Unconditional

Chapter 17 - Aftermath

Take a step before you leap,
Into the colors that you seek,
You'll get back what you give away,
So don't look back on yesterday.

Wanna scream out,
No more hiding,
Don't be afraid of what's inside.
Gonna tell you, you'll be alright
In the aftermath.

Anytime anybody pulls you down,
Anytime anybody says you're not allowed,
Just remember you are not alone,
In the aftermath.

Aftermath ~ Adam Lambert

***

A/N

First off, I frigging love this song. I love all AL's songs, and I am so excited for 'Ghost Town' and his new album.

Secondly, as those of you who have read my work before will know, I don't tend to write smut. In fact, I actively avoid it, because I can never seem to get it right. That being said, this is a three-quarter lemon, which is more than I usually write, though it's not fitting with Wattpad's R-rating. If you don't want to read it, don't.

Thanks for getting this to over 5k reads in such a short space of time!

Lucy xX

***

I woke with a scream the following morning, bolting upright and jerking myself from my nightmare about James. Immediately, I felt arms around me, soothing and comforting me. For a moment, I struggled, still half caught in my dream and thinking the arms to be James', until I remembered that James had been caught yesterday.

I sobbed into Edward's shoulder, clutching at him as he whispered sweet nothings in my ear. Gradually, my tears ceased, and I pulled myself together. Remembering the events of the previous night, I felt a blush heat up my cheeks. Not only had Edward carried me everywhere, but I'd vomited my guts up right next to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Edward asked softly, tipping my chin up.

"Not really," I whispered.

"Alright. Mum called us in sick for school this morning."

"Thank God. Is it Tuesday today?"

"Yes." Edward swept my hair back from my face. "Do you want me to do you a hot bath and get Alice to help you?"

Jesus, the thought of a hot, foamy bath had me salivating. "Yes please," I said, smiling truly for the first time since James.

"I'll run you a bath, and call Alice in. Okay?"

I nodded almost shyly. Edward kissed the back of my hand, and disappeared into his bathroom. A few minutes later, he reappeared, and called for Alice as he walked out of the bedroom to give me some privacy to change.

Alice appeared a moment later just as I was climbing into the bath, and grinned. "Edward is going to love how your hair smells for the next couple of days," she said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Regardless of Alice's obsession with musky-woody-smelling things (which apparently guys liked to smell on their girls) that morning, I managed to spend a good half an hour in the hot bath before it became cooler. I rubbed myself down with a fluffy towel, towel-dried my hair, and then stepped out of the bathroom to submit myself to Alice's fashion advice in her bedroom.

Thankfully, she was clearly feeling a little sympathetic, and she let me get away with a nice pair of jeans and a fitted-but-not-tight shirt. One thing I loved about Alice was her ability to understand what I needed. That morning, I didn't want to talk about the previous couple of days, and she hadn't mentioned James once.