Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty-Three

Teddy was crying, and I was crying, too, because I felt his pain.

"As soon as I turned six, Dad started changing. He would yell at Mom because she wouldn't sleep with him. He'd tell her that if she could not fulfill her role as a woman, then he would have to look for someone who did... I never thought he was serious, until one night..."

Teddy bit his bottom lip and squeezed my hand even more tightly.

"He entered my room very quietly. I was already asleep, but I could hear his soft footsteps as he made his way to my bed... I closed my eyes tightly, stupidly thinking that if he saw that I was asleep he would leave the room, but boy, was I wrong..."

"Teddy..." I whispered, not being able to say anything else.

"He unwrapped the covers and grabbed my legs brusquely. Then, he smirked evilly and told me that I was going to enjoy it... He even had the nerve to tell me that it was going to hurt a little bit but then it would feel good... Then, he took off my pants, and..."

Teddy was sobbing uncontrollably now, and I was, too. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly, knowing what he needed the most in that moment was to be embraced.

Now I understood why his eyes were so full of pain most of the time. I understood why he felt so miserable.

I did not understand, though, how he was able to keep going after something as terrible as that had happened to him.

"He took away my innocence, Chris... I was just a little boy..." Teddy said between sobs. "How can someone be as evil as he was?"

"That fucking bastard," I whispered angrily. "Don't worry, Teddy. You're safe now. I'm with you now. I will never leave you. I promise."

I could see Teddy's lips trembling as he continued with his story. "The worst part is that Mom blamed me after I told the police," he whispered. "I told the police that asshole had raped me, and they took him to jail, but Mom insisted that he was the love of her life, and she blamed me for having made him go away! She never believed me when I told her what he had done to me!"

Teddy sighed and lowered his face, his eyes were still full of tears, and his voice was still breaking.

"He was sentenced to fifteen years... And Mom started consuming even more drugs after he was taken to jail. She would yell at me most of the time, and even though she promised once that she would stop doing drugs, she only stopped for a little while, and then she went back to doing drugs and beating me."

"And then she went missing," I finished for him.

"And then she went missing," he confirmed.

"They don't deserve you, Teddy," I whispered. "They don't deserve someone as beautiful as you..."

"I hate him, Chris. I hate him like you have no idea. I was named after him, and that's the reason why I hate my name so damn much! He... he took what should have been the best years of my life and turned them into a nightmare... He completely wrecked me. He left me damaged beyond repair... and just when I thought I could not be fixed by anything or anyone, you arrived. You were able to pick up the pieces and put them together once again. You were able to rejoin the wires in my heart. You reunited every single piece of me and perfectly made me complete again. You, my beautiful Chris, were the only cure to my despair..."

"Oh, Teddy Bear," I whispered as tears streamed down my face.

"Chris," he whispered softly. "You're the only reason I have grown to appreciate life... I used to want to die so badly... But now I don't anymore. Meeting you changed my life, Chris, and I'm very sorry if I have ever hurt you..."

"Shush," I whispered. "Don't be sorry."

I ran my hands through his beautiful, green hair and allowed my tears to fall freely down my face. I finally understood why Teddy's eyes were constantly full of pain. He had every right to feel hurt and betrayed.

I actually could not understand where all that kindness and happiness came from. I did not understand how someone with a past as dark and miserable as Teddy's could still manage to see the beauty in life, even after everything he had gone through.

Teddy bit his bottom lip. "I cannot fight these feelings any longer," he muttered. "I tried to stop so many times... I tried to push you out of my mind and out of my heart, but I simply can't."

"This is not the moment, Teddy," I whispered.

Although his eyes were still full of tears, Teddy smiled with that genuine smile of his. "This is the perfect moment, Chris."

"Teddy..."

He sighed. "Chris, it has taken me so long to realize that I deserve to be happy... I was so used to pain that I forgot that happiness was still possible. I faked smiles for so long, but as soon as I met you I didn't have to fake them anymore because you make me genuinely happy, Chris..."

I raised one of my eyebrows. "So what are you going to do about it?" I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Teddy smiled and kissed my lips. It was a wilder kiss, full of hunger and of need. I had been dying to kiss him like that since a long time, and now that it was finally happening, I could not believe it. I was afraid he would ask me to only be his friend one more time, but while kissing him, nothing of that mattered.

I pulled away and tilted my head. "What are we now, Teddy?" I asked him, confused.

"What do you want us to be?" he asked, smiling.

"You know," I said shyly. "That."

Teddy smiled. "I can't believe you can say the word 'sex,' but you can't say the word 'couple.'"

I smirked. "Stop teasing me and answer the question."

He sighed. "I want to be with you more than anything, Chris. Do you want to be with me?"

"I do, Teddy Bear," I muttered.

He smiled. "Then it's settled," he said. "You're officially my girlfriend."

I smiled. "Am I?"

"Yes," he said, kissing my lips softly. "You are."

I bit my bottom lip. "I feel so lucky to be dating a green-haired boy as ardently handsome as you," I said.

He chuckled. "You little butt-kisser," he said.

I shrugged. "Maybe complimenting you will gain me some privileges," I said.

"Don't count on it," he said, winking.

I poked his stomach playfully, and he pretended to be hurt.

He kissed my lips once again, and as we pulled away, I said, "I could get used to this."

He smiled. "You're so beautiful, Chris," he said as he leaned forward and kissed me one more time.