Kiss Me Now, Kiss Me Never

In My Home

Edward

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was like me. Suffering from something created to destroy us as individuals. Yet, here she was with me, telling her tale of heartache and pain. All I wanted to do was hold her to me, care for her, and protect her from all that she'd already endured.

What were the chances of two people meeting with similar curses? Neither of us could kiss another person without severe consequences.

I could see the pain and fear in her beautiful eyes; the same eyes I'd drawn years earlier.

I wanted her, there was no doubt about that. Yet, did I love her? I had no idea; I'd never loved anyone before. However, the emotions I had for her were new, frightening and that had to mean something.

I took her face in my hands, searching her eyes for a semblance of what I felt for her there. They displayed so many emotions flashing through them. She cared for me, maybe not the magnitude of my feelings for her, but close. With that thought, my heart decided to speak for me.

"You wouldn't be," I whispered, but my voice was steady.

She bit her lip and shook her head. "You can't –" she started but looked back into my eyes and must've found something there. "Let me tell you why you can't kiss me, despite what you think you feel for me."

I wanted to argue but she held a finger of my lip, much as I had earlier. She kissed her fingertip, and I desperately wanted to move it away so I could feel her lips press against my own.

"Everyone would tell you that my father loves my mother dearly. You could see it plainly in how devoted he is to her, even though she's closed herself up and hasn't talked for about ten years."

My eyes widened as my mouth dropped open. One question that formed in my mind. Why?

"My mother also carries the burden of the curse. Because of that, she's always doubted my father's love for her. He'd written her love letters before she even kissed him once, and I believed he truly loved her. However, that doesn't matter because the curse does something to them. They have no free will and some even become obsessive. My mom decided to test my father, to test if what he felt was real or just part of the curse."

"This doesn't sound good," I said warily. Tears welled in her eyes, and I touched my lips to her cheeks to kiss them away. "Tell me, baby."

"She cheated on him," she said, her voice breaking. "She cheated on my father and told him exactly what she had done." She looked back to me, and I could see what it had done to her.

"And Edward, we were sitting down having dinner when she just said it. I could see the anger there in my father's eyes. He stood up from the table, pounded his fists on surface, and then his face changed. His eyes glazed over, and he just asked her not to do it again. That was that."

"Was that when your mother stopped talking?" I asked and she nodded. "Oh, baby." I pulled her close and I could feel the sorrow bleed out as she trembled within my arms.

After several minutes, nothing was calming her down, so I let her have a mild sleep aid. It seemed as if she hadn't allowed herself to feel until now.

Soon her sobs quieted and I laid us down to sleep, her body so close to my own. In her slumber, her face was sweet and untroubled; my name mumbled amongst whispered promises.

My fingertips removed errand strands from her lovely face, tracing along her jaw. She sighed deeply as my fingertip brushed her beautiful lips. They were pink and soft – irresistible.

She had said that those before me were left with no free will, others sick from the emotional toll of loving two people, and the rest, a threat to her as they'd become obsessive. Yet, I still wanted to kiss her.