MARIE ✔️

E I G H T E E N

J A S M I NE

All around me I'm surrounded by art.

I feel my heart race as I continue to look around the room. I'm too scared to touch anything, afraid that I'll break it.

My eyes find their way to a beautiful painting hanging on the wall. The painting has so many colors I don't know what to focus on.

I feel as thought I'm walking in a circle trying to look at everything. But there's too much not to look at. Paintings and sculptures are everywhere. They're all so beautiful. Too beautiful for mankind to see.

I feel like I'm apart of a secret now. A secret that only me and Kaden share- unless he's brought other people here before. Other girls.

Don't worry about that.

Okay.

I hesitantly let my fingers skim over the edges of a perfectly molded sculpture. The sculpture is of a woman with curves at her hips and chest area. The woman's hair is curled into a bun, laying restlessly on her head. One of the woman's arm is covering her breast, holding onto her other arm. While her other hand, is between her pressed legs.

It's a beautiful moment between a woman and herself.

I smile. "Well took a turn." I scratch my neck and continue to look around.

This place is not what I expected it to be.

"How did you find this place?" I ask, walking towards a pile of papers. I peek over my shoulder. Kaden is staring up. I follow his eyes, and widen them when I see the beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

The sunlight peeking through the windows- yes, there are windows in here. There's actually a lot of things in here. The window is casting a light glow onto the art work around me.

"My mother used to come here and work." Kaden says. I look back over to him. There's an expression I can't describe. He's looking at everything with longing eyes, but his face is blank and cold.

"She did all of this?" I ask, surprised. Not because I don't believe someone could do all this, but because I'm in shock from how much stuff is in here.

"A good amount of these are mine." Kaden's ringed fingers glide over the paintings, shifting to the sculptures, and then to where I stand. He looks down at the tall stack of paper. "These were my sketches." I feel his chest slightly get closer to mine. He's not pressed against me, but he isn't being distant anymore either.

He picks the top paper up and holds it in front of my face.

My eyes widen with amazement.

The lines are so intense, so filled with emotion that I can't quite describe. The drawing shows a hand. I know it sounds boring, but listen. The perfectly drawn hand, that looks so realistic, I would probably try and hold it if I was a bit dodgy on eye sight. The hand seems as thought its reaching for something. Anything, anything to help it get pulled to shore. All around the hand is water. Water that is angry. Angry at the world? Angry at human kind? Probably.

"You drew this?" I almost snatch the paper out of his hand, getting a closer look at this work of art.

"Mhm." He mumbles, his face getting a bit closer to mine. His hands that were on my waist, are now trailing to my hips. I feel at ease when Kaden touches me. As if I need his touch so I don't go crazy.

"Do they mean something to you?" I ask, the more I look through his drawings, the more I recognize the pattern that's there.

All of these sketches, they all mean something. They have to.

They're filled with emotion and heart break. They're drawn as if Kaden put his soul into them. They're perfect. He's perfect.

"Everything you see on those papers," he reaches in front of me and grabs yet another drawing. "These are the very fibers of my heart. If it even exists." He mumbles the last part, probably hoping I don't hear it, but I do.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I turn around, only then realizing how close I am to him. I feel my breath hitch. His lips are only inches from mine. He has to lean down in order for him to be so close.

"I pray that you never find out." He whispers, his breath hitting my lip, only reminding me of how much I want them against his.

"Kaden," I whisper, not really knowing what to say or do. But just wanting to hear his name.

"Hmm?" His fingers twine into my hair, twisting my brown locs between his fingers.

"Why do you always seem so distant when we're together?"

He pulls back a little, only enough to look at me. "I'm distant with everyone, Marie. If anything, you're the one person who can get more than five words out of me."

Oh.

My lips part and my mouth goes dry.

My breath seems to hitch. "You're the first guy I've let myself get close with since I was a Freshman." I admit. I've taken notice how my hands are pressed against his chest, while his are now on the small of my back. "I don't know why. Because sometimes, I feel like you scare me and that I should run and never look back." I can feel his hands tense at that, but I don't stop. "But it thrills me. Because I finally feel like I can take a breath and not worry about Annalise, or my dad, or..."

I trail off because I don't even know what to say anymore. My chest feels tight, and I have to take deep breaths. I'm too scared to look up at Kaden. Does he think I'm crazy? I've only known him for a few weeks and I'm already admitting stuff to him as if I'm in love.

I was in love once. And it did not feel like this.

Which makes me question my intake on what love really is.

I let my palms distance themselves from Kaden's chest. But as soon as I pull them away, they're pulled right back. My gaze jolts to Kaden. And when it does, I don't have time to react before his Lips press against mine.

It's slow and sensual.

But it's also needy and filled with hunger.

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