Take me {Paul Zimmer}

Just gotta hold on a little tighter

•April's POV•
I open my eyes to the sun shining through the curtains. I drag myself out of bed and head to the bathroom for a nice shower.
After drying off, I walk out of the room in some boxer shorts and a tank top.

"Good morning." Paul tells me as he hands me a plate of eggs with turkey bacon on the side and a mug of chai tea.
"Thanks, good morning to you too." I respond with my voice still a little raspy.

"Chai tea and turkey bacon? Are you okay?" I ask jokingly. It's rare that Paul makes me chai tea but he also made turkey bacon. What The Actual Fuck? "Yea. I just wanted to see you smile because you deserve to smile. You deserve the sun and the stars. I just feel horrible about what's happened to you. I feel at fault for the entire thing. You have so many bruises all along your beautiful soft skin and I just hate myself knowing that I caused most of them." Paul's head tilts down and he scratches the back of his neck trying to find any word to break this silence. I see the cuts on his arms and the sad boy just stands there next to me.

I place the plate and mug down on the night stand and I walk over to Paul. I place on hand on his cheek raising his face to mine and the other hand on his arm.

"I know that what happened wasn't your fault and that you couldn't control what happened so I don't want you blaming yourself for anything okay?" Paul gives a small nod and I look into his dark green eyes. My breath seems to have been ripped out from my lungs as I feel the saddened aroma drifting off of him and into the cold dry air. His eyes are usually a vibrant green that could melt anyone's heart just by the thought of them, they're filled with happiness and love but right now his aren't filled with anything. Sad empty eyes. I want so badly to cheer him up. Oooh I have an idea.

"Come with me." I say taking his hand in mine and directing him to the project I was working on. I can't believe he's going to be the first to see it! I'm so excited.

•Paul's POV•

April takes me downstairs and passed the kitchen where I see some mail on the counter. That wasn't there before was it? I think to myself.

We pass a few doors on the sides of the walkway and come to a stop at what looks like a dark hallway. "ready?" April asks and I nod in a questioning matter because I have no idea what this woman next me is about to do. She lets go of my hand and switches on the lights and Oh My God, this hallway has silver frames all along the walls and the frames have white christmas lights along the edges of the frames.  She grabs my hand again and leads me to the first frame.

The picture of Chloe and Danny dancing at the wedding with the biggest grins on their faces and you can see the love in their eyes. I was the happiest for them and the fact that Danny grew a pair and took a huge step in his life.

The photo right above it is the picture of April and I resting or foreheads together smiling. A small frown plays upon my lips as I remember the day.

"Remind me to never go on double dates with you guys ever again" I joke to Danny as we wait for Chloe to finish getting ready. "Dude chill. Tonight will be so worth it. Just go over the plan one more time?" Danny asks brushing a strand of his hair behind his ear. "Okay so after we eat, Chloe is going to tell April she has to go to the restroom and April will follow because you know girls and how they go to the restroom together. You and I will leave the table and run outside to try and set up the white lights into the van and cover the van floor with the fluffy red rug. Then you go to your car parked discreetly in the parking lot across the road. When we finish you'll text Chloe a cue to come outside and when they're out of the restaurant Chloe will come up with some excuse to go back in like she dropped her phone or something and she'll tell April to go to the van and she'll catch up. Chloe will run to your car and sit in there with you as I talk to April and pop the question." I say as I look down and I feel a huge smile on my face.

I hear the girls walk down the stairs and run up to April placing a kiss upon her soft lips. Removing ourselves from the kiss, I place my forehead on hers trying to catch my breath. We both look up after hearing a cell-phone camera click and we see Chloe with April's hone in her hand. "You'll thank me later.' she winks at us. 

(a little while later)

April just left to answer her phone and it looked like it was an important call. We all finish our food and wait for April to come back. Right after I pay the check, April storms back in and grabs her purse. "I'm so sorry, that was EJ's mom and she said I need to rush over there. She said he's completely drunk and is crying for me. I'm afraid he might hurt her or himself. Can I take a rain check?" she asked with anxiety in her eyes. I nod and get up from my seat. "Here let me take you." I tell her as I walk with her outside. I drop her off at his house and tell her I'll wait outside. "You should go home. This is gonna take a while, trust me." She walks over to me and kisses my jaw. 

Who knew it would take a whole year later for me to ask that question.

We walk up to another frame and this one has one of my favorite memories in it, the weekend at the lake. The pictures has all four of us sitting on the edge of the cliff that has the lake water sitting beneath it. "Ahh the day Hunter was made." I joke and I hear April laugh under her breath.

April takes my hand again and leads me to the last frame at the end of the long hall.

"This is my favorite one yet." she tells me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

The silver frame has the words 'Our Little Peach' and it's the photo I took when Hunter was born. April has him in her tiny arms and I'm standing next to them with a smile plastered on my face starting from one ear and ending at another.

My heart skips a beat seeing my little boy in her arms for the first time and wondering how he looks now that it's been quite a while since I've seen him.

•April's POV•

I see Paul's reaction to the hall way and it melts my heart.

This morning I was still a little afraid of him and I didn't think he was the Paul that I loved but he's showing  my slowly that he is.

Before anything bad happened, he would always tell me "I love you Princess" but when he was hitting me and was with Jamie, he never said anything like that and that's was why I was so scared of him. Last night, while we were both asleep, I woke up to check on him and he said "I love you Princess." In his sleep and I knew he was asleep because his breaths were steady. That and his reaction to the frames made me realize that my Paul is somewhere in there, I just gotta hold on a little tighter to him and he'll come out. I thought that I lost him and us but I'm going to do everything in my might to save us and hold on to the love that I thought I lost.

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I updated! It took 5 years, but I did it! I missed you guys so much omg how are you?

You guys should message me so we can become friends because that would be so cool.

Anyway, My birthday is in 5 days and it's the same day as Danny's!

Coincidence? I. Think. Not. LOL when Danny and I get married foreal, you're all invited.

Message me you guys and ask me questions, I'll be answering them on here.

Love you guys! Stay Beautiful Darling.