Her Curse...

10 ~ Rose | Edited

     After an entire day of looking around town for clues that might lead to who cursed me, I was tired. Then again, I'd ended up running a lot. But I couldn't find Grey for the life of me, and the pain in my lungs was getting worse as my anxiety increased.
     To be honest, at this point I was scared to go to sleep without him. The pain was always worse than before I met him, and the nightmares too. I passed the room I was letting Lucas and Sora sleep in for the night and froze, walking backwards to stand in the doorway.
     He wasn't facing me, but he had Sora curled up in his arms. I didn't know why I felt so hurt...and mad. Grey could hold anyone he wanted, right? But...some part of me whispered that his arms were for me, and only me. I let out a soft wail in dismay, the tears already falling from my eyes.
     "Hailey?" He asked, lifting his head and looking at me. His eyes widened, and I immediately ran away, into my room, where I threw myself onto my bed. I'd only known him for a short while...so why was I so attached to him? My hair stuck to my cheeks where they were wet from tears, and I pushed it away, behind my ears, rubbing at my eyes with the back of my hand.
     It was hard already to breathe, and now I could barely even inhale. Burying my face in the sheets, I let out another wail. I wanted to feel his arms around me, comforting me, and I didn't know why. But I also wanted to be left alone.
     As if summoned, I felt the soft touch of someone's hand on my shoulder. My breathing evened, well, as much as it could while I was sobbing, and I knew it was Grey. "Go away!" I cried, trying to shake off his hand. "Hailey, what-" He began, but I cut him off, "I said go away!"
    I curled up into a ball the best I could, and felt his hand slip from me. The pain that sliced through my chest caused a gasp to escape my lips. "I'm sorry for whatever I did." He murmured. He sounded genuinely sorry, and it made me angry. "Just die." I said, with a wolflike snarl embedded in my voice as I turned around onto my knees and lashed at him with what were now my claws. Everything was covered in a red haze, like it usually was when I activated my cursed side.
     Grey's hands caught my wrists before they could cut through the skin of his face, and I tried to break free of his grip. The red haze faded, and I watched as my claws turned back into fingernails. The tears, which had momentarily stopped, began rushing down my face again. I could feel the anger I felt towards him slipping away from me like oil on water and I fell, hanging my head.
     The only thing keeping me from falling off the bed was Grey. His hands holding my wrists, and his chest, where the very top of my head rested. He released my wrists from his grip, and the hands of gravity grabbed them immediately, pulling them downwards.
     "Why are you so mad at me?" Grey asked gently. He didn't make any move to wrap me in his arms, and I felt a small part of me wish he had. I still didn't understand why I felt like that. "Hailey?" He asked when I didn't respond. Weakly, I lifted my arms up and grabbed onto his shirt. "I...I..." Was all I could choke out, nothing more.
     Finally, Grey gently took me in his arms, welcoming me in a warm embrace. I could literally feel my heart sighing, and thousands of tiny electric signals jump over my synapses. My face was pressed into his chest, and I couldn't breathe, so I turned my head. Grey's heartbeat roared in my ears like thunder.
     A perfect match for the lighting racing through my body.
     "Sora..." I managed, my fingers tightening their hold on his shirt. "Oh...I see what you mean."  He replied, his heart skipping a beat, and his voice carrying anger. I had a feeling the anger was pointed towards himself.
     It took me a few minutes before I noticed I wasn't crying anymore. Just whimpering, and hiccuping occasionally as I struggled to rein in my breathing. Grey pulled away from me, and I felt cold from the loss of contact. He left his hands on my sides as he looked at me.
     My hands had released his shirt form their grip, and fallen. Carefully, he maneuvered himself into the bed beside me. His hands were still placed on my sides, and he pulled me in for another hug. "I'm sorry for," I was interrupted as my lungs forced me to inhale shakily. "Attacking you."
     "I'm sorry for hurting you." Grey murmured, one of his hands leaving me. Then he laid down on his side, leaving me sitting up on my knees. His right hand slipped from me, only the tips of his fingers touching me. And I was left, craving his warmth. I was left, without the steady thumping of his heart, leaving me feeling alone.
     I fell down on my side, facing him. Grey's breath ghosted across my skin, and I curled my body, pressing my face into his shoulder and moving my hands to rest on his chest. One of his hands moved to press its palm against the small of my back. His other arm was under my head, and I didn't feel it move.
     Moments like these didn't need words. We'd moved past the awkwardness of holding each other like this, thank God. He just wanted to comfort me, and I just wanted...I didn't quite know what I wanted from him. Support? But I already had that from him. Friendship? He was already my friend, though. Safety? But what from? Or was it...was it love?
     My care for knowing left me as I enjoyed the warmth of his body. I didn't know if I'd ever really noticed how warm he was. Or how wonderful the sound of his heart was, racing or not. Or how gentle his hands were. Or...anything. I wondered briefly if I'd took him for granted.
     A small, guilty whimper came from somewhere deep inside me. "Shh." Grey whispered into my ear. His breath warmed my ear, and I could feel myself blushing, as well as my heart begin to beat faster. Oh, how had I not noticed it before? He cared for me. He...he loved me.
     I didn't know how to feel. But luckily I didn't have to wonder, because Grey's presence around me soothed me, and I felt myself slipping away into sleep.