AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tears roll down my cheeks, blending with the spray. Conner continues cleaning me as I stand there, barely holding on to reality.
I feel numb, my stomach empty and hollow.
He moves around me, lathering my hair and rubbing his fingers through my scalp. A moan slips from my lips. Conner leans down, pressing a chaste kiss to my shoulder.
“I’ve got you, babe. I’ve got you.” He leans around me to shut off the spray, and we stand there for a second, letting the events of the night settle over us.
“Come on, let’s get you dry.” Conner leads me out and wraps me into a big fluffy towel, and then secures another at his waist before scooping me up and carrying me back to his bedroom. He pulls the sheets free and lays me down on the bed.
“What?” I ask, noticing how quiet he’s gone.
“I just... fuck, K... when I saw that live feed of you, sitting there...”
“It’s okay, I’m okay.” I say the words, but they don’t feel real.
“Nothing about this is okay, babe.” He climbs in bed beside me and spoons me, curving his body around me like armor.
“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”
“I know.” I do.
“Graduation is in less than three months. As soon as the wedding is over, I want us to take off. Just you, me, and Betty.” Conner kisses my neck, nuzzling closer. “We’ll get as far away from Sterling as possible.”
“Y-yes,” I breathe. “I want that.”
He seems to relax behind me, his legs brushing mine, stirring my body to life. But I’m so tired. Bone-deep weary.
My eyes begin to flutter closed as Conner brushes his fingers up and down my arm. He must feel me begin to relax, because the last thing I hear him whisper is, “Sleep, K. I got you... I got you.”
I wake startled in a dark room. Fear grips me in a chokehold as I fight to fill my lungs with air.
I can’t breathe. It feels like the walls are closing in around me and he’s close... so close.
“No,” I cry out. “No.”
“Kenny?”
Blinking, I strain against the darkness to find Conner. Relief slams into me. It’s Conner.
Conner is here.
He fumbles to the side and switches on the lamp.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
“Bad dream...” I give him a weak smile, running a hand through my damp hair. The towel I fell asleep in is long gone, and Conner’s eyes flare as he takes in my naked form.
“Come here,” he says, his voice thick with sleep.
I lie back down, snuggling into his warm body. My hand trails up and down his chest, tracing his abs. Silence settles over us, but I know sleep won’t find me again. There’s too much nervous energy coursing through my veins.
My leg slides through his, making us impossibly close, and it’s then I realize he’s also naked. I drop my hand, letting my fingers graze his abs.
Reaching out, he wraps his hand around my wrist, stopping my descent. “K,” he swallows. “We should sleep.”
“I-I’m scared.” I peek up at him, afraid of seeing the sympathy in his eyes.
“Fuck,” he breathes, his brows pulling tight.
