The Kingpin

•12•

  The curtains in Daveed's room are unmistakably open as the morning light shines in. Daveed, still knocked out by exhaustion and alcohol, has wrapped himself around Amelia's body. She tries her best to untangle herself and manages to sneak out of the room.

  Amelia dances around the broken glass from the night before to pour herself a cup of coffee. The warmth of the cup in her hands is enough to make her lean against the cabinets with closed eyes for a long while. The ache in her muscles is somewhat bearable like this. When she opens her eyes next, Daveed is at her feet, quietly cleaning the glass up into a pan.

  The quietness in which he finishes cleaning up makes her a bit nervous. Daveed glances over at her as he empties the glass-filled pan into the trash, but says nothing. She gives him a small nod and finds that she's pressed herself further into the cabinets out of instinct. He takes a few slow steps towards her to gauge her reaction before closing the distance. Amelia breathes out an almost imperceptible sigh as his hands find her hips.

  He leans down to kiss the top of her head and lingers for a moment too long. She awkwardly places her cup back onto the counter as he wraps her up against himself. "I'm sorry about last night, babygirl," Daveed apologizes gently, knowing she doesn't like when he talks in the mornings or when he acts out; he can't help either.

  "I just wanted to drink my coffee." She responds, her tone empty. Amelia presses her hands to his chest in an attempt to reclaim her space but he doesn't budge.

  He gives a shrug. "I know, but I needed to apologize." His expression softens a bit as he speaks once more, "Will you come lay with me? We don't have to talk."

  A moment passes between the two before she hums in contemplation and he swears he feels it through his whole body.

  "Fine. No touching either."

  Amelia finishes her coffee as Daveed walks back to lay down. She takes a few deep breaths and places the empty cup into the sink before going back to bed. He is wrapped in the covers on his side when she enters, raising the blanket up for her to crawl underneath it. Once lying down, she snuggles into the cheap fabric. Daveed chuckles lightly before lazily turning his head to the side to gaze at her.

Her hands have fisted the covers, holding them close to her body as it shakes ever so subtly. He notices, though. He always noticed. She gives him an expression that says to leave it alone but knows it's in vain when he scoots a little closer to her.

"Daveed, I meant what I said." She tries to sound forceful now.

He rolls his eyes but puts his hands up in mock defense to satisfy her. "I know. No touching, see?"

The mild joking manner subsides and Daveed's expression grows serious. "You're shivering, though. Can I at least get you another blanket?"

Amelia shakes her head at his attempt to take care of her. She didn't need him to do that anymore and she definitely didn't need him thinking she did. Her eyes trained on the ceiling to avoid his intense stare.

  He decided it was best to not push any further and instead laid next to her for the next few hours in complete silence. Amelia soon fell asleep while curled into a ball and Daveed couldn't help but look over at her. The slow rise and fall of her chest and the way her lips parted just so when she slept were enough to make him dizzy. His head had been pounding since he first woke up, but he knew he needed to try and fix the events of the night before. His pain had went unacknowledged.

  Amelia woke up a while later in his arms. She hadn't wanted to end up there but someone needed to tell her subconscious that because the more she shook in her sleep, the closer she moved toward Daveed. He gave her a small smile as she looked up at him through her lashes. She realized a few moments later that they were both now laying in sweat soaked sheets as she groaned against his chest.

  "It's okay, A. I'll wash 'em in a little bit. You need to get some fluids in you."

He was answered with another groan that made his heart ache. When he spoke this time, his voice took on a hardness he hadn't meant for. "I'm serious. If you're gonna be here for withdrawals, you're actually gonna let me take care of you dammit."

Amelia forced her eyes open and pushed herself away from him even as every muscle in her body screamed. She made herself look at him with bloodshot eyes even after having gotten hours of sleep. "Then I'm gonna go." With this, she sits up and swallows each whimper that rushes to the surface while swinging her legs over the side of his bed.

"I only came back with you because I thought you were gonna hurt me or something."

  He winces as her words hit him square in the chest but doesn't dare let her see. Instead, the hard exterior is up close to her before he can think and it delivers a slap to her cheek.

  "Don't be a bitch to someone who is trying to take care of you," Daveed warns in a low voice while his inside voice writhes around in instant regret. Amelia brings a hand up to where his hand had stung her but she seems a bit far away. It wasn't the first time he decided to be aggressive.

"You wanna go back to that asshole who helped get you high? Go for it. But he won't ever come close to me."

She can't help but let a bitter laugh fall from her lips. His words did hurt, she wasn't immune to them; and she wasn't quite sure that anyone was. But again, he never needed to know that. Amelia knew first hand what a complex did to the man before her.

  As she shoves a few belongings into her bag, Daveed snakes his arms around her waist from behind. "He can't take care of you like I do," He mumbles as his lips ghost over the nape of her neck. Amelia bites her lip harshly as she shoves a few more things into the bag a bit aggressively.

  His hands grip her hips before turning her around to face him. The same hand that slapped her reaches up to caress her still stinging skin. She closes her eyes at his touch to try and distance herself from it, which now seemed much more intimate than when he had been wrapped around her.

He gives a devilish smile and takes her reaction as that of a good one. He bends down to press a deep kiss to her lips, his free hand going to the back of her neck. Amelia makes a small sound in the back of her throat that doesn't quite make it all the way up. He hadn't heard it but if he had, he would've called her out. Called her out for trying to push away from him.

"Daveed," She breathes out against his lips when he breaks away for them both to breathe. One hand is tight on her hip while the other comes up to rest against her throat.

He trails his fingers over skin almost always cold and studies her now. "What do you want, baby?" The aggression out of anger was long gone in these moments he so often made happen.

Amelia fought against everything in her. She wasn't sure what she was thinking with all of this but she knew she needed to leave. He wasn't for her anymore and she had known that long ago. "Not this," She gets out somewhat strongly.

His hand on her hip tightens and the one around her neck moves up ever so slightly to squeeze. His lips drop to her ear as he speaks now, "No? You don't want this anymore?"

She shakes her head quickly and the voice in her head reminds her to keep her eyes open. "No, I don't want this anymore." The words are repeated and spit back out like a practiced act. He always lets her leave but only because he knows she'll find her way back.

"Then. Go." He glares at her now, making a point of squeezing a bit harder as her eyes grow wider. She knew to keep her eyes open or things would get even worse.

Just as quickly as he had snatched her air supply, he gave it back and watched as she stumbled about to grab her bag. Daveed sat and watched her go, out of his bedroom and out of his apartment.

The second she got outside of the apartment complex, she took off. Long ago, Amelia would've run away to anywhere that would take her. But she walked now, she knew where she was going this time around.