My Sweet Shina - Book One

Chapter Twenty-Three

I sat up in bed, a scream tearing from body. Tears streaming down my face, I glanced down at the empty spot beside me in bed, the sheets cold and the pillow untouched as it had been for the past few days. I stared blankly at the spot that used to be filled with Leon's warmth, his quiet breaths once tickling my ears each morning.

How long would it be before I would once again feel his lips gently kissing, his hands slowly roaming, his teeth greedily biting into my skin?

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I spent each day wandering the streets, visiting the places we had built memories together. My hands lingered upon our table at the cafe, the same place we had our first date so very long ago. I felt the tears slowly roll down my face as I stared at the now empty field were we rode the ferris wheel together, kissing gently at the top as the fireworks lit the sky behind us. My breath caught as I stood outside the theater, remembering how happy I had been watching that first movie with Leon as we cuddled in the back row.

My heart broke again and again with every place I wandered. But none hurt quite as much as when I found myself standing outside the church, the ring like ice on my finger as I remembered how happy we had been and how handsome he'd looked standing in front of the minister as I slowly walked down the aisle, ready to start the next stage of our lives together. Together...

Feeling the last of the tears run down my face, I turn and head back home, determination building within my mind.

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I looked in the mirror for the first time in days, taking in the heavy dark circles that rested beneath empty eyes. The nightmares had made sleep a rarity in the time since Leon had been taken from me.

Lifting my hands, I grabbed my hair and brought the scissors close.