She began to fear every sound since she had met him. With every step she looked over her shoulder. Fear of him kept her wary. Trying to run from the nightmare he put her through was all that mattered, but the pain of being away from half of your sou...
Apex managed to convince the nurses to let him spend nights in my hospital room. This is the first night that he's spending here and he passed out sitting in his chair with his head and arms resting on my bed. I guess he tired himself out from running around all day trying to please me. I didn't want to talk to him so when he asked my favorite flower I didn't answer. As mad at him as I am I must admit to myself that him buying me every bouquet in the gift shop was kind of cute. I had to beg him to stop bothering the poor florist, and even then he wouldn't until I told him I like lilacs. Then he went back down and bought every lilac they had before he finally stopped. I swear by room now has more flowers than it does places to put them. On the bright side though I can no longer smell the antiseptic. After that incident, I decided it'd be best if I answered more of his questions. At least when I tell him that mint ice cream is my favorite then I only have to worry about him running off to buy mint ice cream instead of an entire frozen section. I get to go home tomorrow and due to what landed me here, and the time I cut myself, the doctor told me I couldn't live alone for a while. My only options were my family who doesn't want me or Apex who would follow me to my home country and kidnap me. So, I've decided that I may as well go with him. He's insistent that I meet his family at dinner tomorrow. He told me that I've already met his grandmother, but that he wants to provide a proper introduction. Apparently, he's got a brother who's been dying to meet me since Apex told him about me. I wonder how much they know about Apex and I's relationship. If true to strangle someone then I probably wouldn't brag to my family about it. He asked if he could ever meet my family too. I skirted the subject of my parents and siblings until he eventually gave up. Then he asked me what my upbringing was like. I told him that I moved here about three years ago and told him about my life since then. He seemed shocked that I'd lived here for three years. He couldn't believe that he hadn't found me sooner. I'm glad he didn't, with the state I was in when I first got here, I'm sure I wouldn't have died from his treatment. Apex whimpers in his sleep and immediately catches my attention. I now see how his eyebrows are scrunched together and his eyes are squeezed shut. "Please stop", he mumbles. He flinches in his sleep. I put my hand on his shoulder and shake it a little. "Apex wake up", I say softly. I want to wake him, but I don't want to scare him any worse. Despite the weakness of my attempts, he still snaps awake. He's immediately standing and looking around. His stance is as tense as a bowstring. His shoulder slump and he sighs when he lays eyes on me. He practically collapses back into his chair. He covers his face with his hands for a moment before combing them through his hair. "Are you okay?", I ask. He looks at me and seems to think for a minute. "Yeah, I'm fine", he says, "just a little stressed is all". He smiles at me in a way that I guess is meant to be convincing. "Apex, I've seen your medical history and a pretty good portion of your body", the smile immediately falls from his face. He doesn't say anything, he just sits there quietly. After a few minutes, the tension in the air is suffocating and I decide that I have to do something. I sit up and open my arms to him. After a moment's hesitation, he leans forward and lets me wrap my arms around him. He circles his arms around my waist and rests his head on my shoulder. If not for the circumstances I'd probably think that this extraordinarily large man hunching over to hug me would look silly. He doesn't cry or say anything. He seems almost frozen. I can only imagine the images flashing through his mind right now. We sit like that for so long that my arms start to fall asleep. To remedy the pins and needles I start rubbing circles on his back and using my other hand to play with his hair. I don't know if this is soothing him any, but he doesn't pull away or ask me to stop. Before I know it the sun comes up; only then does he pull away. "I'm sorry I kept you up all night", he tells me, "I'll let you sleep". He sits back in his chair and stares down at his hands. I sigh knowing that he only really stopped because he was worried about me and not because he felt any better. "Do you want to lay down with me?", I ask. He half-smiles and nods. I scoot over to make room for him. Getting in beside me he curls up dramatically just to fit. He wraps an arm around me and pulls me against him. I play with hair and I drift off. Just before sleep takes me he presses a long kiss to my forehead and whispers, "I'm sorry my love".
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