forum Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Started March 18, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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“Then stay with me tonight,” she whispered, clutching his shirt pleadingly. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“I will. And tomorrow, we will walk into that school like we own it. How about that? Don’t let him see that he gets to you,” Sterling said, pulling away to look at her. “Also… Do you think Lucas has some pajamas or something that I could borrow to sleep in? Otherwise… I could sleep in just my boxers. You probably wouldn’t want that, though, would you?”

“Even if I try otherwise, he’ll know. He knows he gets to me,” she said quietly before her cheeks flamed at his next comment. Despite herself, she imagined him in just that, and a hiccup escaped past her lips. She wasn’t entirely embarrassed. She was still… upset. Broken. Scared. But the thought of her boyfriend, barely clothed… “The sweatshirts in my closer. You can—you can borrow one of them.”

“And pants, sweetheart?” Sterling asked, raising an eyebrow at her. He heard her hiccup and was confused for a moment, especially when she didn’t hiccup again. “And what was that?”

“I can get the pants,” she muttered under her breath, looking anywhere but at him. “And um… it was a hiccup…?”

Sterling gave her an amused yet disbelieving look. “All right, babe. It didn’t seem like that was all it was. I’ll let it pass for now, though. And thank you. If you grab them for me now, I’ll change in the bathroom quick.”

“That was all it was. A hiccup,” Eden argued. Why did she always do that whenever she was flustered? Eden could never understand why. She pushed herself off of the bed, stretched slightly, and wiped at her cheeks. “Give me a minute for those.”

“Will do,” Sterling said, leaning back into his hands. He smiled as he watched her, glad that he could do something to make this at least a little easier on her.

Eden rubbed her arms, the harsh scratches rough against her fingers. She quickly headed to her brother’s room, pulling out a sweatpants that would fit her boyfriend.

How did she feel right now? Numb, if Eden was being honest. For the first time, she told her story. It had always been a silent part of her, but now it was out in the open. She felt exposed, like the girl she thought she was—the strong, tough girl… like that wasn’t real.

Shaking her head, Eden returned to her room, tossing the cloth to Sterling.

“Here,” she murmured. “Hope it fits…”

Sterling blinked as he caught the clothes, thrown off by the time of her voice. He frowned slightly, standing and making his way over to her. Gently, he reached over and took her hand in his own.

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” he asked softly. “Anything at all?”

Eden pulled a smile on her face. “I’m okay,” she assured him gently, squeezing his hand. “Just stay with me.”

Or get the feeling of his hands off of me…

“I can do that. I’ll go get changed, and then I’ll come back and lay with you. Sound good?” Sterling murmured, squeezing her hand back.

“Sounds good,” Eden reached up to gently kiss his cheek. Then she pulled away to let him go. “Go now.”

Sterling smiled down at her before letting her go and stepping away. “I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t go anywhere,” he joked with a wink, already making his way into the bathroom.

Eden didn’t say anything. She merely smiled, shaking her head before making her way to the bed. She crawled under the blanket, hugging one pillow, and closing her eyes while waiting for her boyfriend.

As soon as Sterling had changed, he rolled his clothes up and stepped out into the room again. He set his things by the bathroom door, then made his way over to the bed.

“Are you actually going to try to sleep tonight?” he asked softly, placing a gentle hand on Eden’s arm before moving around to lay beside her.

Eden scooted over to make room for him, burying herself in his side when he was beside her. She rested her head on his chest, tangling legs around his and pulling the blanket over him as well.

“I don’t want to,” she admitted quietly. “But I’m exhausted. I’m so drained, Sterling, that even the fear of nightmares won’t push it back.”

“I hope you can sleep well, with no nightmares tonight,” Sterling murmured back. He wrapped his arms around her and ran his hand through her hair gently. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

“That’s a nice wish,” Eden chuckled before melting in his embrace, leaning into his touch. “Thank you, Sterling… for coming here as soon as school ended…”

“I was worried about you… You didn’t text me when you got home, so I thought something might have happened to you,” Sterling sighed, his arms tightening around her slightly. “So, yeah. I came right over here. I will always come when I’m worried.”

“I was going to text you,” Eden gripped his shirt tightly. “But… I ran into him on my way home, and… I couldn’t think straight. All I knew was that I wanted to throw up and wash myself clean, and nothing else came to me.”

Sterling sighed, the sound near a growl, though he held back the full sound of that. “I swear, if he tries to hurt you again… I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Sorry. I really hate him for doing that to you. So much.”

Eden nearly flinched at the sound he made, but relaxed immediately. She reached up to press their lips together softly, before pulling away and nestling back against his chest.

“I can’t bring myself to hate him,” she said quietly. “Because… the first year I’d known him, he wasn’t a monster. He was genuine…”

“I don’t understand that, but… I won’t try to convince you otherwise. You’re too stubborn for it to be of any use,” Sterling half-joked, leaning in to kiss her softly again. “My favorite girl… My beautiful queen… My Eden Rose McArthur.”

“I love being your girl,” Eden mumbled sleepily, shifting and turning around so her back was pressed to his chest, his arms around her waist. “Your queen. Your Eden Rose McArthur… just like I love you being mine… My favorite, my only man. My handsome king. My beloved Sterling Ryder Ainsley…”