Cuts and Bruises

Chapter Twenty Six

HI EVERYONE!! I haven't been updating (OBVIOUSLY) because life got in the way, but I logged on recently and saw so many kind messages and saw so much love for my story so I had to finish it up!! I'm doing great and hope you're all staying safe and healthy during this wild time! Hope you enjoy this chapter, I promise not to make you wait years for the next update xo 

PS I READ YOUR COMMENTS AND YALL ARE FUNNY AF LOVE U GUYS :')

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I'm not going anywhere. 

Vincent's exact words reverberated in my head while I took shelter under the hot spray of water in my own shower. It hadn't been that long since I was home last, and yet it felt like it had been years. Weirdly enough, because Vincent was here last time too, it felt normal for him to be waiting for me in the living room.

You and I just make sense. 

That one sent a shiver down my spine in the best way. It came when I had just turned off the faucet, leaving a sudden veil of silence in the bathroom. My heart picks up a little, the tiny butterflies in my stomach begin to flutter, and something within me felt whole. I could hear Vincent's voice in my head, as calm and sure as he had been when said it thirty minutes ago. 

Thinking about Vincent's sweet words was a welcomed distraction in the middle of the chaos. It was nerve-wracking for a completely different reason, and yet it didn't feel explosive or on the brink of failure. It was exciting: unexpected but not unwelcome. 

My mind lingered on Vincent while I changed into something more comfortable and sat down in front of my mirror  to brush my hair. I regarded myself in the mirror for a moment, simply analyzing my own reflection, almost instantly recognizing the dark circles under my eyes. 

"Lily?" Vincent's voice between quick knocks on the outside of my door startle me before I see the door start to open. "Are you decent?"

I can't help but smirk a little and joke, "Would it matter if I was?" 

A moment later, he takes a step inside and spots me sitting across the room, fully clothed, and lets out a dramatic sigh. "I thought that maybe I'd get lucky." After I laugh, he cracks a smile. "Can I sit in here? It's getting cold downstairs."

Completely aware that my mom probably hadn't turned the heat on yet, I try to seem nonchalant as I nod. "Yeah, sure. That cream blanket on my bed is super warm."

His gaze trails to my bed, where my favorite cream blanket was sprawled on the lower half, and I watch his eyes light up. "Is that knit?" Vince asks as he takes a few long strides across the room before collapsing on the edge of the bed and taking it in his hands. "This is the softest thing I've ever touched." 

I grin at myself in the mirror as I drag the brush through my damp knots. "I know, right?" 

"I'll pay you for this if you let me take it home," Vincent deadpans, his gaze completely serious. "How much do you want for it?" 

The eager edge in his voice had a boyish playfulness that instantly made me smile while I look at him through the mirror. "You're not buying it from me." 

"Fifty bucks," He counters, not wasting any time. 

"There's no amount of money that you could offer me that would make me sell that to you," I tell him confidently. I untangle the last section of hair with my comb and stand up to face Vincent. "It's priceless."

Vincent's gaze slides down my body slowly upon examining my clothes for the first time. They were nothing special-- a pair of black sweatpants that I had to roll at the top and a black cropped tank top that left a small amount of skin on my stomach exposed-- and yet the way he was looking at them, you would've thought he had X-Ray vision.