Redeeming the Darkness

Chapter Fourteen - Zane

The last day of our honeymoon, the only thought that kept running through my mind the entire day was that I wasn't ready to go back to real life. Ivy had this incredible gift of making whoever she was around have fun. She had another gift that made the person equally irritated, but I'd known that about her from the moment she got into my car in Ohio.

I'd tried to keep where we were going as much of a secret as I could. We landed in North Carolina and took a cab to Emerald Isle. She'd never been there or heard of it for that matter.

"I thought Emerald Island was in Florida," she'd said.

"It is. This is Emerald Isle," I answered.

Since it was July, the little island was in full swing. Vacationers that liked a quiet get-away came here to relax in peace. My first time on Emerald Isle had been the year after rehab. Trina recommended I take a break, far away from home and away from people who would make my life miserable. So, I'd come to the island and never wanted to leave. The day before we left Hawaii, I'd called Trina and asked if her brother-in-law would let us rent his house for a week or so, and she called back an hour later telling me he would. She made all the arrangements for Ivy and me with our tickets and had a cab waiting at the airport.

Since we arrived late in the evening, I promised Ivy we would tour the island the next day, so we grabbed dinner and went to Ethan's vacation house.

After we ate, we brought all our bags inside, where she proceeded to put a load of her clothes into the washing machine. "How did you get this house on such short notice?" Ivy asked.

"It's Trina's brother-in-law's house. He doesn't rent it out since it's his family vacation house. Well, he doesn't rent it out, outside of me."

"I guess you have all the hookups because you're famous?"

She was teasing me, and I turned so she wouldn't see me smile in response.

Over the course of two weeks, Ivy seemed to be able to make me laugh almost every day. I wasn't used to it. I couldn't tell you the last time I'd heard the sound of my laughter. I teetered between being thankful for the distraction and annoyed that she managed to get in my head so quickly.

"Hey, there are two rooms here!" Ivy's voice carried from down the hall, pulling me out of my thoughts. Her comment didn't register until I heard the door of the spare bedroom shut. I made my way down the hall and quickly opened the door.

"Excuse me; I could have been changing or something!" She paced her hands on her hips and leveled an angry stare at me, apparently awaiting an explanation.

"The bed is too small for the both of us," I said.

"Did you not hear me? There are two bedrooms. Therefore we can sleep separately."

I reached up to scratch the stubble that covered my chin and cheeks. "I need you to sleep in the bed with me."

"Why?"

"Because I can't protect you if you're in another room."

"Not an acceptable answer," she rolled her eyes and sat on the bed. "Try again."

"Because we're married."

"No one is here. One last shot."

I remained silent, chewing on the inside of my lip, trying my hardest to think of an answer that would be as good as the immediate response I'd said to myself. She wasn't going to move.

"Why do you want me to sleep in the same bed when no one is here to see me?"

"Ivy," I sighed harshly. I felt irritation taking up the forefront of my thoughts, and I was scared I was going to snap and ruin the friendship we'd built. It was either be honest with her or let her sleep in the spare room. I guess if she wanted to sleep there, she would anyway, with or without my explanation. "I just sleep better when I know you're beside me. I haven't slept this well in a long time."

Her face relaxed, and she looked like she was going to ask a million questions, so I raised my hand to silence her before she could speak. "I don't want to go into details of my sleeping patterns. That confession was enough soul baring for me for the night, and I'd like to get rest so I can show you the whole island tomorrow. I wanted to bring you here to have fun, and I completely expect you to have a blast."

I turned and walked out of the spare bedroom and into the master. I discarded my shirt and kicked my shoes off into a corner before turning to find Ivy standing in the doorway.

"You can sleep in the other room. I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to do."

"You forced me to share the master bedroom at home," she said.

"That was different. We have a staff that's there every single day, and Sandro never leaves. I can't take the risk of letting someone find out the truth. I thought you were okay with all of that now."

"I am."

Then why on earth was she bringing it up?

"What are you analyzing?"

She smiled. "How do you know I'm analyzing something?"

I reached into my bag and pulled out a pair of sweats before changing. "Because one side of your mouth pulls down into a frown when you're trying to figure something out. You did it the day I asked you to marry me-,"

"You never asked," she interrupted.

"You made the same face when the guy with a pimple officiated our wedding-,"

"I was scared the pimple was going to pop!"

"You do it when your dad calls, and when you're trying to figure out what to get to eat, and when something in your book confuses you. It's your 'thinking face.'"

"For someone that thinks I'm a brat, you sure do pay a lot of attention to me."

"I told you on the beach," I took a few steps toward her and stopped. "You're the only person on the face of the planet who I'm concerned with keeping alive, so of course I'll pay attention to every detail."

Her eyes widened with the intensity of my words, even though I'd said them to her before. She took a step back and retreated to the other bedroom.

I felt a migraine coming on.

I pulled back the covers and got into bed after turning off the lights, but I was wide awake, scared of what I'd see when I closed my eyes. What nightmare would plague me tonight?

I hadn't lied to Ivy when I told her I'd never slept so well than I did when she was sleeping beside me. She was my dream catcher. I wondered if it was her sweet dreams that kept my dark ones away. Whatever it was, I didn't want it to go away.

Rolling over, I faced the window and stared outside, fighting the urge to fall asleep. I heard the door open, and footsteps cross the room. The covers lifted, and I felt the bed dip slightly.

Ivy took a deep breath and sighed, which caused me to smile.

"What made you change your mind?" I quietly asked.

"My feet are cold," she answered.

I rolled over again so I could face her before I grabbed her waist and pulled her toward me. "Put your feet on my legs," I said.

The second her feet touched my legs I flinched. "How are you this cold?"

"Oh, my goodness, you're a heater!" Ivy closed her eyes and smiled contently.

"You need socks."

"They're in the washing machine so you'll have to do for tonight."

With her feet resting against my legs, we drifted off to sleep.