Hush

14

I hurt. Everything hurts. Braden was wiping a wet cloth across my forehead. I ended up with the flu and I'd always been bad at fighting off the flu.

Over the past month Braden and I had gotten closer, sort of. We were almost like a real couple now..sort of. But I still didn't want to sleep with him, and thankfully he respected that. I hope he kept respecting it. And with my cast off I was ecstatic, but sick.

Braden pulled me closer and whispered softly into my ear as I groaned. "Braden... Everything hurts." I whined, opening my eyes to look into the worried ones of Braden.

"I know babe, but you'll be okay. You're just a little sick. I'll get you something tomorrow when the pharmacies open okay?" He said softly, leaning down and kissing my forehead. He nodded and closed my eyes again, curling up against him as he kept my temperature down. I hadn't gone out and started our plan yet, too scared. I wanted to make sure everything was worked out before I did, just in case something happened. I didn't want to leave anything I regretted. I couldn't go to the hospital for those reasons. I wanted to cry. I was making things worse.

He just comforted me until I finally managed to fall asleep.

I woke up to Braden shaking me. I groan and open my eyes, a migraine already starting. "Hey love-bug. I have some medicine for you." He said, smiling sweetly as he helped me sit up. He gave me the medicine and held the glass of water to my lips and let me take a sip. I smiled some up at him once done and he kissed my forehead. "God... I still can't believe you love me back. It still makes me feel like a giggly school girl." He admitted, causing a blush to claim my fevered face. He laid down beside me again and cuddled me close. There was a nagging at the back of my mind. I'd always wondered what his back story was. But he'd always blown it off. "You're so perfect..." He muttered to me, smiling softly and kissing my clammy forehead. He'd been taking off a lot of work and it worried me. He shouldn't be doing all that. Especially of he was a doctor, people needed his help.

"Braden, why haven't you been going to work?" I asked him frowning some worriedly as I looked up at him. It also bothered me that lately he'd been treating me as more of a friend than anything else. I didn't want him to find someone else now that I finally decided to trust my own feelings. I didn't want to lose him already.

"I took off some time for you. I want to help you. I don't want to be away and have you end up getting worse. I mean you're getting better, your fever is going down some." He said, smoothing the hair from my face and kissing my forehead again. "That and... I'm afraid you'll decide you magically don't like me anymore so I'm trying my hardest to be the best I can." He added, causing my heart to flutter.

"Braden... I don't see how you could think I'd stop loving you. I can't. You're stuck with me until you don't want me anymore. And even then you're still stuck with me because you might end up in prison if you let me go." I threatened playfully, causing a small bit of wonderful laughter to cone from him. I can't believe how much I fell for this man and never realized until Zach, who is fine. He's got his own house and all, he doesn't remember us either so that's also good. We're still safe for now.

"Valen... When you say things like that it makes me want to squeeze you and kiss you and love you all over." He whined, chuckling.

"Then do it. I don't mind." He said, smiling as he pulled me closer, his strong arms squeezing me against his sculpted body. He kissed me all over my face and neck and shoulders, chasing groups of giggles to escape me.

That lasted a few seconds before finally he stopped and sighed some. "God you're so perfect. I don't know how anyone could ever want to hurt you? I'd have bowed at your feet if you wanted me to. You're everything to me. All of this us for you. The house, the car. The yard, me. I bought it all for you, to make you happy." He confessed, causing my cheeks to heat up again and for my eyes to widen in shock. He bought all of this for me?

"Braden you didn't have to-"

"But I wanted to. I wanted to do whatever I could to make you comfortable and happy. I know that in the beginning I wasn't doing a good job at it and that Zach...I'm sorry I slept with him and the others." He mumbled, frowning down at me. He had confessed that he'd slept with about five other people during my time here. It broke my heart and I refused to talk to him for a week, which is when I had gotten sick. He trusts me to go outside now, thankfully, and somehow I'd gotten sick out there. My luck huh?

But I didn't care about that anymore. I just wanted Braden to be mine now, and he was.

"Braden, I don't care. I love you. You could have been living in a cardboard box and I'd still have fallen for you. You're something I never thought I'd be lucky enough to have." I said, smiling brightly and kissing him softly. He seemed a bit shocked by my kissing him, since I'd only just recently decided I was okay with him again, but he did kiss me back. "Its so hard to keep myself from claiming you as mine. But I'll wait for you as long as you need me to. I'll never go stray off again, ever." He promised, causing tears to well up in my eyes.

"Thank you Braden..."