I Fell Apart

As soon as I was finished stitching Shannon up, I took off the white gloves Tomo had found for me. Shannon looked me in the eyes, and took my hand and kissed it. I blushed and widened my eyes, blinking. My hands must have smelled like latex and alcohol and copper.

"Shannon," I said quietly, feeling slightly embarrassed. The way he looked at me made me suddenly feel naked and exposed. He looked so deeply into my eyes that I felt like it was only me and him in the room. His eyes were a bright gold. I took my hand away quickly, putting the bottle of whiskey back on the table. Tomo was nowhere to be seen.

"You're hungry," he said with a small smile. I inwardly sighed.

It was the dead of night and I was hungry. We never actually got to eat dinner. I was half willing to hear Shannon out and half willing to eat dinner with him. Two halves make a whole so I wasn't going anywhere.

Besides, I was too damn curious to let this go now.

I nodded, shrugging a little bit, not wanting to seem to enthusiastic. I didn't want to give him the wrong idea. He held out his hand to me. It made me think of the beginning of the night. How interesting and bizarre he and his house had seemed. I blinked, crossing my arms. He laughed a little.

"Fine, but will you at least give me a hand?" he asked, pointing to his leg. I sighed loudly this time. I took his arm and helped him hobble down the hall.

"Where the hell did Tomo go?" Shannon let out a breath, wincing as he hobbled.

"Dunno. What, miss him already?" He said it so dead-pan that I almost laughed.

"Won't he want to at least eat with us?"

"No, he ate already. Before you got here. He's fine." I sniffed with disdain.

"Well I don't want to eat alone with you. You're weird." He chuckled, looking down on his side at me.

"You love it." I rolled my eyes.

"You have so much explaining to do." Shannon waved his free hand about.

"In due time. Food first, though." He smiled wide as we came up on the dining room finally. The table had been set up for two, with a bright white table cloth and two candelabras placed towards the center of the table. I blinked, and turned my head to look at him. He smiled at me. I squinted my eyes in the dim lighting, trying to intimidate him.

I let go of his arm and wandered over to one side of the table. I sat down quickly, crossing my arms. Shannon held his smile and limped over to the other side. He sat down slowly and cautiously. He put his hands on the table, lacing his fingers together and smiling brightly at me through the candles. My frown deepened.

"Well?" He held his smile.

"Well what, my dear?"

"Where is this food you speak of?" As soon as the words left my mouth, a plate was placed in front of me. I jumped slightly. I looked up to see Tomo. "Ah, Jesus, you surprised me." I put a hand to my cheek. I shook my head. "Thank you, Tomo. It looks delicious." He smiled.

"My pleasure, Dr. White." I let out a breathy laugh.

"Please, call me Rose." He nodded slowly.

"Of course, Rose." I caught Shannon's face without a smile now which brightened my spirits. He cleared his throat, and Tomo took a step back from me, moving over to Shannon and placing a plate of food in front of him.

"Thank you Tomo. That's all for tonight. I'll clear the table when we're done. Goodnight." Tomo nodded slowly.

"Of course, sir. Goodnight, sir." He turned to me. "Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight." Tomo left the room, sliding the two wooden doors shut behind him.

I returned my expression to a cold stare. It was just me and him. All alone in this big room. I looked down at my food and started to eat, ignoring Shannon completely. I saw him start to pick at his food out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm sorry for tonight, Rose. It wasn't supposed to be like this." I sighed softly though my nose, swallowing a mouthful of food.

"What did you expect? There aren't many ways that a night like this can go once you open with a complete lie." He shrugged, shaking his head bashfully.

"Well, not everything was a lie." I raised my eyebrows quickly, blinking at my food.

"So you say." It was silent again after that. He continued to pick at his food.

"Thank you for staying," he said quietly. "It means a lot." A small smile nearly etched its way onto my lips, but I fought it off. "I know you've been through a lot in the past couple of months. I want to help you, Rose." I felt my heart get heavier.

"How can you help me, Shannon?" I asked as quietly as him. "I can barely help myself," I muttered under my breath. He stopped playing with his food. He stood up slowly, and started to limp towards me. I watched with a small frown. He stopped in front of me, and took my hand. He looked deeply into my eyes. His hand was cold but his eyes were warm. Part of me wanted to take my hand away, but another part of me wanted to stare into his eyes for the rest of the night.

"I will do anything to help you, Rose. I will do anything for you." He took my other hand, getting down on his knees, wincing. "You just have to let me." I felt a lump in my throat. I blinked a couple times to stop tears from falling.

"But, why?" He moved slowly. He placed a hand on the back of my neck and pulled me towards him. His lips were cold, but comforting. My breath hitched and my stomach flipped. I let my eyes close. It was a simple kiss, and he pulled away much too soon. My eyes were still closed and I was trying to keep the feeling of his lips on mine tucked away in my mind.

"That's why." I shook my head, finally opening my eyes.

"None of this makes any sense." We stared into each other's eyes again. His eyes were so honest. He started to smile lightly.

"That's love, my dear."