18
It felt like my world had been swallowed by a heavy darkness.
A black cloth was tied over my eyes, cutting off my sight and leaving my other senses painfully heightened.
Someone brushed my bangs aside, their fingers lightly stroking my forehead.
The rough touch, the faint calluses on his knuckles–there was no mistaking it. It was Liam.
“Liam,” I called out softly.
He didn’t answer. Instead, his hands moved to undo the buttons of my shirt, one by one, working their way downward.
A shiver ran through me.
His fingers grazed my earlobe, a touch so gentle it sent a pulse of heat through my body.
“Be good,” he murmured. “Let me check your temperature.”
“Liam, why are my eyes covered?”
“Because,” he whispered, his breath brushing against my ear, every word amplified in the silence.
“You need to be punished.”
Punished?”
I swallowed hard, my heart racing wildly.
“I have a fever, Liam,” I said, hoping to appeal to his better nature.
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me unresponu,
My wrists were tied together, soft silk wrapping around them like a cage. I couldn’t see him, couldn’t touch him. All I could do was follow the sound of his movements, the faint rustle of fabric and the creak of the bed beneath us.
It didn’t hurt, but the ache in my chest was unbearable.
“Liam, I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice trembling.
He hummed softly, a noncommittal sound. I couldn’t see his face, couldn’t tell what he
was thinking.
I felt him pull the thermometer away from under my arm. For a moment, there was silence, then the faint sound of him checking the reading.
“What are you sorry for?” he asked finally.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you,” I admitted. “I shouldn’t have kept talking to Josh.”
“But, Liam, don’t you understand? I went to them because I wanted to-”
Before I could finish, something warm touched my forehead.
It took me a second to realize it was his.
He was checking my temperature with his own.
“That’s not it,” he interrupted, his voice low and steady.
“Lila, I’m not mad because you lied.”
“I’m mad because you deliberately made yourself sick.”
“Do you understand what that does to me?”
I felt his knee press between my legs, forcing them apart slightly.
“You hurt yourself because of me,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
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“And it makes me want to kill myself.”
Liam always said that everyone has their own world.
And in his world, there was only me.
“Don’t hurt yourself, Lila,” he pleaded, his lips brushing against my neck, his voice trembling. “Don’t make me feel this pain anymore.”
His kisses were wet, leaving trails down my skin.
“I’m afraid, Lila,” he admitted. “Afraid that one day I’ll lose my mind completely.”
“And if I lose my mind… I won’t be able to love you the way I do now.”
I felt his teeth graze my neck, a light bite that sent a jolt through me. His voice, filled with anguish, trembled against my skin.
“You could put a knife to my throat.”
“Break my legs.”
“I wouldn’t care. I’d let you do it”
“But when you’re sick, when you’re in pain, when you’re suffering…”
“What am I supposed to do? It’s driving me insane.”
“Please, Lila. Hurt me however you want. Just don’t hurt yourself.”
In both this life and the last, Liam had always been like this. Even when he was covered in scars, bleeding and broken, he’d hold onto me like I was his lifeline.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close.
“I love you too, Liam,” I whispered.
“You should believe me. I love you too.”
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For a moment, it felt like everything stopped.
Liam froze, his breath catching in his chest.
I felt his hands tremble against me, and for a fleeting second, I regretted what I’d said.
Because Liam was too far gone.
Tears welled up in my eyes, brought on by the overwhelming intensity of the moment.
My chest ached as though my heart was being squeezed.
In that moment, I finally understood.
Liam’s pain wasn’t just his own–it had become mine too.
—
His lips pressed over my heart, his kiss searing into my skin.
It was possessive. All–consuming.
Darkness surrounded us, swallowing everything else.
Like creatures of the night, unable to seek the light, we took everything we needed from each other.
When I was a child, I feared the dark. I feared falling into an abyss I couldn’t escape.
But if Liam was the abyss, I’d willingly dive into him without hesitation.
“Liam…” I murmured, his name slipping from my lips without conscious thought.
The black cloth was suddenly lifted from my eyes, and I looked up to see him staring down at me.
His eyes sparkled, bright and unwavering, like the eternal stars in an endless universe.
23:35 Mon, Apr 7
His eyes sparkled, bright and unwavering, like the eternal stars in an endless universe.
The intensity of his gaze burned into me, shame flooding my chest until I wanted to cry.
His teeth bit down gently on my neck, and his voice was low and taunting.
“You once said I was your dog.”
“Then tell me, Lila. What is this dog doing to you now?”
He didn’t forget.
Of course, he didn’t forget.
Liam held grudges like no one else.
