I reached to touch it. “What happened?”
He gently wrapped his fingers around my wrist to stop me. “Don’t worry about it, Nyx. I’ve had worse.”
That was easier said than done. Due to the fighting he was involved in and the way his dad treated him, it surprised me how he managed to be so caring towards me when all he seemed to have in his life was darkness.
“I do worry, though,” I said quietly, freeing my hand and touching his lip.
He tried to hide it, but I saw him suck a breath in through his teeth. He gently took hold of my hand, lowering it back down. “You don’t need to.” His eyes gazed into mine.
He had my whole body melting with just his touch, making me forget my name.
“What are we watching?” he asked, moving to allow me into his room.
This room was always kept pristine, and nothing was ever out of place. There was never any washing lying around like you’d imagine from a twenty-two-year-old man, or any clutter.
His room was huge but held the bare minimum. The bed sat to the far left with a huge TV on the wall opposite. There was a bedside table on each side of the bed, and a cabinet that sat against the far wall next to a desk. His walk-in wardrobe was always neatly arranged, and everything had its rightful place. It was normally my room where we’d end up watching movies until the early hours of the morning, or until I’d fallen asleep.
“You choose,” I said, turning around to face him.
He snorted, trying to hide a laugh. “You say that, then we always end up watching some rom-com.”
I took a few steps closer to him. “That’s because you secretly love them.”
He let out a chuckle. “If that’s what you think, Nyx.”
“How was the trip?”
“Speaking of trips … I got you something.”
He picked up a small box and handed it to me. Whenever Sebastian went away, he always brought me something back.
I opened the box, my eyes widening. Staring back at me was a pair of butterfly studs. Little blue diamonds filled their wings. They were so beautiful.
“Sebastian, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” He smiled.
“Thank you.” Then, before I lost my courage, I quickly kissed him on the cheek.
His eyes met mine, sending heat straight to my cheeks. He was about to say something when his phone started to ring, and he soon answered it, clearing his throat.
“Hayden, what’s up? … I can’t right now. I’m busy with Aria.” His eyes drifted to me. “Ok, ok.”
He hung up the phone. “I’m sorry, Nyx, I need to go deal with something.”
I slumped my shoulders, giving him a small smile. “It’s fine.”
“Don’t go to sleep, because I’ll bring you some chicken balls and we can watch something then, I promise.” He grabbed his keys and wallet, placing them into his pockets. “I won’t be long.” He then rushed out the door, leaving me standing there, alone.
19
Sebastian
Present
Aria sat on the sofa, cross-legged, with the laptop in her lap. She wanted to look through university courses for social work, and I’d suggested we do it together. I knew it meant a lot to her, so I wanted to support her in any way I could.
I placed our coffees on the table, sat next to her, and put my arm around her shoulders. It had been a week since the incident at my dad’s. I’d not heard a single word from him, which was good for me, because I didn’t want anything to do with that asshole. I think Aria had realised that day that I never wanted to see him again, because she hadn’t mentioned him since.
