“My fucking car!”
My eyes shoot open at the sound of Mark's shouting beneath me. What now? His car? What's wrong...
I feel myself rolling into the cushions of the sofa, blinking with confusion at this sudden movement. A blur of colour runs towards the door, throws it open and dashes out. I blink again, utterly perplexed at the rude awakening. I know that I should be concerned that he's run out the door, screaming about his car. But I'm not. I'm not in the slightest.
I was comfortable in my sleep. The second time I've ever fallen asleep like that and not had a dream. Just darkness, and silence, and nothing. It was blissful. It was beautiful. It was a long time coming. And that fucker has ruined it all.
I huff angrily, ignoring the door closing as he swans back in. Pushing myself up, I wander into the kitchen to make a drink. Now that I've been woken up, might as well get a start to this glorious day...
“Thought some fucker had broken into my car. Had to go check it out.”
Pfft. Right. Okay. You rudely wake me up because your banger of a car may or may not have been broken into? And you think coming in here with that explanation will make everything hunky-dory?Sure...
“Come back to sleep?” That little plead would usually have me bouncing over to him. But not today.
“I'm awake,” I snap, not bothering to face him as I turn the tap on.
“Yeah, but we can go back to sleep. It's easy...”
“I don't want to. I've been woken up. So now I'm staying awake.”
“Come on, poppet...”
“Fuck off, would you?”
And then silence. Good. I'm not in any mood for him and his arrogance today. All I wanted was to sleep. And he ruined it. Stupid jackass. Thinking he can worm his way back into my good books like that. Dickhead...
Suddenly, my feet are no longer on the ground. I squeak in surprise, arms locking around his neck out of fear of falling as he scoops me into his arms. My glare is met with a large grin as he carries me towards the settee, plopping himself back down and pulling me hard against his chest. I groan in protest, but he holds me there. Knowing that his heartbeat will soon soothe me back into his world...
I grumble, wiggling myself into comfort as he chuckles happily. Bastard. He knows I can't resist the rhythm of his heart against my ear. That gentle thumping that makes me feel so at ease in everything I do. Our little rhythm...
I sigh, easing into his embrace. Fine. I'll let you have this one, Sheehan. But you do it again...
His hands toy absent-mindedly with the bandage around my stomach, bringing the memories of my talk with his sister flooding back into my mind. The scar I saw on his stomach. One that looked worse than any flaw that I've left on my own skin. One that brought his sister to tears...
Pushing up his shirt was a clear mistake on my part. His body tenses and I'm pushed away quite quickly. His eyes are frantic, searching my face for the logic behind my actions.
“What are you doing?” he asks sharply. “Don't do that.”
“But...”
“No. You don't do that. We talked about it.”
“I wasn't doing that.”
“Then what...”
I don't let him finish. His shirt is bunched in my fists that rest on his chest before he has a chance to react. He squawks in horror, trying to force the material out from my grip. But I won't let him win. My eyes are focused on the angry mark tainting his otherwise pristine stomach. Rising and falling with every shuddery breath of panic that he takes.
