The Fallen

Kevin

At some point, we had fallen asleep. She was curled against me, legs tangled in mine, and arms folded between our chests. Her face was pressed against my throat, lips tickling my skin, breaths warm and soft. My arms had wrapped around her, cradling her small frame against mine as we rested.

I didn't want to move, for fear of waking her up, but for some reason being so close to her was agonizingly painful. With every movement she made, my skin tingled, my heart throbbed, and I felt as if I would explode from her warmth. No, it wasn't an unpleasant pain, it was the pain of realizing something I hadn't before.

She was gorgeous, and brave, and smart, and I wanted her. I wanted her in ways I shouldn't have let my thoughts entertain, but I couldn't help but think them. I wanted to pull her against me and press my mouth against hers until nothing else but us mattered. I wanted to explore her body with my hands and shower her with love and kisses. I wanted to hold her so closely that she would still feel my arms around her from miles away.

My mind was all over the place, lost in thoughts of her. When she had wrapped herself around me earlier, I could barely contain myself. My pulse had quickened so much I was worried I'd have a heart attack, and my skin was so warm I almost thought I had a fever.

I was disgusted with myself, after all she'd been through, what the hell was wrong with me? She'd been through enough, she didn't need to worry about me obsessing over her. I was drawn to her though, and I noticed I'd always been drawn to her, more so than I'd liked to admit it.

My first thought after waking up the night she found me had been how beautiful she was. When she had let me in her house, I could only think about how kind she was. I'd stared at her the whole night. Then yesterday morning when she'd left for school, I felt empty, and earlier, when I'd said I would've burned down the whole city to find her, I'd meant it more than I thought I did.

There was no way I could explain why I felt so strongly about her, but I did. So, as she softly moaned in her sleep and pressed closer to me, I felt a strong urge to protect her no matter what. I didn't care who I had to run over and use, I would keep her safe. I would stop her suffering.

"No," She whispered suddenly, drawing me from my thoughts. She twisted away from me suddenly, yelling and crying. "Let me go! Leave me alone!"

"Amirèe!" I sat up and dragged her into my arms. She struggled against me until I started whispering in her ear. "It's alright, you're safe. I won't let them take you again. I'm right here, I'll always be right here."

She clutched my arms tightly as I held her, sobbing silently. Her shoulders shuddered as if she was freezing. I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her, running my fingers through her thick curls soothingly.

"I'm a mess, aren't I?" She laughed groggily, "There's got to be something wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you."

"Then why?" She pulled away and looked at me with watering eyes, trails of tears streaked her cheeks and her face was flushed pink. "I'm safe, I don't have anything to worry about anymore, right? So why am I still so scared? Why do I feel so wrong? It's like I can't get him out of my head."

"Who?"

"The boy with the red hair." Her voice cracked. She was shuddering all over again. "It's like I never left that warehouse Kevin, it's like he's still holding me hostage, and it's driving me crazy. I can't sleep, I panicked when I woke up because I was alone, and I can still feel those chains," Her voice was high and hysterical now as she dropped her head in her hands, leaning into my touch.