Chapter

"You think you can love boy?!" he smirked through the grimace of pain.

An eighteen-year-old clenched his jaw as he shot another bullet into the man's half-dead body.

The man screeched in pain but the very next instant, the smug smile on his face came back. He lulled again,

"You are my blood and our blood demands death."

The boy cocked his gun again but the man tied to the metal bars laughed, spilling out blood from his filthy mouth,

"You can never love anyone with that cruel heart," he grinned wider revealing his bloody teeth, "You will forever be deprived of love."

A vicious smile spread across the boy's lips, "That's a good thing." he said before opening fire on his bastard dad.

The body shook as the bullets entered every inch of his now limp body. Life drained out from his half-open eyes as the sound of every shot rang across the walls of the empty warehouse.

The bloodied body sat limp as new bullets entered and embedded into it.

The gap between Caelum and the body started closing slowly. The floor sloped forward as he slipped ahead. But never once did the bullets stop.

The dead man's lips parted and his eyes opened to reveal the whites of his eyes.

Caelum screamed but the space between them still depleted.

The man laughed through the blood and gore reaching his face forward, opening his jaw.

The jaw unhinged itself and grew wider and wider until it was big enough to swallow the young boy.

"YOU ARE JUST LIKE ME BOY." A voice screeched as the mouth took in his entire head.

"I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!" he screamed back as his breathing turned to panting and his eyes opened in reality.

He blinked twice to confirm that the ceiling he stared at was not the roof of his dad's mouth.

He glanced at the big French windows. The night was cold and calm.

He had seen this dream countless times and every time he had been a coward who had ran away or screamed his lungs out begging for mercy, but not this time.

Nothing much felt different but his heart felt lighter. He allowed himself to look at the lady beside him.

His wife.

Rosette's hair was sprawled behind her as she slept on Caelum's arm, claiming it as her own custom-made pillow.

He turned a little more to face her and observed her face in the dim light.

He smiled at the fact how there were seven billion people in the world yet her face looked the most perfect to him.

When she had said, 'I love you' that last time with tears dancing on her cheeks, he had waited for a 'but' but instead came a kiss and a 'no matter what'...

He knew he loved her even more than life. For the first time, he had felt his heart beat for someone's presence. He knew he was no more like that man.

Because he had loved. He had found the one he wanted to grow old and brittle with.

He held her close to his body as though she was all of life. He loved her the way they described in books... in dreams.

"I love you." He whispered against her ear pressing a kiss on her temple.

Rosette's fingers found their way to his t-shirt and clutched the fabric like a baby.

And like that, they fell asleep while they fell a little more in love.

..............

CAELUM'S POV:

The morning came sooner than I wanted. Thin rays of sunlight braved the cold breeze to light up a new day.

Rosette was huddled against me. I wish I could hold on to the night just to observe her sleep a little longer. She nudged her face closer to my chest as the glittery light fell on her eyes.

Good gracious. Was it okay to have such lewd thoughts the first thing in the morning?

I brought my lips near her ear and whispered, "Any intentions of letting me go love?"

Her eyes snapped open. I suppressed a laugh as she tried to pull away hurriedly. I caught her body in my arms before she could completely sit up.

"Good morning my love." I whispered pressing her close to me.

Warm. She felt so warm against me that even those cringy words seemed natural.

"G-good morning." She replied, looking a little embarrassed.

"Mmhm." I agreed, nuzzling into her neck.

She drew in a sharp breath while I could feel her pressing her legs together below the blanket.

I smiled. Did she gt butterflies?

I kissed her neck whispering, "I'm hungry."

"I-I'll go make breakfast." She said shrugging away from my lips.

"Are you on the menu?" I smirked leaning in closer. My hands grazed her ribs while I licked smooth circles on her neck.

She shivered against me but still put both her hands flat on my chest and pushed me away.

"I'll go make breakfast." She said shakily.

Her face red like a tomato. She was so flustered that she almost tripped on her way out.

I laughed lightly. This felt like a dream, and if it were, I wished never to wake up.

I had been so scared to love her or perhaps admit how much I loved her. Maybe it was because with her I felt like I was on top of the world but then again, it's quite a high place to fall from.

