“Then taint me. Break me. Burn me until all that’s left of me are ashes. I can take it. For you, I can take anything.” His lips brush against my forehead, then my nose, and finally my lips, kissing meso softly that my entire being trembles against him. “You’re my everything. Now and forever.”
Now and forever.
Now. And. Forever.
The words echo in my mind like a forgotten prayer, tightening around my soul and begging to be released as memories surge through me.My heart pounds against my ribs, aching until it feels as though it might tear free and shatter across the floor.
Staggering away from him, I clutch my chest and gasp for air as more memories flood my mind. “No…”
“Aoi?”
I shake my head, digging my nails into my scalp as pain ripples inside. “Stop,please.”
The scarf.
The perfume.
Movie nights.
Golden eyes.
Sweet smiles.
Cuddly nights in our bed.
The airport.
He reaches for me, worry twisting his features, but I shove him away with sudden force. Stumbling from the bed, my legs tremble beneath me, and I collapse onto my knees.
No. No.
It can’t be.
“Aoi, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Does your head hurt?” he asks, panic and fear contorting his face as he drops to the floor in front of me. “Please, talk to me.Shit–I’m calling an ambulance.”
I choke as I desperately inhale the razor sharp needles clogging my airways and refusing to let me breathe. An agonizing thunder rumbles in my head, images and soft promises flashing at such speed that I can’t make sense of them, but my heartknows.
My heart and soul know who it is, whoheis.
Who we were.
What I lost and punished myself for.
The scar on my arm pulses and itches, burning as I dig my nails into it and shake my head. “Why?”
“Aoi? What’s wrong? Talk to me please!” He grabs my shoulders while I shake violently against him. “Fuck, Aoiplease.”
The touch I’ve craved every day since Andrew walked into my life now cuts like broken glass shards.
I fight him off, sobbing ashisface shines through the haze and I freeze.
“You…why?” I rasp, scanning his features as terror anchors itself in his honey eyes. “Don’t touch me.”
Why did you lie to me?
How could you leave me and reappear like nothing happened?
How could you?
