Bruised (Completed)

Chapter 20

Tucked away, shielded from the world, in the corner of the sofa is where I awake.

Alone.

He is gone.

A sense of disappointment comes over me that I know should not be the case, since he tempted me to give in to desire as he had. I already have Jimin as my partner, which ought to be the sign that Taehyung cannot be my significant other. Although, he does make me happy now that he has returned and I welcomed him with open arms, leaving myself vulnerable again to the pain he can inflict both to mind and body.

I turn around on my other side to face the rest of the living room. The mere sight of it triggers flashbacks to what happened in the night and I feel my cheeks warm up once more as the memory of his touch resurfaces, swallowing me whole and throwing me into the sweet realm of fantasy.

For a moment I space out to walk the path of the past, until I notice a post-it note on the table before me.

I am out to get coffee and muffins. Stole your key. Won't be long.

T.

He is out to get the very meal we had when we moved me in. Is he trying to speak to my sentiment or is it our thing? I would wager the last, because he is not the kind of person to play sly games, as much as that voice inside me tries to prove otherwise.

He will not be back for a little while so I may as well take a shower, freshen up.

A good start is half the work.

***

A door opening and footsteps that follow up on the sound.

'Ali?' a deep voice asks in the silence that hangs in the air.

'In the bathroom,' I reply from where I stand, only covered in a towel and towel-dried hair tickling the bare skin of my back and shoulders. 'Hold on a sec. I'll be right there.'

'Okay!'

Rapidly I put on a pair of jeans and a simple black shirt with a V-neck. The wooden floor feels cool under my feet without socks. As soon as I join him, his eyes immediately lock gazes with mine. 'Good morning, sleepy head.' He makes his way over to me and places a kiss on my forehead. 'I bought breakfast.'

'That does not excuse the fact that you stole my key, good sir,' I tease, taking a step back and trying to look insulted.

'I didn't want to wake you in case you were still asleep by the time I returned.'

I cock my head to the side and notice the corners of my mouth curling up in a small yet bright smile, butterflies flutter in my stomach at the sight of the guy with the unchanged boxy smile. 'You're too sweet. But seriously, I want my key back.'

'Of course.' Tae's hand glides in his pocket and produces the small metal key from it.

'Thank you,' I say as he places it in my outstretched hand. 'By the way, how are you feeling?'

He rolls his shoulders back, face slightly turning into a grimace as he does so. 'A bit better, but everything is still painful.'

'Maybe a muffin will help.' My empty stomach leads me to the brown paper bag on the kitchen table, growling louder as the delicious food comes more into reach. Taehyung's deep chuckle sounds behind me as I seemingly am in a trance caused by hunger.

We divide the breakfast, which should be called brunch due to it being the early afternoon. It is comforting to have something that makes good memories resurface, souvenirs of the time we first saw each other again after so long. Taehyung sits across from me, savouring the bean juice and baked goodie in the same way.