The girl in the attic

(26) The girl in the attic

The girl in the attic 

Chapter 26 

Preston's POV 

The expression on her face nearly broke my heart as she backed away from me. My words had caused her pain instead of happiness and I had to fix it somehow. I had to make her understand that I didn't expect her to love me back, that I was ok with just being friends. I had to make her understand so that I didn't lose her completely. 

She bumped into the wall still staring at me as more tears ran down her face.  

"I'm sorry Katie," I said getting up from the bed and taking a few steps in her direction. I didn't go to close not wanting to put any more pressure on her.  

"I didn't want to scare you, I understand that you might not feel the same way about me and that's ok. I just wanted you to know how I felt but it doesn't have to mean anything, please tell me that we can still be friends," I begged hoping that I didn't sound like a complete idiot, I just couldn't stand the thought of losing her. 

"You shouldn't...," she started saying but then trailed off tearing her eyes away from mine and looking down at her hands nervously. 

"I shouldn't what?" I asked confused. 

"You shouldn't love me," she answered sadly and I have to admit that her words shocked me a bit. I thought she might be angry at me but I never thought she would be sad about me loving her. 

"Why?" I asked taking a step closer to her. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and comfort her but once again I had to stop myself. 

"Because there's no point in it, I'm not going to be around much longer and I don't want you to get hurt," she replied wiping away her tears as she looked up at me. 

I dint' know what to say to this. She was pushing me away so I didn't end up getting hurt if she died. I couldn't stand the distance between us any longer and now that I knew that she was only pushing me away for my own sake and not because she didn't want me around I felt a bit braver. I closed the distance between us and pulled her into my arms before she had the chance to object. 

She struggled a bit trying to get out of my grip but I held on to her, I was never going to let her go. 

"I would rather love you for a few days and hurt if I lose you then to never get the chance to love you at all," I whispered into her ear. She stopped struggling in my arms as my words sank in and she realized what I was telling her. It was too late. I loved her and nothing could change it. It felt strange admitting it to myself but there was no denying it. I would do anything for this girl. 

She slowly moved her arms around me giving in and resting her head on my chest. 

"I didn't want any of this to happen. I didn't want to love you," Katie whispered through her tears. She didn't want to love me? Does that mean that she does love me? My heart sped up at the possibility that she felt the same way about me as I felt about her. 

"Katie," I whispered pulling away from her and lifting her head with my hand so that she was looking at me. Her big brown eyes were shining from the tears but they were shining with something else as well, something I could only describe as hope. 

"Yeah," she whispered taking a step back. 

"I love you, no matter what happens I love you and nothing is going to change that," I said wanting to make sure she understood that I wasn't going anywhere. She looked deep in thought for a second as if she was debating with herself and then a smile crossed her face. 

"I love you too," she replied as her pale white cheeks turned pink.. 

Hearing her say those words made me happier than I ever imagined possible. I never thought that I could feel this way about anybody but Katie has thought me a lot of things I didn't know about myself. I know she is sick and from what she says she is going to die because of it but I won't give up. I will fight for her and if there was nothing I could do to save her I would love her as much as I could in the time I had with her. I know that losing her would hurt me but not loving her would be worse. 

I knew admitting her feeling to me was a big step for her so instead of pulling her into my arms and kissing her I held out my hand for her to take. She looked hesitant for a second but then lifted her hand and placed it in mine. As she did this we heard a knock at the door. We both froze for a second knowing it could only be Lina, she was the only person at home. 

"Hide," I whispered softly into Katie's ear. She shook her head and made a dash for the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed behind her I made my way over to the door and opened it. 

"Do you have somebody in here with you? I thought I heard voices," Lina asked trying to see into my room. 

"No, it's just me. I had the TV on, maybe that's what you heard," I answered hoping she would fall for it. 

"Maybe", she replied still trying to see into my room. 

"There's nobody here," I stated taking a step back so that she could have a look. Her eyes scanned the place and then focused on me. 

"Good, you know your aunt and uncle wouldn't be happy if you were having friends over," she said taking a step back but still not looking convinced. 

I waited for her to leave and then closed the door behind me making sure to lock it. As I turned around Katie came walking out of the bathroom. 

"That was close," I said walking over to her. She sat down on the bed and pulled the comforter over her. 

"Are you cold?" I asked worriedly. The weather had gotten worse over the last few hours and according to the news we might get some snow. 

"Yea, just a bit. Is it ok if I lay down? I feel tired," she asked looking paler then before. 

"Of course you can," I said getting up from the bed so that she could lie down. 

"Preston?" She whispered looking up at me with pleading eyes. 

"Yea?" I replied crouching down beside the bed so that I was facing her. 

"Will you stay with me? I don't want to be alone," she asked softly and I could hear the tiredness in her voice. 

"I want' planning on going anywhere," I replied smiling at her, she wasn't going to get rid of me that easily. 

"I know... I meant in the bed. Will you hold me?" she asked shyly causing my heartbeat to speed up again. 

"Oh ok," I answered, her request taking me by surprise.  

I got up from where I was crouched beside her and walked to the other side of the bed. I kicked off my shoes feeling nervous and then got in under the covers with her. She moved closer to me and I wrapped my arms around her as she laid her head on my chest. 

"Thank you," She whispered softly as she fell asleep. I held on to her feeling incredibly happy but very sad at the same time. I finally found somebody that I cared for, that I loved more than anything in the world and she loved me too. She wanted to be with me just as much as I wanted to be with her and now I might lose her forever. I couldn't lose her, the thought of not being with her, of not being able to hold her in my arms and see her smile was too much for me to take.