forum Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Started March 18, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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“I still can’t believe you like me back,” Sterling murmured back, twisting her hair around his fingers.

“Of course I do,” a shiver ran through her at his actions. “You’re the first person who wasn’t afraid of me…”

“And you’re the only one who matters,” Sterling whispered, kissing her softly.

Eden looked up at him, eyes wide at his words. You’re the only one who matters. She’d never been told that before. And coming from Sterling’s mouth… Tears glistened her eyes.

“Ah,” she sniffled, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeves. “You really know your way with words, don’t you?”

Sterling smiled and wiped her tears away. “Yeah, I kinda do. But I only say what I mean.”

Eden pressed the heel of her hands against her eyes, biting her lip. What had she done to deserve this? Absolutely nothing. She didn’t know what he’d do if he knew what really happened with her. Would he still think the same, knowing how she’d let a man touch her constantly? That she let him abuse her?

“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered. “I’ve never been told that before…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Sterling whispered, taking her hands from her eyes. He gave them a gentle squeeze, then kissed both her eyelids. “You’re beautiful and amazing.”

Eden shook her head, gripping his hands tightly. “I’m not,” she croaked out. “You don’t know that. I’m anything but that. And I don’t—I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve you.”

“It’s not about what you deserve. Heck, I don’t deserve you,” Sterling sighed, shaking his head. “No matter what happened to you, it doesn’t affect how I feel about you.”

"You deserve better," Eden insisted, biting her lip hard enough to taste blood. "I'm sorry. You like me even though I don't tell you anything. I don't know how you'd react once you find out. I'm sorry–I'll stop talking now…"

“Hey, hey… Don’t do that. Please,” Sterling said, reaching up to gently pull her lip from her teeth. He pecked her on the lips softly, then rested their foreheads together. “I’ll always be here for you. I promised you that, and it will never change.”

“I’m sorry,” Eden squeezed her eyes shut, releasing a shaky breath. “But please don’t make that promise.”

“Eden. I don’t want you to think that whatever this is will change us. How can I convince you that it won’t?” Sterling asked softly, kissing away her tears with gentle lips.

“I don’t know,” Eden opened her eyes again when she felt his lips on her face, kissing away her tears. She wished he wasn’t that gentle. She wished she wasn’t afraid of losing him. She wished her fear of him didn’t prevent her from being happy with Sterling. “I don’t know if I can ever move on, Sterling…”

“Well… Let me help you at least try,” Sterling whispered, pulling away to cup her cheek. “Please.”

Eden leaned into his touch, blinking to push tears away. “How? I’ve tried for two years and I still can’t help but look over my shoulder…”

Sterling shook his head slowly, rubbing gentle circles into her cheek. “I don’t know, E. But we’ll figure it out. Starting with this,” he murmured.

His touch never failed to bring her peace. Why couldn’t she ever let him have a moment of peace for once? Each time they hung out, she brought forth her issues. She made it seem like it was a much bigger problem than it actually was.

“Starting with what?” Eden lifted her own hand to trace his face. From his nose to his cheeks to his lips.

“This. Just this,” Sterling breathed, continuing the slow motion of his thumb on her face.

Eden’s eyes fluttered close, enjoying the feeling of his thumb on her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she whispered again. “It’s not a big deal. It shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“It’s okay, Eden. Whatever happened must have been a big deal for you to be acting like this,” Sterling whispered softly.

“I can’t—I can’t tell you what it is,” Eden exhaled deeply through her nose. “Not right now. Not yet. So can you… can you wait for me?”

Sterling nodded slowly, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “Of course. I’ll wait as long as you need.”

Eden opened her mouth to say something when the bell rang, effectively cutting her off. She sighed. “PE…”

“At least we have the class together. I’ll walk you to your locker room,” Sterling said, carefully slipping her from his lap so he could stand.