EVERGLOW

XXIII. What keeps them together

She heaved a sigh as she opened her eyes, knowing she'd find empty sheets beside her.

He'd left for his flight while it was still dark outside, already toeing his early morning call time for the first day of shoot for his new film.

He'd tiptoed around while getting ready, trying not to disturb her after she finally fell into a deep sleep. But she was still as light a sleeper as she was before, and she woke as soon as she felt his lips on her nape before he slipped his arms gently from around her. She listened as he cursed quietly after a thud, and she had to call on years of acting lessons to stifle a laugh.

Idiot. Why didn't he just turn on the lights?

But she couldn't find it in her to let him know his efforts were wasted so she let him be and pretended sleep. She wondered what he was up to when he switched on a lamp and everything suddenly fell silent. The faint beginnings of disappointment curled in her belly as she realized he might have left without even a goodbye.

But she felt the bed dip after a while, and she rolled over to blink blearily up at him.

"I need to go now." His voice felt like a caress, still rough from all the tears of the night before.

"We'll be right behind you."

He searched her eyes then, and held them as he brushed his knuckles across her cheek. And he said it again.

"Don't leave."

She'd lost count how many nights he'd whispered the same words. But her heart ached as, for the first time, she considered doing just that.

She gasped as she watched the smile slowly spread on his face. She knew he saw her falter. And his delight at every small inch she gave was heartbreaking.

So that was how it was to love, then? Her pulse raced as she saw it in his eyes.

She touched his cheek as the realization hit her. If her thinking about staying made him smile like that, what did her leaving do to him?

And yet he still wanted her back. The whole mess that she was.

He dipped his head and whispered low against her mouth, the soft brush of his lips against hers taking her breath away.

"We'll pull through, baby. As long as you're with me, I know we'll pull through."

She closed her eyes as she raised her lips to meet his. He tried to deepen the kiss but she pushed against him and turned her head away.

"Dylan, I have morning breath."

He chuckled and buried his nose in her neck. His low laughter felt like a balm for all the scars they'd torn open that night. And she wondered if he could do it often enough until they were all gone.

"I even miss your morning breath."

"I can't say the same."

"I just brushed."

"I know. I'm just insecure."

She stared at him as he pulled back, suddenly unwilling to let him go just yet. Unwilling to give up the warmth of his arms enclosing her, and this easy conversation they hadn't had in a really long time.

It was strange, looking up at his bloodshot and swollen eyes, knowing she sported the same and yet feeling the absence of the usual weight on her chest. Her throat still hurt but she couldn't help the smile that pulled at her aching cheeks.

Her breath caught when she realized he was looking at her that way.

She'd saved that clip in her phone, a bittersweet memory she dug up on some nights when her quiet apartment became too much. The camera was aimed at their profiles and it caught his soft eyes and smile as he stared down at her after assuring her they were as inseparable as Velcro.