"Listen to me. You are most definitely not ugly. Those bruises and burns... they are apart of you, and you are beautiful."
"You wouldn't say that if you saw my whole body." I whisper.
"Yes I bloody would Kylie, and you know it." He says in an angry voice.
"Well then look! Look and see how disgusting I am!" Without thinking, I pull my shirt off. It's a good thing I was wearing a bra.
I point at my shoulders, my chest, my stomach. "Look at me! Look! I am absolutely disgusting! I am ruined! These marks will never go away! They are permanently ingrained on me." Tears are streaming down my face. "Can you really love me, now that you've seen me?"
Thomas just stares at me. Then, he hugs me. I cry into his chest. He rubs my back. He kisses me forehead, my cheeks, my nose, my lips. He pulls me over to the bed, sits me down, my legs hanging of the side of the bed. He gently pushes me onto the bed, my legs now on it. He looks me in the eyes. I was still crying. He kisses my lips again.
He kisses me all over my face, lovingly.
He kisses my neck, tenderly. My shoulders, my arms. All of my bruises, all of my burns. He kisses down, down towards my chest. He kisses me there, and the valley in between my breasts, the parts of it that weren't covered. He kisses my stomach, my sides, my waist, my hips.
I had stopped crying.
His lips make their way back up. He kisses my neck again. He sucks on it gently, then a bit more harshly. My eyes flutter closed. He takes his mouth off my neck, leaving a hickey. He laps at the mark with his tongue, soothing it. He moves down, kisses the biggest bruise on my shoulder. Down again, right inbetween my breasts. He leaves butterfly kisses there. Gentle, sweet.
My mouth opens slightly, and I let out a tiny, "Oh..." I felt hot, mesmerized by the way he was making me feel.
He rubs my sides, massages them. He kisses the bruises and burns on my stomach, kissing them extra gently. He kisses the bruise right below my belly button. He kisses every inch of my bare skin.
I feel... loved.
He moves up one last time, and kisses my nose, then my lips. When we pull away, we keep our foreheads pressed against each other. We are both breathing heavily, panting. I open my eyes, look at his lips, lean in, kiss them. He kisses me a few more times.
"I'm sorry, I just... Do you believe me now? That no matter what you look like, no matter the burns or bruises or whatever, I'll love you? Because I will. I'll love you if you gain 100 pounds or if you lose 50. I'll love you even if you hate me. I'll love you even when you push me away. I'll always love you. Do you believe me now?"
"Yes..." I whisper. "I believe you. Thank you. I-I'm so happy... I..." Tears of happiness leave my eyes now. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Shhhh, shhhhhh. Don't cry. I hate it when you cry." He kisses my tears away. "Are you alright?"
I close my eyes, nod. I was more than alright.
"You make me feel loved..." I whisper.
"That's because you are loved." He whispers back. "You'll always be loved."
"Thank you. I love you too..." I couldn't stop smiling now.
"Let me get your shirt." He says, gets up, grabs it, and says, "Can I... put it on you?"
I blush. I can't seem to form words, so I just nod. I put my hands in the air, and he drops the shirt, and starts tickling my under arms.
"No, no! Stop it Thomas! Hahaha! No st-stop!" I could not stop laughing. Darn me for telling him where I was the most ticklish. Darn him for asking. "Thomaaaaassss! Stop it!" We were both laughing now. It felt so good to laugh together.
"Alright, alright." He stops tickling me, and after I get my breath back, I hit him playfully in the arm. "Give me that." I say, and take my shirt from him. I put my shirt on then say, "Meanie."
"Oh, you take that back!" He says, fake pouting.
"Noooooo. Make me." Oooh, I probably shouldn't have said that...
He grins. The tickles me again, and after a few moments I yell, "I take it back, I take it back! Stoooooop it!"
Thomas stops. After we stop laughing, he leans in, and tenderly kisses me. "I love you." He murmurs against my lips.
"I love you too." I murmur back.
We fall asleep cuddling together.
Chapter Fourteen
Start from the beginning
