1𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘼 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙊ʳᵉⁱᵈ

37 | it's ripping me apart

it's ripping me apart

t h i r t y - s e v e n

She sat in the bath tub, listening to Spencer read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Her cheek was resting on the cool porcelain of the bath tub, her body twisted so she could see the words as Spencer read them. He was sat on the toilet lid, his legs crossed.

"I saw in this Miss Havisham as I had her then and there before my eyes, and always had had her before my eyes; and I saw in this, the distinct shadow of the darkened and unhealthy house in which her life was hidden from the sun"

She looked up at him when she realized he had stopped reading, she caught his eyes staring at the marks on her body, the ones that had been inflicted upon her by Antoni Orlik. He slowly closed the book, moving to sit on his knees beside the tub, setting his book on the toilet lid.

He looked her in the eyes, hurt and angry. His hand dipped into the water, fingertips tracing the bruises.

"I'm sorry"

"For what?"

She looked down at the water, watching his fingertips touch her battered skin.

"For not keeping you safe, for not finding you before he....hurt you"

She put her wet hand in his hair, smiling sadly as she stared into his eyes.

"I'll be okay"

"Waking up in the middle of the night, every night, because of nightmares, is not okay"

"I know, but it would be so much worse if I didn't have you, and so therefore, I know I'll be okay"

"I'm not a superhero"

She smiled and kissed him.

"You sure had me fooled"

He smiled at her and let his hand move up to her waist, the water sloshing as he did so. Their lips met in a sweet kiss, slowly escalating, her bringing his bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling gently. Their tongues danced together, her hands moving to hold each side of his face, bringing her body closer to the edge of the bath tub, lifting herself onto her knees. His hands slowly began to venture around her body, his touch erupting moans from her mouth.

"I've got my hands lalka and you know what I can do with them"

She suddenly broke from the kissing, breathing heavily as she tried to shake the memory from her mind. He noticed and grew worried, hands retreating.

"Are you okay?"

She looked at him, rubbing her temples before nodding.

"Y-yeah, just, it's uh, it's nothing, can you help me get dried off?"

She asked and he nodded, standing to his feet, helping her to her's. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body.

"Thank you Spencer"

She smiled, grateful for him.

"You're welcome Karyn"

He dried her body, kissing every bruise and cut that had been inflicted upon her, vowing to himself that he won't let another man hurt her, ever again.

"I promised then, to kiss her one million times before I died, fifty a day for the rest of my life. And when I was gone, as old men go, she could smile, with her old eyes knowing there wasn't a place on her I missed"
- Atticus