Redeeming the Darkness

Chapter Eleven - Ivy

When I woke up the next morning, on day two of being Mrs. Ivy Landis, I noticed Zane's hold on my arm. I laid still for as long as I could, trying not to disturb his sleep, and studied him.

Eventually, I couldn't hold still anymore. I moved my arm out of his grasp and sat up in bed.

"Where are you going?" Zane's voice was husky from sleep, and I moved out of his reach toward the foot of the bed.

"I'm going to the bathroom. I didn't realize I needed permission to get out of bed."

"You don't."

"Then why did I wake up with your hand wrapped around my arm for the second morning in a row?"

He stared at me for a moment before sitting up. He ran his hand over his head and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was even touching you in my sleep. I promised you that you were safe, and I've made you feel the opposite."

I moved toward the head of the bed where Zane rested against the headboard. I was close enough that our legs touched when I placed my hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at me.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here of my own free will, and I'm not going to abandon you. We're in this together, remember?" I let my hand drop to my lap. "It's like you're scared I'm going to run away and I guess I want to understand why that is."

As soon as I uttered the words, I knew I wouldn't get a full answer, but I had hoped. Regret colored his features before everything I was hoping for shut down. Before my very eyes, he'd gone from open and willing to talk, to a closed off robot.

"I'm sorry that I scared you by holding onto you. I'll try not to let it happen again, but I was asleep when I did it, so I wasn't aware it happened."

I felt my shoulders sag when I nodded. Zane quickly got out of bed and shut himself in the restroom before turning on the shower.

Day-two down. I pulled up the calculator on my phone and typed in some numbers before I let out a groan.

One thousand, eight hundred and twenty-four days to go, with the leap year next year.

What on earth had I done?

I walked downstairs and prepared breakfast while Zane got dressed. I decided my new goal in life was going to be trying to convince him that not everyone would abandon him, and before I knew it, we were sitting at the island together. I hadn't seen Sandro all morning, but I figured he was still getting settled into the apartment.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?" I asked Zane.

"I said you could choose where we go," he answered. His phone alerted him to a message, and he read it before saying, "Looks like your stuff is here."

"Oh, man! I don't know if I've ever been more excited about something." I stood and rushed to the door to open it. Sure enough, there was an older gentleman parked in the driveway. I walked out to greet him.

"Thank you for driving this here," I said. I noticed the other car parked on the road with someone in the driver's seat.

"That's my job, ma'am." He was quickly glancing between me and something behind me. "Here are the keys. You have a nice day."

"Wait, don't I have to pay you?" I hollered after him, but he ignored me.

I turned to see what could have scared him off and noticed a shirtless Zane, with his arms crossed over his chest. "Of course," I whispered.

He helped me carry all my things into our room, and I started unloading everything.

"These are your drawers," Zane said, pointing to a dresser in the closet. He picked up one of my t-shirts and put it on a hanger before hanging it up. I surpassed a giggle because, well, Zane looked adorable hanging my clothes up for me.