𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐁𝐎𝐘 ☀︎︎ cmb [✓]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 43

With heavy feet, Corbyn approached her, kneeling in front of her like she was a small child. He slowly pulled a strand away, guiding it behind her ear before moving another one, not prepared to see what was hidden behind them.

Her hazel brown eyes, so dull, cold, icy....empty.

They watched him connect with hers, no emotion reflecting once it happened.

It scared Corbyn how he couldn't read them, her eyes. How he couldn't look past her walls and see how she was truly feeling on the inside without having her to look so numb.

He hated it. Absolutely hated it.

Letting his fingers come in contact with her cheek, caressing the tender skin gently like she was made from porcelain—a soft sigh escaped his lips as they slightly moved upwards. "Hey there."

Charity blinked, her eyebrows furrowing as she watched him look at her with such pure eyes. She wanted to open her mouth, say something so badly, thank him for being here with her— but her mind fel blank, her throat closing up.

And it felt horrible.

She was so angry at herself, angry because of the fact she must be looking so pathetic underneath his touch—and she couldn't even bring herself so far to say a single word to him....

Watching how she fought an inner battle, gripping something tightly in her hands with the images of faces—his eyes softened even more, and he placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "It's okay." Corbyn whispered softly, letting his thumb trace in slow patterns, comforting her in a way she didn't know she needed so much.

And as her eyes closed, she felt a shaky breath leave her lips, her barricade slowly crumbling down to pieces by his soft humming, mumbling the lyrics of a song. Her favorite.

"Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Charity desperately tried to keep her emotions inside, too afraid to release them and feel the actual, unbearable pain that was slowly tearing her apart from the inside.

"But it's the only thing that I know."

It is the pain she feared that would break her, break her even more than it already had done so far.

"When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes."

She just didn't wanna allow it. Not to herself, not to her parents, her friends.....her brother. She knew he would never want to see her in so much pain over him. But she couldn't help it. She loved him, and losing him felt like losing a part of herself. The supportive part that kept her happy so easily.

"It is the only thing makes us feel alive."

As he sang, he could feel her give in slowly, her cheek pushing back against the palm of his hand, soaking in his touch with plump, trembling lips.

Feeling how he slipped his fingers through hers, she let him reach out to one of her most precious belongings. And as she watched him look down carefully at it— his lips curved up, making her return the smile with a sad one.

Without thinking twice, she flung her arms around his shoulders, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. Her grip tightened with the second like her life depended on it, tears running down her face in rivers.

Corbyn's strong arms wrapped around her small waist, holding her tightly like he was her fairy tail guardian, protecting her from the cruel outside world. He the shaking girl close to him, listening as she cried out her pain, pulling at his heart strings.

The piece of paper slipped through his fingers and fell to the cold floor. The frozen moment stared up at the ceiling, displaying two young children smiling brightly while holding onto one another in a warm, loving embrace.

A happy moment, stuck in a frame.

"We keep this love in a photograph."

Corbyn realized when he was holding her fragile body close to his, that nothing could change his view of the girl. No bad or sad moments could make him love her any less.

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AUTHER'S NOTE
°☘︎༄☀︎︎➪

I opened a soft spot in my heart and it
hurts. I never expected to go so deep in
my feelings while writing this book—