Edge of Destruction

It had been a good half hour, and he still hadn't said anything. I kept looking over at him, hoping he'd notice and say something, but he just kept his eyes on the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. We only had about an hour left in our trip, and I really didn't want him to still be angry when we got back to his house. "I.. I understand that this is not what you signed up for when Kendra introduced you to me.. And I'll also understand if you don't want to hang out anymore.. You didn't ask for this." I told him softly, staring at my hands. "What are you saying?" He asked flatly, still keeping his eyes on the road. "Well.. I just know that I'm difficult.. And I won't ask you to stick around if you don't want to. I told you from the get-go, you were gonna change your mind about me.. You can just drop me off at my apartment, it's okay." He sighed beside me, reaching his hand over and gripping my own tightly. "I have a lot of things I want to say to you right now, but I want to be able to look you in the eye when I tell you these things so you know I'm serious. I can't do that while I'm driving. I'm not going to take you home, you're coming to my place." I swallowed, hard. "Are.. Are you angry with me..?" I whispered. He sighed, again, squeezing my hand. "With you? No. I'm not angry with you. Please don't think that. I just have some stuff to say to you, when we get to my place. Chill." I exhaled deeply, feeling relieved. "We'll be there soon." He told me softly, still holding onto my hand.

The rest of the car ride was pretty quiet, aside from him occasionally singing along to a song on the radio. I was getting more nervous, the closer we got to Cleveland. What did he have to say to me? It couldn't be too awful, since he still wanted me to stay over. Where would I even be sleeping? Probably the couch.. At least it was comfortable. When we finally pulled into his driveway, I felt like I was a zombie. I was half asleep, and almost fell while getting out of his Jeep. He grabbed my bag from the backseat for me and led me inside, making sure I didn't fall over from exhaustion.

He led me into his room, and I plopped down on the bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling. "Do you need a shirt or something to sleep in?" He asked me and I nodded. He went into his closet for a moment, before stepping back out and throwing a shirt at me. I sat up, holding it in my hands, before doing something I never thought I'd have the courage to do. I stood up, with him still in the room and removed my shirt slowly, leaving me standing there in just my bra and my shorts. I wrapped my arms around myself tightly. He had his back turned to me, pulling his own shirt off. "Kells.." I whispered, and he turned around, his eyes wide. "What are you doing?" He asked me, his breathing turning ragged. I blushed brightly. "I.. I wanted you to see.." I removed my arms from my stomach, revealing not only a huge tattoo of a Luna moth, but also a couple dozen circle shaped scars, lining the upper part of my stomach and my sternum. He took a few steps closer to me, slowly, his eyes on my torso. When he was finally in front of me, he knelt down, placing his hands on my sides, running his thumbs over each mark. I flinched at the contact, but he didn't say anything. Suddenly, I felt his lips on my stomach, and I flinched again. He placed a soft kiss on each one of the scars, taking his time to find each one. I let my fingers find their way into his hair, and I felt tears flow over the brims of my eyes. He was so incredibly gentle.

After what seemed like forever, the kisses stopped and he stood up slowly, holding my hands in his. "Lyra?" He whispered. "Please look at me." I slowly looked up, staring into his blue orbs. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not if I can help it. I don't know what was going on through that guy's head when he did this to you.. But I can tell you that he truly fucked up." He paused, picking up the shirt from off the bed and helping me put it on. "I know you're scared, but babe, I'm scared too. You're the first girl who hasn't just wanted to hang out because I'm famous. You don't care about the money. Hell, I had to practically beg you to give me your number. You're new for me, too." I looked down, staring at our intertwined hands. "Lyra?" He whispered again. I looked back up at him, and he smiled. "I would love to hang out with you more, and get to know you even better.. And I uh.. I don't know too much about love but.." He paused, licking his lips, "I'm sure we've got something going on here. Don't keep runnin' from me."

I let out a shaky breath and launched myself into him, wrapping my arms around his bare torso and holding him against me tightly. He snaked his arms around my waist, bending down slightly so he could pick me up, carrying me into the bed with him. He laid me down beside him, pulling the covers over us both. I reached down under the covers, unbuttoning my shorts and pushing them off, and unbuckling my bra, throwing it on the floor with my shirt. I was left in nothing but his oversized shirt and my underwear. "Better?" He asked me, chuckling. I nodded, nuzzling my face into the pillows. "Promise me you'll still be here when I wake up." He whispered to me, caressing my cheek in his hand. I nodded, smiling lightly. "I promise, Kells. I'm not going anywhere." He smiled, too, running his thumb along my lower lip, slowly. "One day, I hope it'll be alright if I kiss you." He whispered to me, his eyes locked on my lips. I felt my cheeks burn and I bit my lip. "I'm sure it will be."