Always Forever | ✓

Chapter Four

I'M EXHAUSTED.

My legs feel like lead. My head feels like it weighs one-thousand pounds. My entire body smells like a trash field. All I want is to soak up in a boiling bath and will the cramps and knots on my back, arms, and legs to go away.

Finally getting to my destination, I open the door and head straight to the bedroom, surpassing Angie's sleepy form on the couch. It's weird seeing her alone, she's usually crazy glued to Devin. My lips turn into a soft smile.

Their interaction, whenever she's not trying to hump his leg, is sweet, making me imagine how Devin will be like with a child.

Our child.

How would it be to cuddle up next to someone Devin and I created out of love? A little of him and a little of me. Someone that will forever link us together. The feeling warms my heart into melted chocolate.

Reaching the door, I give it a slight push.

Darkness.

Nothing can be seen in our bedroom. The curtains are drawn all the way. Not one slip of ray illuminates the room. Devin's soft whistles are the only sign that someone is in here. If I had more strength in me, I'd go check up on him and give him a kiss, but I'm way too tired to move any further than I need to.

Needing a shower right away, I ignore the urge inside me demanding I give him a kiss or swipe a hand over his forehead like I do every night. I enter the bathroom and let out a sigh of relief.

After spending the entire day packaging the many items I have—the many items I now find useless and have no idea what I was thinking when I bought them in the first place—the apartment downstairs is cleaner than ever before. Hence the dirtiness in my body.

Hot drops of water kiss my naked flesh with urgency. I close my eyes and delve into the steam covering me and the feel of my bones relaxing. Mindlessly reaching for my coconut shampoo, I squeeze a gradual amount into my palm and massage my scalp. Moaning at the feeling, I imagine Devin cleaning me just like he did back in Cuba.

His hands on me. My hands on him. Touching every single curve of his muscles. Exploring his whole body as he did the same with mine. His touch will never get old. The warmth that spreads through my core with his simple kiss will never lessen.

And that's why. Because his kisses are never simple. They're the water in my life, nourishing my senses.

Where's the shy girl who blushed when she talked about sex? Or the girl who had never been kissed by a man?

That girl is gone. That girl doesn't exist anymore. That girl has now flourished into a woman. A strong woman, not just for others but strong for myself. All of this, I owe to Devin. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be the person I am today. He's taught me to be strong, to grow up and step out of my comfort zone.

He's taught me to live.

It's something I'll forever be grateful for. Now, it's my turn to show him how strong he is. I don't need to teach him because he already is strong. He's the strongest person I've ever met, he just has to see it.

He has to believe it.

Wanting nothing less than to be close to him, I turn off the shower and swiftly dry myself. As I'm drying my hair, I hear the strangest noise coming from outside. A too familiar voice. It's the most staggering pain I've heard in my life. Almost as if your soul is being ripped from your body, like someone reached inside and removed it from you when you just started living.

Devin.

I drop everything and rush out of the room.

Turning on the bedside lamp, almost tripping in the darkness, I see the sheets turn and shift dangerously. I'm afraid to reach for him, fearing he might involuntarily hurt me.