Him. {Scomiche}

11

It wasn't very long before I realized that time with Scott doesn't work the same way as normal time. Days spent in his company seemed to fly by and before long Christmas was over 4 days behind me. So much had changed in so little time, so many moments of joy and happiness created by his side.  

The movie theater outing had been quite the success. It didn't hurt that Scott had been right and we were virtually alone and our hands kept knocking into each other as we reached into our shared bucket of popcorn. That night when we were sitting in front of the fire he'd handed me a beautifully wrapped red box, the contents inside spilling another round of tears. Inside I found another pair of the same kind of Belstaff gloves he'd given me during our first meeting. I was reminded of both his initial kindness and the hopelessness I'd nearly drowned in when they were ripped from my hands.

He hugged me close and whispered words of comfort and assurance, chasing away the darkness like only he had the ability to do.

The day after, he took me shopping for some new things, and try as I might, he was too stubborn to take no for an answer. I felt out of place in the shops, but Scott seemed to enjoy picking out different outfits and accessories so I tried not to embarrass him by arguing.

We visited Malory at the coffee shop, but it was busier than we'd anticipated so she didn't have much time to talk. She wasn't very happy that I'd lied about my name, but she was also too kind to hold it against me for very long, even without a substantial explanation. She even slipped an extra muffin into our bag and upgraded the size of my coffee with a cheery 'Merry Christmas, Mitch!!' written on the side. It wasn't really that big of a deal, but it made my entire day and I couldn't stop smiling after that.

I'd very nearly forgotten about my stitches until Scott was waking me up early the next day for my appointment.

Immediately my heart sank and I knew that the end had finally caught up with me. My fairytale vacation from reality was over and I'd return to the cold where I belonged. I was terrified of going back, but Scott mistook my apprehension as fear of the actual procedure.

He reassured me, more than once, that it wouldn't hurt, but I just wanted to scream that it would hurt more than he'd ever understand.

It didn't take long for the stitches in my head to be removed, but after a quick examination, it was determined that the few along my ribs and the others on my back weren't ready yet and needed a few more days to heal. I nearly cried in relief at the news and couldn't even focus as Scott made all the arrangements for my next return visit.

When he turned to me on the way to his car and said, "We should pick up Chinese on the way home. I'm having a craving. Oh! We can start the Marvel Universe movies from the beginning tonight. There's a lot to catch you up on" I knew it wasn't over just yet. I'd been granted a reprieve for just a little while longer.

That night I finally got to see the second level of his home. I discovered he had a movie room that resembled a small movie theater with sofas and chairs so comfortable you never wanted to move. I also discovered that his actual bedroom was located on the upper floor and that he'd been sleeping downstairs just because of me. I wanted to yell at him for that, but I knew it would be pointless anyway. We curled up on the couch, watched movies and ate junk food until I fell asleep right there in that room.

When I woke that next morning I found that he had covered me with a blanket and put a pillow beneath my head. I wasn't surprised to find Arty laid out on the floor next to me. The dog had almost matched me step for step since I had arrived and his presence was like a balm to my frayed nerves. I just lay there, running my fingers through his fur for quite some time, living in the lingering afterglow of that night's dreams.