AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He looks back at me and I can’t completely read his expression, but he looks a little panicked.
I start the pot and see he still hasn’t moved. My heart starts to sink, and I walk slowly towards him. “I mean, you can leave if you want. If you don’t want to be here, I would never force you to stay. Not that I could ever overpower you. But I understand if this is too much… if I’m too much for you,” I say quietly, though I hope and pray he won’t leave. I manage a small smile as I try to remain calm.
At my words, he turns to face me fully and starts to walk over to me until he is just inches away. “No.”
“No?” I breathe, my heart rate starting to return to normal.
“I’m not leaving. You’re not too much. You’re perfect,” He says so straight forward, like he’s never spoken anything more true.
I can’t hide my smile now. I poke him in his stomach, and he smirks. “Man, Decker, I really like your smile.” I blush at my admission and turn back to the kitchen to fix two cups of coffee.
“I like when you call me Elliot,” He says quietly. I turn back to look at him. He is sitting down at the kitchen bar now looking at his folded hands on the table.
“I like calling you Elliot,” I smile. He meets my eyes with a glare, warmer and softer than usual, but still a glare. “Seriously though, the glaring. Does it hurt your head?”
He lets out one chuckle, then accepts the black coffee I set in front of him. He smiles at his cup, like he is happy that I remember how he likes his coffee. Was that just yesterday? If I focus too much on all the events that have happened in just a few days, my head could quite literally explode.
“So…were you going to fight me?” He asks. I look at him confused. “When I scared you…you screamed and looked like you were going to try to fight me,” He explains, amused.
“I would’ve tried!” I laugh, earning a smile and an amused head shake. “I probably would’ve gone down very easily…but I would’ve tried.”
We drink our coffee in a comfortable quiet for a few minutes, both of us lost in our own thoughts.
I break our silence. “I’m going to just shower and get dressed. It'll be maybe 20 minutes.” He nods and I skip to my room. I am about to close my door, when I pop my head out and add, “please don’t leave.”
It takes a little longer than 20 minutes to get ready. I kept it simple with an oversized tan sweater, dark jeans and my slip-on white sneakers. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and grab my bag and jacket.
But when I leave my room, I find my apartment empty.
“Elliot?” I call out, hoping he’s just around the corner in the kitchen. My heart sinks and I start to wonder what I did wrong. Did I overwhelm him? Maybe this is too much interaction for him. I only scratched the surface of understanding the wounds he lives with. But he could have at least told me he was leaving.
I have a tendency to think of worst case scenarios, so I try to keep my head level before I start having a full-blown panic attack. I check Ana’s room, our back patio, and I am opening the front door when I see him walking back up the sidewalk towards our door.
“I was just starting the car so it would be warm. It’s pretty cold today.” He searches my face and his eyebrows begin to furrow together. “What’s wrong?”
I sniffle and take a breath. “I thought you left,” I manage a tiny smile, trying to not make a big deal about it.
His face falls as if my answer makes him sad. “Hey.” He touches my face, like he did last night, fingers on my jaw, forcing me to look at him. “I’m not going anywhere…I’m too involved now.” He repeats my words and his normally unsure and strained voice sounds stronger. I smile a real smile. Without overthinking it or talking myself out of it, I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him. He instantly wraps his arms around me and tucks me in tighter.
I’ve never experienced anything that feels so right before. The feeling of certainty and peace that comes over me as he holds me in his arms makes me feel on top of the world.
SIXTEEN
ELLIOT, NOW
I didn’t sleep well at all, but I am pretty used to that by now. I never sleep well without Mads in bed with me, but it’s even worse now. My nightmares have started coming back, and I have had to take sleeping pills to help keep them at bay.
I eventually get up and get dressed. I have been dreading today for weeks knowing I have to go back to work and leave Mads home. Ana is staying with her for the morning, but she needs to leave after lunchtime. I am planning on leaving work early to be back here with her; I just hope that she is okay with us being home alone without Ana or her parents.
I walk down to the kitchen after getting dressed and find Mads sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in her hand. She has her sling off, her casted arm resting on the table next to her mug. Of course, she figured out where the coffee was and how to make it. She drinks at least four cups of coffee a day, even though I’ve tried to get her to cut back.
She looks up at me when I walk in the room. Her hair is loose and wavy around her shoulders, a little messy from sleeping. My favorite. She has on a hoodie and her llama pajama pants.
“Good morning, how did you sleep?” I ask with a polite smile. I walk to the fridge to get an apple and then to the cabinet to get a protein bar.
“Okay,” She answers shyly. “Can I make you some coffee to go?”
I smile at her. “That sounds great, thank you.”
