Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
alexa, play devil in me by halsey
DAY 34
Radiant beams of sunlight glimmered through the beige curtains of Amelia's bedroom window, making her rustle around softly as she squinted against the rays shining on her face. Blinking heavily, she lifted her head as she began to push herself into a sitting position on her bed - stopping suddenly when her hand came in contact with warm skin. Her eyes fell upon James' sleeping figure underneath her, the sight sending butterflies swarming throughout her stomach.
He must have fallen asleep last night after their extracurricular activities - which was something James had never done before. She pondered the thought slightly as she observed his relaxed, peaceful features. His dark hair was still pulled back into a low bun, his lips parted faintly as he snored ever so lightly. His bare, muscular chest was illuminated in the sunlight, the glint bouncing off every ripple and curvature of his toned abs.
This was a major leap in James' progress. The shocking fact that she wasn't woken up from any nightmares meant that he went through an entire night without any - instead, he slept peacefully, all night. The revelation made Amelia smile light-heartedly.
As if she was speaking her thoughts out loud, Bucky stirred around tentatively, his eyes opening as his blue orbs landed on her.
"You stayed?" Amelia asked gently, still perched on his chest, his arm wrapped around her bare waist.
"Mmm, looks like I did," he grumbled drowsily, squinting at her as he propped his metal arm behind his head.
"And you didn't have any nightmares." It wasn't a question.
James stared down at Amelia's face, processing what she had just said. "No," he realized quietly. "I guess I didn't."
It had been the first night in a very long time that James didn't dream about the monstrosities he committed in his life. No lost fragments of his life, no new victims he couldn't remember, nothing. The awareness settled in his stomach at an alarming rate.
"And you slept all night." Another statement.
"Well, I was pretty exhausted from -" James began to joke, referring to their previous activities they had partaken in the night before, as Amelia playfully pushed his shoulder.
"Seriously," she scolded with a teasing smile, sitting up now. "You slept through the night. This is a huge deal, James."
As though he had done it a thousand times before, James reached up and flicked Amelia's wavy hair over her shoulder, caressing the skin tenderly. The action sent another massive wave of flutters through her belly. "I told you, you make me feel better."
Amelia titled her head down bashfully, resisting the urge to smile cheekily at his words, as she rubbed her arm gently. The assuredness that formed inside of her chest, building and building over the last couple of weeks, was stronger than it had ever been. At first, Amelia wasn't entirely sure if she was overcome with the exhilaration of making so much progress, but now she knew, unmistakenly - she was growing feelings.
Lifting her head to meet his gaze, she whispered, "I think I like you."
A shadow of a smile fell on his full lips as he reached up to trail his finger over her parted ones. "I know," he said in a hushed tone. "I think I like you, too."
"Does that scare you?"
"More than anything."
Laying her head down on his chest, she peered up at him through her lashes. "Is that why you think that I deserve better than you?"
James noticed the hint of sadness that laced her words as she spoke, the way her hazel eyes watched him expectantly, waiting on an answer. He had grown quite a liking to her round, doll eyes - always reveling in the way it made him feel whenever they were looking at him. Like they were looking at him, not through him, like everyone else.
"You deserve someone who can give you more than I can," James admitted after a few moments, shoving his nervousness down in an attempt to be as honest with her as possible. "Someone who can take you out, someone who can buy you flowers ... not someone who is stuck in here because they're crazy."
"You're not crazy," she defended with a cute, small scowl.
"Is that all that you took away from that?" James laughed, his arm resting around her waist once more.
"I just don't see you how you see yourself, that's all," Amelia shrugged, running her pointer finger across his sculpted torso, her chestnut orbs following her movements.
"How do you see me, then?"
Running her tongue across her bottom lip, she swallowed the thick lump in her throat before saying, "I see a man who has had bad things happen to him, not a bad man."
The rush of electricity that soared down James' spine made him shift tensely as he struggled to compose his expression at her words. It was as though they had struck a chord deep inside of his gut, making his entire torso come alive flutters. The warm feeling oozed through his veins, becoming almost a second nature these days.
"I wish that I could see what you see," he whispered finally, almost to himself.
"I think someday you will."
As he stared at the perfect girl laying on his chest, he wished, now more than ever, that his circumstances could have been different. He wished he could've been normal. He wished he could've met her at a coffee shop or the grocery store.
But he knew that she would be the reason he would be normal again.
