Ezra's POV:
I woke up in what looked like the nurse's office at Nevermore. My vision was blurry. Everything felt foggy. My whole body and face were numb. I moved a bit.
My vision had cleared up and I was able to see. I looked around only to find Enid, sitting on a chair and sleeping with her head resting on my bed. Her fingers were intertwined with mine. I smiled. My mouth felt dry so I coughed a bit.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me, only to jolt up in surprise and squeeze my hand.
"You're awake." She whispered, her voice raspy and tired. I took a quick look at her: she seemed paler than usual and there were dark bags under her eyes.
I cracked a smile. "Yeah."
Her blue eyes got filled with tears. She stood up.
"You're alive. Oh my God, you're alive..." She choked out before sobbing.
I sat up and reached out to caress her face only to find out that my whole armed were bandaged. "Come here..." I mumbled.
She shook her head. "Your body is still weak. When you'll feel better, we'll cuddle." She said, with a small smile.
I smiled back. "Alright."
She intertwined our fingers again and stroked the back of my hand softly. "You want to hear what happened?"
"Sure. But first of all, when was the last time you slept properly?" I asked frowning.
She chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're alive, Ez."
I huffed in annoyance. "Enid. Tonight, you're getting some good sleep."
She laughed. "If it's next to you, then of course I would be." She winked at me, making me smile. My girl was back.
"Now tell me what happened after I collapsed."
She sighed. "Well... You lost a lot of blood. Turns out the blood sacrifice also meant that you would sacrifice your own blood. And you did. So after losing so much blood, you passed out and we had to take you urgently to the nurse's office. You were out for 5 days."
"So you haven't slept for 5 days..." I said lowly.
She snickered. "I'm telling you you almost died and all you seem to care about is if I slept?"
I cleared my throat. Damn it was dry. "Yes, E. Because I want you to be okay. I want you to be healthy. Have you eaten at least?"
She looked away sheepishly. I frowned at her and put two fingers under her chin to make her look at me. "Unacceptable. We're going out tonight. And you'll have the best steak."
She laughed wholeheartedly, her eyes turning small, like two moon crescents. "Fine by me. We haven't gone on a proper date since this whole mess started."
I chuckled. "Yeah... I'm sorry about that."
"Nooo... Baby!" She cooed, caressing my cheek in the softest way possible. "I didn't mean it like that. We both had more important matters to handle."
I leaned into her touch and kissed her hand. "I love you." I simply responded.
She grinned. "I love you more. Now let me call the nurse to see if you can leave now."
She left the room and as I waited for her, I noticed some gifts on my table. They were from various students. One gift did catch my eye and it was from my parents. They visited me while I was here?
I reached out for it and opened it. Inside was a small box and a letter. I decided to read the letter first.
Our dear Ezra,
We have found out from the school that you have risked your life far too many times to save it. For someone who claims to not care, you sure do. Just like your brother.
We were absent for the most part of your life and it came with a lot of regrets and remorse. We were too scared to lose you that we decided to ignore you.
We know it probably doesn't make any sense but with the possibility that we might lose you after this battle and the Blood Sacrifice curse, we fear you might never know how much you actually mean to us. While your brother was reckless, you were always the quiet child who read and we were scared that you'd end up like Elliot. We wanted a picture-perfect daughter. We didn't even mind your sexuality.
With that being said, we are sorry. Truly, deeply sorry for having inflected so much pain on you.
We learned from your friend Yoko that you are in a relationship with this girl named Enid. We truly hope she makes you happy because you deserve it.
In this little box, you will find two rings. Consider them as promise rings for the both of you as we found out that Enid and you have been going strong. Maybe a little promise ring could be the first step to sealing the deal. Who knows?
With that being said, give us a call when you wake up.
We love you, Ezzie-bear.
Mom and Dad.
I folded the letter neatly and took a deep breath. As meaningful as it was, as much as it boiled me on the inside. I grabbed the little box and opened it. There were two white gold rings, one with the moon engraved on it and the other one with the sun. I cracked a little smile, knowing exactly which one to give to Enid.
My thoughts were interrupted by my girlfriend barging in with the nurse. I quickly put the box in the bag and pushed it aside.
"So? Am I leaving today?" I swiftly asked.
"Yes, you may leave. I will just check if your wounds have healed." The nurse stated gently with a soft smile. She slowly removed my bandages revealing freshly healed wounds.
"You will need to bandage them and apply this medicine on them every time you change the bandages. The healing process will still take around 3 weeks." She explained.
I nodded my head and stood up. "Fucking hell, I need some water." I mumbled.
"Here you go, I got you some." Enid stated, handing me a cold water bottle. I opened it and chugged it quickly. Fuck yeah, I felt brand new.
"Let's go, E. And thank you miss." I said kindly.
We walked to our dorm and everyone who saw me started cheering me on. I barely smiled back because, again, if I saved this school, it was to keep my girlfriend safe. I couldn't care less about the rest of the students. Enid nudged my shoulder gently. I looked over at her, she was smiling proudly.
"I'm so proud of you." She said.
I smiled back and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, E."
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When we reached our room, Enid helped me take off my clothes and bandages in order to shower. I took a long, much needed shower and cleaned myself, making sure not to scratch myself or open any wound.
When I was done, Enid cleaned my scars with antiseptics and bandaged them again. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and her lips were pursed. I was staring at her until I noticed three long scars on her face. I frowned and tucked her hair behind her ear. She looked at me immediately in confusion then realized that I noticed them.
