Her Inked Heart

Chapter 12

"Morning, beautiful," Adam says, Clara standing in the kitchen, wearing one of his dress shirts, cooking breakfast. He wraps his arms around her, kissing her neck.

"Morning, tiger," Clara says, turning her head to kiss Adam on the lips. Clara enjoyed how Adam held onto her, not allowing him to move, "I hope you're hungry."

Adam kissed her cheek, Clara laughing. Adam was becoming more affectionate by the minute, Clara enjoying everything. His kisses were extremely soft, but were very passionate.

"Of course I am," Adam says, "Can I make a request?"

"No, you can't," Clara says, Adam pouting. Clara chuckles, kissing him lightly, "But I will give you a hint, it's your favorite."

Adam smiled. Clara knew every meal he liked within the year they were together. She knew how to make them the way he liked it as well. He could see how much Clara loved enjoying cooking, so it was almost a treat in itself to see her cook.

"So, it's your day off and your first day as a soon-to-be bride," Adam says, sitting down on a barstool that allows him to watch Clara cook. Clara was cooking omelets, with freshly chopped peppers, spinach, and other healthy vegetables, "What are you going to do?"

Clara smirked at Adam, seeing that he just wanted to spend the whole day with her. He was weeks away from being deployed for the last time before changing to a part-time national guard, leaving him to find another career.

"Unpacking," Clara says, Adam's face forming into a pout, Clara giggling, "What?"

"Why today?" Adam looks at the living room, still overflowing with boxes of things, knowing that Clara won't give up without a fight.

"Because I have a tattoo healing on my arm and I don't want to hurt it," Clara says, Adam sighing. He had no reason to complain. He would unpack with Clara, even if that meant he did all the heavy lifting while she went through everything.

"Fine," Adam says, watching Clara putting the now cooked food on two plates, giving on to Adam. Clara sits next to Adam, the two of them beginning to eat their food. The two of them just stared at one another while eating, no words exchanged between the two of them.

After finishing their meals, Adam takes Clara's hand, walking the two of them to the living room, sitting on the couch, the stacks of boxes overwhelming them.

"Luckily, most of the boxes are extra clothes and linens," Clara says, "If the two of us work on this, we can get all these boxes empty by noon."

Adam groaned, not wanting to do any work that day, but instead just spend time with Clara. At the same time, they share a hatred for a messy place, especially when it can be cleaned quickly. Adam stands up, walking towards a small drawer near his desk that's full of supplies, a pair of scissors sitting at the top.

Opening the first box, nothing but picture frames wrapped in bubble wrap was in them, Adam smiling. Most of the pictures were of Clara with her family, but a few were of her with Adam. Adam begins unwrapping them, setting them in an area where Clara can go through each one, deciding where she wanted them at.

Clara freezes after looking at one of the photos - a family photo with her father in the picture. She starts to cry, Adam walking to sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her. It was difficult for Adam to see Clara upset, since she would cry whenever a memory comes into her mind about her father. Even though it's been years since he's passed, Clara was still raw and hurt - him knowing she'll never fully recover.

"It's ok," Adam says, rubbing Clara's arm. He begins looking around for a good spot for the picture to be placed, finally finding a spot on a bookshelf in the corner, "Let me place this somewhere."

Adam sets the picture down, Clara smiling. She didn't think it would be this difficult to unpack, but she didn't think she was going to cry. It takes her a minute, but she finally stops crying, turning her head to Adam, a faint smile running across her face.

"Thank you, that's perfect," Clara says, Clara beginning to unwrap some more pictures, keeping herself composed. Unpacking shouldn't have been that difficult, but she didn't realize that even looking at photos of her father would cause her to break like that.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"The house looks great," Adam says, all the boxes unpacked, Clara's books all over the house, her pictures scattered everywhere. All the boxes had been broken down, placed in a large garbage bag, one that Adam took to his garage. Clara's hair was still up in a bun, still wearing his shirt, but she didn't want to get dressed, "What else is on the plan for today?"

Clara shifted herself, lying her head on Adam's lap. Adam begins rubbing his thumb on Clara's cheek, smiling at her.

"Nothing else," Clara says, smiling at him, "Except, I have to get some conditioner."

Adam begins to pout at Clara, not wanting her to move. He just wanted to have a day in with Clara, nothing to do except spend time together, finally living together.

"Don't pout, I like my hair clean," Clara says, Adam smiling at her, before leaning down, softly kissing her. He couldn't believe that for the rest of his life, Clara gets to be by his side. He didn't believe that he could've found the perfect woman for him. Clara was everything to him, and he was excited to officially be known as her husband.

"Fine, I won't pout, but I'm coming with you," Adam says, Clara sitting up, Adam practically running to their bedroom to get dressed. Clara giggles, running after him, seeing Adam ripping his shirt off.

"Adam, stop!" Clara says, wrapping her arms around him, holding him close, resting her cheek on his back. Adam turns around, Clara looking at Adam in the eyes, smiling at him, "There's no need to rush."

"If that's the case," Adam says, picking Clara up in his arms, falling on the bed. Clara begins laughing, Adam letting out a chuckle, "I'm getting a nap in."

Clara begins laughing even louder, Adam pulling the two of them under the covers again, Adam holding her close. He always loved wrapping his arms around Clara while he slept, so she was stuck in that position, no matter how much she tried to get out of his grasp.

"You're stubborn," Clara says, Adam not even listening to her, soon falling asleep in Clara's arms. Instead of waking him back up, Clara starts to brush Adam's hair lightly with her fingers, looking up at their ceiling. Never once did she think that she would be where she is at that moment.

She knew one day she'd own a house, in a nice neighborhood, maybe with a roommate or two. She never thought that she would be relaxing with a man who loved her for her. Adam didn't look at Clara and think that she was damaged. He didn't look at her thinking that she was too far gone to be loved. He saw her as nothing more than the right person for him, with everything that she was something he'd sign up for if he ever wanted anything with her.

"Thank you for loving me, Adam," Clara whispers, falling asleep herself. For the first time - in a long time - Clara didn't have a night terror. Being in the arms of Adam made her feel safe enough where her inner demons weren't going to try and get to her.