Stained

Chapter 64

He presses an open-mouthed kiss to my neck this time. "Two people who are attracted to each other."

I suppress a moan. Barely. But suppress it nonetheless.

And then his words hit me like a bag of bricks. It hurts. His answer hurts. Yet again I can't explain or understand why.

So I do the one thing I'm good at when I'm scared. I push him away. Emotionally and physically. I push against his chest and the second his mouth tares off my skin, I turn my back to him.

"Ro—."

"I'm going to sleep," I interrupt him.

Stupid. What a stupid question to ask. I didn't need to ask him that. I should have continued to let my overthinking self ponder it.

"Rose," he places a palm on my cheek and try's to turn me to face him. I pry his hand off me before he can so much as move me an inch.

I bury my face into the pillow. "I'm tired, Damien." Not a lie.

"Rose," he tries again.

I don't budge. Only squeeze my eyes shut.

"Fucking child." I think I hear him say under his breath.

Did he just...

As if hearing my doubts he goes and completely contradicts them by wrapping an arm around me and pulling me to his chest.

'Maybe you misheard him,' the naive voice inside my head tries to reassure me.

'You see the best in everyone no matter how many times they hurt you.' Someone once said to me. Those words feel like they were made for this moment.

I mentally shake my head at myself and clutch the hot water bottle tighter against me.

The mean voices in my head and the naïve ones fight against each other. The mean ones tell me in a gazillion different ways how no one could ever want to be seen around me never mind the other impossible answers Damien could have given me that would have done the total opposite of shatter my heart. And as per usual, the naive ones barely have any good comebacks to contradict them.

Damien pushes my hair to the side, bares my neck and shoulder to him and nestles his face into the crook.

Despite everything, I let out a sigh of relief. I feel content in his arms with his lips pressed against my neck and his morning stubble tickling my skin. If only we could stay like this forever.

That's the last thought that runs through my mind before blissful sleep takes over.

• • •

A loud, ear aching, blissful sleep-disturbing sound is pulling me from my beautiful dream. One where I don't have a nightmare. This is the second night in what seems like forever that I haven't had a nightmare but a nice dream. A heavenly dream actually. Of me and Damien.

"Shut up!" I bellow, annoyed at the alarm. If it was a human I would strangle it for ruining such a beautiful dream.

With my eyes closed, I pat the bed and when I don't find my phone there I reach under the pillow but come up empty yet again.

"This is the second night in forever where I haven't had a stupid nightmare. So shut up!"

It doesn't stop. Instead, it turns louder, as if my phone is purposely trying to aggravate me — it's working.

"Let me sleep evil one!" I bark out and slap my hand back to the other place my phone could be.

My hand doesn't collide with something hard or fluffy. It collides with something prickly. Confused I tentatively tap the thing.