"Oh yeah..." She mumbled. "It's the Hyde."
I felt my blood boil in anger. She noticed how I tensed up and looked at me tenderly. "It's okay. I'm okay. He's gone." She added softly. I shook my head.
"I don't care. He hurt you."
She gave me a lopsided smile. "I saved you though. That's what matters."
I sighed and caressed her cheek. She kissed my hand with outmost tenderness. "Stop being cute now. I need to focus." She ordered with a smirk.
I chuckled and removed my hand, allowing her to continue. When she was done, she sat beside me and laid her head on my shoulder. I smiled and kissed her forehead before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, wincing at the pain that shot through my arm. She removed her head and looked at me worriedly.
"Please, pay attention." She muttered, placing her hands on my cheeks and her forehead on mine. I exhaled in relief. I had missed the proximity. I had missed feeling her so close, feeling her fruity, minty breaths mixing with mine. I looked into her eyes only to find her staring at me intensely. Her blue eyes looked like a raging ocean. I let out a shaky breath as I closed my eyes. She ran her thumb against my cheekbones then slowly and almost unnoticeably against my bottom lip. When I opened my eyes, her cheeks were tinted with a pink hue.
Much like the first time we almost kissed, I felt nervous. I felt like time suddenly stood still. I leaned in first and she followed, our lips brushing against each other. I frankly didn't know why we were hesitating so much. I didn't know why we were taking so much time before letting it happen. It was almost as if we were scared we would hurt the other, considering we were both wounded.
I couldn't take it anymore as I softly placed my lips on hers, connecting my mouth to hers, tasting her slowly. She reciprocated immediately, her lips molding with mine perfectly like two pieces of the puzzle that were meant to be together.
I wrapped my arms around her to pull her closer despite the stinging pain in my arms. She immediately pulled away.
"Your arms, Ezra." She said, breathlessly.
"I want you as close to me as possible. I miss you, Enid." I retorted.
"But-..." She started but I interrupted her by kissing her fervently. She let out a small sigh of pleasure against my mouth. I smirked and she huffed in annoyance.
"Will you stop being so smug?" She muttered, out of breath. I used this opportunity to let my kisses travel from her mouth to her cheeks to her jawline to her neck. She smelled amazing. I buried my face in her neck and kissed it softly yet quickly.
"Ezra..."
"Mhm?" I mumbled back, too busy feasting on the soft skin of her neck.
"We can't..."
I shook my head. "A little make out session won't kill us, E."
She moaned quietly and I took that as an approval. She ran her hands through my hair and pulled at it, earning a groan from me. It was her turn to smirk. She loved pleasuring me. And I LOVED it.
We kept kissing until air became a necessity. When we pulled away, she gazed deeply into my eyes before diving in again.
"I love you..." I mumbled against her lips.
"I love you more." She said in between kisses.
"You don't get it." I retorted gently, pulling away and looking at her. "I LOVE you."
She chuckled. "I know you do, Ezzie."
"I love you like the sun loves the moon. Every night it dies to give her light, to let her live." I stated, my eyes not leaving hers.
She blushed. "Ezra..."
"Enid. Words will never be enough to express half of what I feel for you." I took a deep breath. "I love you beyond words, syllables and letters. I don't know what I would do without you. I beat myself up, up to this day, for the way I treated you when I first met you. I thought pushing you away would help me get over you. That was until I realized, I don't want to get over you. I don't want to be in a position where I would get over you. I've been through hell and back with you. We've been through hell and back together. Yet you never left my side and I know you never will. And I also know that I never will. Words are easy to say, actions come as a proof to my words. Would you accept this gift from me?" I finished my speech and fished my parents' gift from my pocket.
She gasped. "Ez... You didn't have to..."
I smiled. "I didn't have to but I wanted to. Technically, it's a gift from my parents to the both of us."
She chuckled. "Show me."
I opened the box, revealing the two rings. Her eyes widened in shock and she looked at me with a smirk.
"Are you proposing to me, Ezra Marshall?" She teased, nudging my shoulder.
I felt the heat rush IMMEDIATELY to my cheeks and my face felt like it was burning up. "NO! These are two promise rings!"
She laughed out loud and kissed me tenderly, her mouth lingering against mine. "I love them." She took the rings from the box. "Now I'm assuming, you're the moon and I'm the sun?" She looked at me for approval. I nodded my head. "Then I'll take the moon one."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "No! I want you to have the sun one!"
She looked at me with a small smile. "I want to carry a piece of you with me wherever I go."
That statement knocked the air out of my lungs. I cleared my throat, looking away, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed. She kissed my cheek.
"I love you, Ezra Marshall. Beyond words, syllables and letters." She repeated my words, her voice quiet and soft.
When I looked at her, her eyes exuded such kindness, love and affection that I couldn't stop myself from grinning. I kissed her forehead and wrapped my arms around her.
And that is how, you cop yourself the greatest girl to ever exist...
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Don't worry! There's still the epilogue.
I couldn't kill Ezra, I love her way too much:")
I would like to take a minute to thank you all for reading "Less Dead" and following Ezra and Enid on their journey of love and discovering their feelings for each other.
I hope this book met your expectations when it came to the plot, to the obvious "Enemies to Lovers" trope, to everything basically.
I love you all, each and every one of you, immensely!
Take good care of yourself, puppies <3
~M