Nothing Without You | Eric Coulter [2]

fourteen

ERIC

It was a trickle at first.

Like a small stream of water leaking out from a dam just before it bursts and eventually causes a flood.

It also made my head start to pound, but there was no denying that my memories were starting to come back.

Like pieces of a puzzle slowly falling into place. But what use was my memories if I didn't have the person I wanted to share them with here with me?

Nessa lay motionless in my arms, the rising and falling of her chest so swallow that it almost looked as if she weren't breathing at all.

The thought sends a flash of immense panic through my chest.

Brushing her hair back, I laid my forehead against hers.

"I remember," I whisper, "I remember. So, come back to me. Please."

I always swore that I'd never beg anyone for anything. But in this moment I realised that I wasn't above begging, at least not when it came to the girl that I loved with all of my heart and more. Anything as long as I could see those beautiful eyes looking back at me again.

"Come on, baby," I mutter against her skin, "Don't do this to me. Don't fucking leave me."

I ran my fingers across her cheekbones. I wasn't sure if it was just in my head, but somehow, her skin felt even cooler than it had before.

"Open your eyes." I shook her body, hoping that the disturbance would be enough to wake her. "Wake up. Please, please wake up."

I cradle her to my chest, "Why the fuck isn't she waking up?!" I yell to anyone who would listen.

My eyes landed on the stiff standing beside Four, clutching his arm in her hand so tightly her knuckles were going white. There's a wrinkle between her brow, whether it be from confusion or worry, I wasn't sure.

Whatever it was, it still made me hate her.

It was because of her that Nessa was in this position. If she didn't go about planting these ideas in Nessa's head about the box, none of this would've happened.

"I swear to god, if she doesn't wake up, I will fucking rip you apart."

Four pulls her closer to his side, the move only serving to piss me off even more.

How could he be siding with her when his little sister could very possibly be dying in my arms?

How could he be so fucking calm when it felt as if my heart was being torn to fucking shreds?

My eyes darted around the room erratically, it was almost as if I could feel my sanity slowly slipping through my fingers.

"Someone fucking do something!"

That was when I hear it. Her voice. It was barely more than a whisper, but I heard it, sounding like an answer to my prayers.

"Eric?"

I didn't even realise that I'd been holding my breath until the air leaves my breath as I laid my head on her chest, listening to the beating of her head against my ear.

She's alive. She's fucking alive.

I'm so relieved I could almost fucking cry. And I give myself a minute before I pull back, meeting those beautiful eyes that I was yearning to see.

"Hey," I brush my fingers through her hair, "You scared me for a minute there."

Nessa lets out a weak-sounding chuckle, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

My arms tightened around her as I rested my forehead against hers, "I thought I lost you."

Her hands come around me, though they still felt weak, and she snuggles closer to me. "You'll never lose me."

My lips tugged into a smile at her words, "It would really have fucking sucked if I remembered everything only to lose you in the end."

Nessa pulls back from me, her eyes shining with excitement. "You remember?"

"Every last fucking detail of it," I confirmed.

The smile that brightens up her face might have just been one of the most rewarding things. And I decided that I could sit here on this cold, hard floor for hours if it meant that I could see her smile like this.

She runs a palm over my cheek as if to remind herself that I was really here, "Tell me something that you remember."

I press a kiss to her temple, smiling against her skin as I replied, "I remember how fucking restless I felt when you were giving me the cold shoulder after I made Four throw those knives at the stiff. Worst fucking days of my life."

"Hey! I was a stiff too." Nessa narrows her eyes at me, but I could see the humour dancing in them.

I lean down once again to kiss the curve of her shoulder, "Yeah? Well, you're my stiff, baby."

She raises a brow at me, "And that makes a difference?"

"It makes a world of a difference," I tell her, guiding her eyes to mine with a finger under her chin. "Because you're mine. And there's nothing in this world that could ever make me stop loving any part of you."

A soft smile stretches across her face as she looks up at me with the most adoration-filled eyes before whispering, "I love you, too."

I lower my head to capture her lips. Breathing in a sigh of relief as I feel them against mine as if this kiss alone breathed air right into my lungs.

There wasn't much in my life that I was sure of. But the one thing I was abundantly sure of, was that I was nothing without Nessa. Nothing without her smiles to brighten up my day or her contagious laughter to bring out the lighter side of me that I never knew I had in me.

She was my life, the very air that I breathed. And I would love her till the day I took my very last breath.

As our lips part, I hear an automated voice announce from behind us, "Initialising message."