You are my today, and all of my tomorrows
Leo Christopher
***
Apparently, everyone heard what happened in the training room.
We walked up the stairs and Declan opened the door for me and that's when the stares started. It was about 5 in the morning and the halls were starting to get busy. Everyone doing something important. However, when Declan and I walked out of the training room together, it seemed everyone stopped and stared. Their eyes followed us until we were out of sight.
"Get back to work," Declan called when we felt too many eyes on him at once. As soon as those four words slipped past his lips, everyone started moving again.
"It's crazy how much power you have here," I say as my fingers lace with his.
"They think I'd kill them if they disobeyed. I wouldn't. Not unless they did something deserving of a life sentence, but somewhere, somehow, they got it in their heads that death was their only way out of here. I just didn't say anything to change their minds." He tells me, quietly, in my ear.
I just nod, not responding with audible words. I don't know how I feel about that but at the same time, I know Declan needs to do what he has to do in order for these men to respect them and treat them fairly.
When we make it back into our room, he opens the door with the code and we both walk in. "There's going to be a formal dinner tonight." Declan starts. "It's a meeting with everyone in this house to explain to them not to let Nolan into this house. I want to watch people's reactions closely and see what they say."
He takes a step close to me and tucks my hair behind my ear. "I would like you to go, but you don't have to. If you don't want to, that's okay."
"I'll go." I say.
"Are you sure?" He asks me.
I nod. "I'm positive. I'm just as curious who is trying to kill us and it'd be nice to be in the loop."
He kissed me softly, lingering for a moment. "I just don't want to make this worse." He taps my temple with his index finger and I know he's referring to my nightmares.
"Declan, I'll be fine. I've experienced worse things in my life." He hums in response.
"I wish I could fix you." He tells me, his hands finding my waist and pulling me closer to him.
"Nothing in this world could fix me, Dec. I'm fucked beyond repair." I tell him, my hands finding his arms and leaning into his touch.
"Will you please just try to sleep, love?" he asks me. "You can't just tire yourself out for so long, Val."
I dip my head once, signaling a nod, but not because I want to. Because Declan's tiredness is showing as well. Because I know, not only does he want me to sleep, but he wants to sleep too. But Declan won't go to sleep without me with him. And he needs it just as much as I do.
He kisses my forehead and pulls away from me. I watch as he disappears into the closet and then reappears seconds later with a shirt in his hands. He tosses the fabric on the bed, and grabs the hem of the shirt I'm wearing. I lift my arms while he pulls it over my head, and when he undoes the button and zipper on my jeans, I kick them off.
He reaches around my back and un-clips my bra with one hand, pulling the straps off my arms and tossing it to the floor with every other item of my clothing.
He achieves the shirt from its place on the mattress and pulls it over my head, softly kissing my lips once he does so. "You're so beautiful, my love." He says. "And you're all mine."
***
To my surprise, I made it to noon without any nightmares. Somehow in my slumber, I managed to wiggle out of Declan's grasp, because, for the first time, I've woken up without his arms around me.
I roll over and see his face. He was still laying close to me, his eyes closed as he lays there fast asleep. I can't help but keep my stare longer than I usually do.
Declan's green eyes lay closed and his chest rises and falls with every breath he takes. Declan's got the slightest bit of a beard, but it's kept well. His brown hair is messy from either sleeping or the events of a few hours ago. He's nothing short of beautiful. The kind of man that doesn't even seem like a real man. The kind of man that seemed to good to be true.
"You're staring." He says, his eyes stay closed but his lips quirk up slightly.
I feel a blush make it's way to my face. "I uhm...I didn't know you were awake."
"It's alright to stare, love. I do it all the time with you." His eyes peek open. "Nothing to be ashamed of."
A scar right under his lips catch my eye. I reach up and trace it with my finger just like he'd done to me so many times. "How'd you get this one?"
His demenor seems to change. From light and airy to sad and concerned. A crease forms between his eye brows and his smile is dropped. "There was a uhm..." He pauses. "Someone tried to kill me. I have a lot of scars from that one night."
His eyes shift down and that's when I notice it for the first time. A thick scar slips across his collarbone. I immediately bring my hand down to it. "This one too?" He nods in response.
We grow quiet for a moment, before he breaks the silence, clearly trying to change the subject. "What were your parents like?"
"My parents?" I ask, he nods. I have to stop and think before I respond. This is something I've never really talked about with anyone. I never had anyone to talk to about it. Nolan didn't want too, shut me out everytime I tried, and I was worried Callum would never understand.
I take a deep breath before I speak. "My father was intimidating, but he had a soft side. He was protective of me and Nolan. He always wanted to know where we were at all times. He valued self defense quite a bit. He trained us both the same until the day he died. But he also cracked a few jokes every now and then. He treated my family like we were the only things that would ever matter to him, probably because we were. That man is the reason I'm the way I am, the best parts of me, anyway."
I felt my eyes start to tear up and Declan caught the tears with his thumbs before they fell down my cheeks. "And your mother?"
"She was my best friend. And the only one I really ever had. She did all the motherly things and so much more. She was always there for me to talk to when I needed her. She was the one who convinced my dad to let me do anything fun. She helped me with all of my problems, including ones that involved dead bodies. She was beautiful inside and out. That woman loved with her soul, not just her heart." I admit.
"Sometimes I wonder how she did it." I added.
"Did what?"
"Loved with her soul." Declan smiled, and pressed his lips to mine.
"Can I tell you something?" He asks me, I nod.
"I've never thought of myself as someone who had a soul, and I don't know the first thing about love. But I can tell you with pure confidence that I love you with whatever soul I have in me, Valerie." His green eyes seem to gloss over as he says the words and I don't have proper words to express the emotions mixing around inside my body that I just start crying.
"What's wrong?" He asks, panic in his voice. "I'm sorry was that too-"
I cut him off, my lips meeting his in a sweet kiss. "Declan, I don't know a lot of things about emotions and feelings and shit. But I know–I know–what I feel for you can't be anything less than love."
He smiled against my lips and kissed me again. "I love you, Valerie Arrow."
"I love you, too, Declan Love." And then we sat there, in between sheets, loving each other.
A/N
I know this chapter is shorter and I apologize but it's a sort of filler chapter but also not really.
I made a post about this but i'm going to say it here too, we're about halfway through this book
I have a plan to start a second stand alone book after this one is finished, I have the entirety of this book planned out and a basic plan for the new book. I really appriciate you all being here and reading this for me, really, my favorite part of writing is watching the number under the word "reads" go up every time I open wattpad.
if you're reading this, I love you
Novemeber Clark