping me to sit down on the bed and then he moved a small wet towel over my mouth.

I took the towel from his hand with another, "Thank you," and started wiping wherever there was honey on my hands.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked with concern appearing on his handsome features, kneeling in front of me on the floor.

"This honey doesn't taste anything like the honey I know; it tastes awful," I replied. Justin looked surprised by my words.

"It's the very same honey that you knew in your human life," he said, to my surprise.

"I don't know, Justin. My throat closed anyway, I couldn't swallow," I told him.

Justin's eyes grew larger at the sound of my words. He looked as if he was completely shocked by them, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at me without saying anything.