Elijah's POV
I stare into the darkness that surrounds me. As much as I want to—and tried to—sleep, I couldn't.
The shuffling of footsteps and the creaking sound of a door causes me to sit up. A warm body comes to sit beside me on the couch.
I shift closer and put my arms around her, squeezing her against me. She's so warm and I could just hold her here forever. "Couldn't sleep?" I ask. She nods. "Me neither."
"So, you were just sitting in the dark?"
"Yeah. . . What were you doing? Having a disco?" I run my fingers through her soft hair.
"What were you thinking about?"
I place a kiss on the side of her head. "Thinking about what I'd rather be doing in the dark, with you," I whisper in her ear, making my voice deeper and raspier.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness a while ago, so I see her smile. "I'll need a demonstration."
I turn her head towards me and kiss her. She runs her hand through my hair as she kisses me back. The sensation is incredible. Like a warm comforting feeling spreading through my body. It makes me feel alive. And causes my heart to go completely soft. I want to kiss her for the rest of my life.
She pulls away from the kiss. "You taste like chicken nuggets." I stay silent, not knowing how to respond to that. Is that a bad thing? "Now I feel for chicken nuggets," she adds and laughs.
"Let's go get some?" I offer. She perks up at the idea of food.
We both rush to get our clothes, shoes and jackets on, as if the 24-hour McDonald's is going to close.
We jump into my car, but not before I notice Bree warily looking around in the dark for a threat. A specific male threat, that I couldn't protect her from.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I drive. He was strong, but I should have been more prepared. I could see the way he was looking at her, the way he was standing, and it was threatening. I should have been ready to take more punches for her.
There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. But saying that means nothing if I can't even protect her from some random guy from a dating site.
If I ever see him again I'm going to give him a piece of my mind and make sure I knock him out, at least. "I'm sorry, Bree." I chew on my lip.
Her head whips towards me. "What do you mean?"
"I couldn't protect you. I couldn't help you. That guy . . . he could have hurt you and I was pathetically passed out." My jaw clenches. "I'm your boyfriend. I'm supposed to protect you and keep you safe."
"Elijah, you threw more than a few punches at him. I'm sure he has a couple of bruises on his face and his body, thanks to you. You helped."
"What did he do after? Be honest, please."
She glances at my tight grip on the steering wheel. "He threatened me," she admits, fiddling with her fingers. "But I don't think it'll be a problem."
I won't be leaving her side any time soon. "No, it won't be."
Bree's POV
I get nuggets, a Big Mac with a large side of fries and a Oreo McFlurry. Elijah gets the same, except he gets a caramel McFlurry.
The Oreo one is definitely better.
Elijah goes to the back of the McDonald's and parks his car in the parking lot. We both recline the chairs and dig in.
As I shovel nuggets down my throat, Elijah watches me. He barely touches his food, unable to stop fidgeting and glancing at me. I put my now empty box of nuggets away and turn to him. It causes him to break eye contact and stare out of his window.
"Talk," I demand. He clearly has something he wants to say.
"No, don't worry about it."
Does he know something? "I'm listening."
"I used to do this with my little sister all the time, before my family left, and I was wondering if you . . ." His eyes soften. "Do you miss your family? I mean, if you don't want to answer, that's fine. I just know that if I lost my sister completely I'd be devastated. I wouldn't want to live in a world without family and you have none."
"I have you now." I try to avoid his question.
"But it's different. Blood is blood."
My heart sinks. It's time I talk about it. "I do miss them, all the time. I wonder how different—less lonely—I would feel with them around." I would have had enough money to study and survive, and wouldn't have gotten involved with Antonio. Maybe my life would have been entirely different. "Maybe I wouldn't have felt so lonely. But I deserve to. It's my fault they're gone."
"You didn't kill them."
"But I didn't protect them." I hid, like a coward. And watched their lifeless eyes stare at me from my hiding place under the bed.
"You were a child. You wouldn't have been able to help them. You would have died with them." My parents disagree. They blamed me, then left me because they couldn't look me in the eyes again after that night.
"I should have tried to save them, even if it killed me."
"You were nine-years-old. Of course you froze. You must have been terrified."
My eyes fall closed, as I remember that night like it had just happened. It causes my heart to tighten.
We were innocently watching tv downstairs, while out parents were out on a date night, when we heard a loud crash.
We were watching a horror movie—because our parents didn't let us watch them when they're around—so we were already scared out of our minds.
My breathing shakes. Elijah takes my hand to comfort me.
We all hid, but whoever broke in managed to find my two sisters. They chose the worst hiding places: a cupboard and the back of a door. I have no idea why the man in the dirty green boots chose not to look under the bed, but he did look behind the door and inside the cupboard.
"I do miss them so much." They were my ride-or-dies. I did everything with them. We even used to wear identical outfits. My hands starts shaking and I tighten my grip on Elijah's hand, remembering the way they screamed. "C-Can we talk about something else?"
I know I need to talk about what happened. I need to accept that I couldn't have done anything to save them. I know talking to Elijah will help me, but I don't want to think about it. I don't want to remember the details.
It's not healthy to keep this memory locked up inside me. But I am eating McDonald's at three in the morning. What do I know about health?
He let's go of my hand. "Yeah, of course." Elijah takes a bite of his burger and nods.
I think about it all the time. I blame myself all the time. If I died trying to save them, at least I wouldn't have become a murderer.
"It is my fault," I whisper and close my eyes.
"Get out," he says.
"What?" I look up at him. His jaw is clenched and his eyes are hard. He looks angry, but still really attractive.
"I said get out. Get out the car," he demands. He seems dead serious. It's cold outside.
I hesitantly climb out the car, not knowing what else to do. It is his car. I am not sure if I can say no.
Did I accidentally say something out loud without realising? Does he know?
•<•>•
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