My Darkest Embrace

Chapter 27

--Sorry for the wait! Hopefully it's worth it!

Chapter 27

I cried until my cheeks were permanently wet. My wings went back into my skin after a while and I was left curled up on my bed, clinging to the sheets and silently crying.

I was alone until morning when I heard my door getting unlocked and opened. I hadn’t moved from that one position all night, and my back was facing the door so I couldn’t see who it was.

            “Branna?” I heard Declan ask.

I didn’t answer.

            “Let me talk to her.” Grace’s little voice reached my ears.

I wrapped my arms around my waist and hugged myself, trying to stop myself from crying out loud.

I felt the bed dip in front of me and a arm went around my neck and a hand was playing with my hair. I opened my eyes and saw Grace lying, curled up in front of me with her arm around my neck in a comforting gesture. I closed my eyes again and allowed the tears to roll down my cheeks.

            “Please don’t cry, Branna.” She whispered.

That only made me cry more. I put my hands over my face and allowed myself to cry to myself whilst Grace lay next to me and tried to comfort me.

            “Hey Gracie, can I talk to Branna for a minute?” I heard Aodhan say from the doorway.

            “Yeah.” Gracie said and I immediately missed her comfort as she moved away and left the room.

An arm snaked around my waist and the bed dipped behind me as Aodhan lay down behind me and pulled my back against his chest. I let out a heart wrenching sob that shook my frame and Aodhan squeezed me tighter.

            “Just let it out.” Aodhan said.

I sobbed for hours until there was nothing left. Aodhan would just hold me and kiss my hair and mumble soft words of comfort.

            “Aodhan… am I a monster?” I asked after a while. My voice was dry and husky because of all the crying I’ve been doing.

            “No, don’t ever think that you are because you’re not.” He said.

            “But… she looked so scared of me.” My voice broke on the word ‘scared’.

            “Branna, look at me.” He ordered.

I turned around on the bed to look at him.

            “She wasn’t scared of you. She was scared of the situation.” Aodhan said.

            “She was terrified.” I argued.

            “Yes she was, she was terrified of that vampire, but you saved her life. You’re not a monster, you’re a hero.” He said.

            “Well I don’t feel very heroic.” I muttered.

Aodhan reached over and rested a hand on my cheek and rubbed his thumb back and forth underneath my eye. I shifted closer to him and entwined our legs together and lifted a hand to his hair.

            “Branna?” he asked me.

            “Yeah?” I whispered.

            “Have you… have you ever been in love?” he asked me.

I was shocked by his question. My first thought was that somebody had told him and he knew. But I decided to play dumb anyway.

            “Yeah, I have… have you?” I asked.

            “I think so… what does it feel like?” he asked.

What does love feel like? Well…

            “It feels like pins and needles all over your body. The person you’re in love with makes you feel numb yet charged all at the same time. Every time you see them, they seem to get  more and more… wonderful.” I breathed, “You can’t get enough of them. They occupy every second of your thoughts. You never want to hurt them, and it would make you feel physically sick if someone else hurt them. Every time they touch you, you get sparks in your skin, and you seem to get lost in their eyes every time you look into them. You feel… sparkly. You can’t eat, you can’t sleep. Nothing else seems to matter. Seeing them with another person literally kills you inside. When you argue with them, you feel your stomach clenching with the effort not to admit how much you love them. You want to shout it from the rooftops. You see and feel everything differently. When you’re in love, sometimes it feels like you’re floating because you realise that you’ve found the person who has been placed on earth just to be with you, but it feels like sinking if they don’t feel the same way. To sum it up, being in love kills you… but it does it in a way that shows you how much you physically and mentally can’t live without this person. It’s horrible, and sometimes you will convince yourself that it isn’t worth it, but it always is worth it to feel even thirty seconds of elation and the rest of your life in heartbreak if, during that elation, you are truly happy. And you always will be truly happy with the one you love.” I described to him everything that I feel for him.

He looked at me for a minute before he took my face in his hands and pulled me closer.

            “You seem to know a lot about it.” He whispered.

            “I do… I get tortured with it every day.” I admitted.

            “I think… in fact, I know… I’m in love.” He admitted.

My heart tore in my chest and I tried not to let it show. He was in love with somebody else… I should have known that there was no way that we could ever be together. He’s too good, and I’m… evil.

            “I’m happy for you.” I whispered.

If we weren’t going to be together, then the most I could do was be happy for him.

            “Thank you.” He whispered.

            “Aodhan?” I asked.

            “Yeah?” he answered.

If this time was all I was going to have with him and be close with him, then I was going to take full advantage of the opportunity.

            “Hold me.” I whispered.

He looked at me for a minute before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me towards him. He held me and stroked my hair. It felt so nice to be curled up to his chest and lying in his arms. I never wanted to move, but I knew that I would have to soon, but until then I was just going to enjoy this time with him. The feel of his fingers in my hair sent shivers down my spine and I found myself relaxing into his chest and pulling him closer. I could feel his heartbeat underneath my cheek and it was going to send me into a peaceful sleep for sure.

Oh Aodhan, please don’t leave me…

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Sorry it's so short! I've got really bad writers block, so this is as much as I can do! I <3 Aodhan!