Behind These Bruises...

Behind These Bruises...[Part 17]

I woke up to the sun streaming through the sheer navy blue curtains of Derek's room. Derek's arms were around me and my back was pressed up against his chest. I could feel his light breath on the back of my neck as he slept.

A smile crept onto my lips. It was almost unbelievable. The day before I was getting ready to go on a date with Kyle. And now here I was, sleeping in Derek's bed, with Derek. We were finally together and it seemed like all the drama and pain I'd gone through in the past 3 months was well worth it.

I turned around in Derek's arms so that I was facing him. He looked so peaceful as he slept. His golden-brown hair was a mess, his nose a perfect slope, his lips perfectly shaped...

Derek stirred awake and opened his green eyes. He blinked, looked at me, and then smiled.

"Good morning," he said quietly, pressing those perfect lips to my forehead.

"Good morning," I replied, closing my eyes at his touch.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Peacefully. Which is shocking," I answered. "You?" I asked.

"I think that was one of the best sleeps I've ever had," he said, yawning and stretching. I stretched too and then groaned. I was aching and sore all over.

"Oww..." I mumbled.

"Are you ok?" he asked. I nodded.

"I'm just really sore. It's typical. It'll be gone by the end of the day," I replied, massaging any tissue and muscle  that wasn't covered by a cast.

"Umm, Mila? You're father won't be angry that you're not home, will he?" he asked, worry in his voice. I shook my head.

"Whenever he gets really violent and hurts me to an extreme amount, I usually go over to Alisha's place for a few days. It's to let him cool off a little and for me to heal a bit. Alisha's parents are doctors, too. They're the sweetest people ever. If you ever meet them, you'll have no doubt that Alisha's their daughter. They're always willing to take care of me after a bad episode," I explained. "But, I guess the healing is going to take a while this time for me," I added. Then I sat up. "Shit! Alisha! I need to call her!" I exclaimed. And then I let out another groan from sitting up too fast. Derek laughed at me.

"You're a mess," he said, stilling lying on his back. He brought his hand up to my good arm and stroked it softly, sending shivers up and down my spine. I laid back down in his arms.

"Your parents won't walk in, will they?" I asked, yawning.

"Shit, speaking of my parents. I think you should hide up in my room for a bit. I'll go down, eat breakfast, and then bring some up for you. I don't want to bring you down to them so soon after I broke up with Leah. And besides, it'd be weird if they knew you stayed the night," he said.

"Understood," I said. "While we're at that. Should we wait before letting other people know that we're together? I bet the whole school knows by now that my date with Kyle didn't go well and that you and Leah are broken up. She no doubt changed her relationship status on Facebook," I said. He chuckled a little.

"Facebook is so dumb. But it's like, the news hub of the teenage world," he said. I nodded. "I think we should wait until Kyle and Leah get together before we say anything. They'll no doubt be hooking up this break. We have 5 days off. They'll be together by the time we get back to school," he said. I nodded again. He kissed the side of my head, which made me smile. The little things that he did--kiss the side of my head, stroke my cheek, brush my arm--they were so comforting, so perfect. They were little things, but they sent butterflies flitting around in my stomach.