I got up and wore my slippers.

Humans are funny creatures, we use every bullet we've ever taken to the heart to shoot down anyone who tries to love us. That's the trouble with us; we never see when the war has ended.

In my world, good people had always been stories of fiction, but she.. she had always wrecked all my covers and walls. She had those eyes, those cruel eyes that saw right through my flesh and at my demons.

What was she?

I won't ever compare her to a garden or a sunset because she was never just something beautiful to look at, she was the blood running through my veins and the air that filled my lungs. She had become my reason for living. She had become my person.

I walked to the kitchen to find her busy mixing pancake batter, barefoot with her hair up in a messy bun.

Yesterday, falling asleep had felt too peaceful for us to think about anything else. Fully clothed we had slept next to each other listening to the rhythm of our racing hearts, but today I wanted to feel her skin against mine.

I wanted to be close to her without the barriers of clothes, to feel her body shudder and heat up against mine.

I walked into the kitchen and stood behind her soundlessly, hugging her from behind.

She was so startled, that she almost dropped the bowl in her bandaged fingers.

"Did I scare you?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I was just surprised." She said, her shoulders alert and hunched a little.

I rested my chin on her shoulder making them relax a little.

"Don't apologize, I startled you." I said, my arms tightening a little more at her waist, pressing her hips against me.

"I'm sorry I-," she was about to push me away

"Again. Why are you apologizing?" I asked nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

She paused to shudder against my touch but then quickly pulled herself away from my grasp and without meeting my eyes she said,

"It's dangerous while I'm cooking." She briefly looked into my eyes before reverting away again, "You might get burnt." Her bandaged fingers fidgeted as she turned away again.

Weird. She was acting weirdly. It looked as if she was trying her best to look natural while she was busy walking on eggshells.

"Are you okay?" I asked stepping back. She seemed uncomfortable, I didn't want to scare her by coming too close.

She turned back and blinked twice, "I'm good." She said smiling but her eyes looked unfocused.

"You don't look good. What's bothering you?" I asked.

Her smile flickered a little but still stayed there.

"What can bother me." She said as she turned away to pick her pancake batter.

I stepped in and turned her around to face me, "Tell me." I said holding her eyes with mine.

She hesitated and paused for a second then shook her head, "It's noth-,"

"Don't tell me it's nothing." I said cutting her off.

She hesitated again but went on, "Yesterday.. were you drunk?" she asked in a small voice.

I quickly went over the memories of last night. I didn't do anything to hurt her right?

"I haven't been drunk since I was fifteen." I answered her.

She looked down, "so what you said last night... did you mean it?"

Was she really asking me that?

"You don't believe me?" the temperature of my voice dropping quickly.

Her eyes panicked, "No, no. that's not ... yesterday.. yesterday was just too,..sudden." she looked down again.

My fingers reached for her chin, forcing her face up, making her lock eyes with me.

"What exactly are you thinking, Rosette?" I asked in a firm voice.

She didn't revert her eyes or blink as her lips; parted to form the words in a small voice,

"When did you fall in love with me?"

A smile of relief formed on my lips as I tugged her close in my arms.

"I don't remember falling in love with you. I just remember holding your hand and realizing how much it'll hurt when I have to let it go."

She just stared at my face while her fair skin turned crimson at my words.

"You were the one my heart was seeking, Rosette."

She came forward and rested her head on my chest, hiding the flush of her cheeks, "Can you hug me?" she asked.

My nerves were throbbing at the closeness of her body.

"Is it fine if I do a little more than just hug you?" I whispered into her ear.

"Wha- ahh" she almost screamed as I lifted her up and placed her on the counter of the kitchen island, shoving the bowls aside with my free hand.

...............................

I AM SO SORRY FOR SUCH A LATE UPDATE.

MY LAZY ASS IS SO DRAINED THAT I CAN BARELY GET MYSELF TO TYPE..

BUT DON'T WORRY I WILL TRY MY BEST TO UPDATE TILL NEXT WEEK.

MUAHH. LOTS OF LOVE TO ALL THOSE WHO WAITED :)