Second Chances: An Unexpected Angel

Chapter 51

I didn't wake up until almost eleven, but when I opened my eyes, I was still in Sméagol's arms. He hadn't moved all night. He was still awake, and just finished singing another song. I looked up at him, and saw him smiling so sweetly at me.

"Sméagol?" I yawned.

Sméagol's smile grew even sweeter and brighter. "Good morning, beautiful Cheyenne," he greeted cheerfully. "How did my precious sleep?"

"I..." I remembered the dream I had. "I slept great," I said happily.

"Awww, you did?"

"Yeah. I haven't slept this good in so long." Then, I realized something. "Oh, my God, Sméagol," I said breathlessly. "Did you seriously stay awake all night?"

"Yes," he said sweetly. "I did. I wanted to make sure my precious would be alright." He kissed my forehead. "Sméagol was so worried about you, Baby."

"And... did you actually sing to me the whole time?"

"Yes." He caressed my head, and ran his fingers through my hair. "Yes, Baby, I did."

I was speechless, completely blown away by Sméagol's actions. "My God," I said breathlessly, "nobody has... ever, ever done that for me... except for Hayley."

"Hayley?"

"The night Logan broke up with me, I was afraid to fall asleep. She came in to check on me, and she sang me to sleep. She stayed up for hours, just holding me and... singing to me. That wasn't even the first time she did that for me. But, besides her, nobody else ever went that extra zillion miles for me. I mean, I would never ask anyone to, but––"

"I wanted to, Baby. Sméagol do anything for his Precious."

"All those sweet things you said last night... did you––"

"Yes. I meant every word."

"So, you... you're––"

"Yes. Sméagol in love with beautiful Cheyenne."

"I..." Holy shit! I wasn't dreaming! Sméagol actually did say he loved me!

"But, I understands if you're not ready, my baby. I understands if you still loves Logan, so I waits for you, even if I must waits forever. Anything for my precious I would do." He kissed my forehead again. "Anything."

I thought for a moment. "You know, maybe the reason I'm still struggling to get over him is because... I never had real closure, no answers, and so many unresolved feelings of anger and resentment towards him I never got to get off my chest."

"Why is it angry, Precious?"

"Well, first, he broke his promise to me."

"What was his promise?"

"He said he would never leave me. He knew all about my history with abandonment and betrayal, how it affected me. He promised he would never do such a thing to me, and I was dumb enough to believe him. Then, out of nowhere, he breaks up with me... over a fucking text message. He didn't even have the decency to tell me to my face. Instead, he took the easy way out. He didn't even give a real explanation, only that he wasn't ready for a relationship. We were together for over a year, and out of nowhere, he decides he's not ready for a relationship. Yeah, that makes perfect sense."

"Such a coward he is," Sméagol scoffed. "What a load of bullshit."

I snickered at the sound of Sméagol swearing. "Then, less than two months later, he suddenly gets into a new relationship with a woman he barely even knows. You know how I know he barely knew her? Because, in the time I've known him, I've met all his friends. I met his family, everyone that mattered to him, and not once have I ever, ever seen that woman. So... I guess that does answer one of my questions. It wasn't that he wasn't ready for a relationship. He just didn't want me anymore." I sighed. "Maybe he never did. If he did, what changed his mind? If he didn't, why would he play me like that? Oh, and as soon as he gets in this relationship, he sends me a message, telling me he's with someone else, and basically rubbing it in that we're broken up."

"So cruel he was to you," Sméagol said sympathetically.

I suddenly began to feel sad again. "That day... right before you came out of the cave... I was looking at the pond, wondering how deep the water was, and..." I began to tear up. "I thought... what if I jumped in, and didn't even try to swim? What if I let myself drown?" I wept. "Would anybody even miss me, or would they be relieved when I was finally gone?"

Sméagol's eyes filled with tears.

"I thought... if nobody even wants me, if all I am is a burden or an inconvenience or embarrassment... and all I do is make people's lives miserable, why the fuck am I even here?"

"Oh, Sweetie," Sméagol sniffled, holding me tighter.

"I was about to jump in... until I heard you moving around in the cave. Then, I thought, well, this is it. I'm gonna get eaten alive by some wild animal, but I didn't even care."

"Awwwww," Sméagol giggled, rubbing the top of my head, "Sméagol so sorry he scared you. He would never eat you, Baby, never hurt you."

"Well, I didn't realize it was you until you appeared. When I first saw you come out of the cave, I thought I was seeing things. It was all too good to be true. You couldn't be real, so I tried to, I guess, wake myself up. When I realized I wasn't dreaming or seeing things, and that it really was you, I was too afraid to talk to you."

"Awwww, why was it afraid, Baby?"

"I was too shy, and I was already feeling really down on myself. I thought, there's no way he'll even wanna talk to me. He probably won't like me, because nobody else seemed to like me, either. Then, you looked at me, and you asked why I was crying, and as soon as you took my hand and looked into my eyes, I just... broke."

"Yes, I remembers."

"When you held me, I felt like... like I was being held by an angel, and I knew everything would be okay again. I totally forgot about wanting to kill myself." I smiled at Sméagol with tears still pouring out of my eyes. "You saved my life, Sméagol."

Sméagol held me closer against his chest, gently caressing my head and running his fingers through my hair. "Precious..." he whispered.

"I mean it. I would've killed myself if it wasn't for you." I suddenly began sobbing again. "I'm alive today, because of you. I'm okay, because of you."

"Awwww." Sméagol also began sobbing. "Sméagol so happy beautiful Cheyenne is alive. So grateful I am she is not dead."

"Me, too. I'm glad I didn't go through with it."