The Degenerates - Under Edit

t h i r t y s i x

Theo stood up, hands up and backing off away from me. I was going to get whiplash from how back and forth both Theo and I went between allies and enemies. I couldn't help it, he had a way of infuriating me, and I supposed, I did the same to him.

Theo didn't matter to me right now, I was in a daze. I was just getting my breath back after having my windpipe crushed under his forearm. I touched around my throat; it was tender.

At the same time, my throat and neck were not my biggest concern, in fact, I almost forgot about them. Was I hallucinating from oxygen deprivation? I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure if I could hear the screaming between the two males or if I had lost my hearing.

The screaming settled down, and I could hear the rasp of my breathing. Theo picked up the chair, sat down in it, and glared at me and clutching his jaw. I held my own hand to my chest, caressing the throb through my knuckles.

Despite my physical injuries, my heart fluctuated from heartbreak in sadness and heartbreak in pure ecstasy. It was like I was in my worst nightmare, but suddenly the dream changed and it was one of those happy LSD trips where everything is happy and right in the world.

Even though he looked incredibly angry with me, Trey Arden stood one hundred percent alive and well around a metre away from me.

"There's no way," I whispered hoarsely, my throat on fire. Thick tears welled in my eyes, my voice a whimper now, "I watched you die,"

Theo chuckled, "I wish,"

Trey extended a hand down to me, and his touch was enough to set my erratically pounding heart back into a proper rhythm. I stood gingerly, not realising the extent of trauma bodies go through when they enter into a physical altercation.

Trey gestured toward the door, "I'm taking you elsewhere," he gave a look to Theo, "Thank you, but fuck you for almost killing her."

-

The air was still an icy cold, the sky black, no stars dotting the sky. Trey pulled a set of keys from his pocket, flicking toward a vehicle in the yard. It was a black SUV, it looked like a rental.

We stepped into the vehicle in silence, and Trey started the car.

How I kept my composure was unbeknownst to me; my heart was slamming into my ribcage, my hands were sweating. I had never been more nervous in my lifetime. My tears kept threatening to spill over, but I managed to keep them in by attempting a series of deep breaths.

The drive was not too long, but we ended up out of Alsbury completely, and to where I assume was the next town over. After parking the car, Trey got out, and I followed his lead.

The silence was deafening, and I felt like I had a million things to say but I couldn't find the right string of sentences to give.

We were at another hotel, similar build to Theo's original place in Alsbury. It was around 8 storeys high; I wondered if they had enough people to book out the rooms to keep the hotel in business.

The reception lights were dimmed. This mustn't be a twenty four hour service hotel, Trey used a buzz card to get into the foyer anyhow.

He tapped his card against the receptor in the elevator after choosing UP. He pressed the number 8, before the doors closed and we were stuck in another excruciating roaring silence. I tried not to look at him. I tried to keep my hands nestled together in front of my torso. The adrenaline in my veins was threatening to electrify all my limbs into function.

We exited the elevator and I let him walk down the hallway to a corner room. He opened the door, stepping inside. He held the door for me and I stepped in after him.

The room lit up in downlights. I walked directly to the other side of the kitchenette and he stayed beside the front door, eyes following my every step. I watched the ground as I walked, and I finally mustered the courage to look him in the eye.

I looked at him for the first time in a month after thinking he was dead, and the first feeling I got was rage.

His eyes were piercing, they glowered at me. There was a deep, red jagger across his cheekbone where Theo's knuckles had cracked across. The was no swelling anymore, but a light green discolouration over it, a colour you could only see if the lights were on it.

Other than that, he looked breathtaking. And I hated him for it.

I glared, trying to think of something to say. Trey begins to walk toward me and I start to lose composure. My legs feel weak and my heart is near beating out of it's cavity.

He gets closer and I feel a tear roll over the lip of my eyelid.

He is so close.

Trey is about a ruler length away from me now. His chest is moving up and down steadily. My breathing is increasing.

"Damn you," I managed.

Trey met my eyes, and I felt an electric current race through my body. He steps within an inch to face me as my breathing became rapid. His hands met my body, and travelled from my wrists, up my arms and my shoulders. His touch raised goosebumps under my clothes on my skin. I watched his body close in on mine, feeling tortured.

I raised my head to meet his eyes and I lose all control, leaping up and pulling him towards me, my lips finally connecting with his.

His hands find my waist as he hoists me up onto the counter top. My legs wrap around his torso and I press his body to mine, wanting to feel every part that I have yearned for months.

My hands are in his hair, as he kisses me hungrily. I respond, letting my head fall back into his hand as he closes a fist around my hair, manoeuvring my neck towards him. His lips reach the skin of my neck and I cannot help but moan sweetly in his ear, tugging his hair tightly.

I rip at his shirt, tearing it over his head and he reaches up and tosses it away, not caring where it went. He presses his body back to mine and I wrap my arms around him, holding him tight and close, not fully understanding why I so desperately needed to feel his body on mine. But when I did, I felt like I had taken a drug, I reached a near euphoria of being so close to him.

I let my hands wander up his chest, neck and face. I guide his jaw back to me, my forehead pressed to his, and I kissed him slowly. I wanted to savour long I could keep just kissing him, hoping he could feel what I was trying to tell him. I never had enough, and it felt like it went on forever. His arms wrapped around my back and gave me a small, sweet kiss, before dropping his head in the crook of my neck.

I followed his actions and I hooked my arms back around him. We were both breathing raggedly, and he hugged me close to his chest, "Hi,"

I pulled out of his embrace, looking in his eyes, which were hazy with lust, but appeared to be pleading with me.

"Hi," I whispered and he gave me a small smile, leaned down and kissed me again, sucking my bottom lip. I lost my voice, and I found his hair again.

Trey lifted me up off the bench, and carried me into the bedroom without ever breaking his kiss.

Time moved slowly. His hands tore my jacket of my body, swiftly flinging it off to the side. I hooked my arms around his neck and pulled him backward onto the bed. My back hit the surface and he falls over me, placing one knee between my legs and one outside. He slid a hand up my back and hoisted me toward his chest, I rested one arm to support my body weight and the other to help remove my shirt.

Trey slapped at my hand, wanting to remove it himself. I smiled in the darkness at his eagerness, as it matched mine. My shirt came off and I was back down on the bed. Trey snaked his hands down my arms to my wrists and pulled them above my head, using one hand to hold them together, forcing them still.

I was so insanely addicted to him, his touch, and his desire for me that I moaned in pleasure as his bare skin rested on mine.

I had missed him so much, and I never realised until I had him back that I couldn't imagine my world without him in it.