Madame Williams ( teacherxstudent )

64

LOU'S POV:

Diane wore a cream camisole. I had never seen it before. I slept naked.

She barely kissed me goodnight.

We went to bed around 1:30 am, I took the left side of the bed and she took the right. She was tired, she was exhausted, and I understood.

I understood it was not the case that she didn't want to touch me or anything, I understood she was going through a lot.

I wanted to hold her hand, maybe try to cuddle in her arms, but she seemed miles away physically.

"Dee?"

She turned around in bed, "Hm?"

"Can I... can I hug you?" I hated when I sounded as small as I did in that moment.

"Mhm." She mumbled in her slumber.

I got close to her, wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled my face onto her bare chest. I kissed her delicate skin. She flinched.

"Please don't do that." She mumbled.

I looked up to her closed eyes, "I'm sorry."

She stayed silent but she let me grab onto her like a koala. And soon she was soundly asleep and I stayed awake lying there, playing with the silk fabric of her nightgown.

Eventually I was asleep too, but I was woken up in the warmth of many pillows around me, Diane's body nowhere to be seen.

I covered myself up to the chest with the sheets and sat up, looking around. The curtains were opened, showing that Diane was not outside in the balcony.

"Dee?" I said aloud.

I grabbed my hotel robe from the feet of the bed and put it on before climbing out of bed.

I got close to the bathroom and hear her sniffle. She was crying.

"Dee?" I said again.

I hear shuffling, maybe she was standing up or moving something, but soon she opened the bathroom door and almost collided with me.

I looked into her reddish eyes, "Babe..."

She looked away, walked past me back to bed. "Diane." I said her name softly, coming back to bed.

She sat on her side, drunk some water from the glass sitting on her nightstand and flinched when I touched her shoulder.

I pulled my hand away, "What is it?" I sat down next to her on the bed.

Diane breathed in, "I went to Boston to get evidence of what Andy did to me." She made eye contact with me for a few silent seconds, until she looked down to her lap and continued to speak.

"I promised myself I wouldn't see the pictures, that I would save them for the police or whoever was gonna take care of my case. But I saw them. I tried to erase those memories for a long time and now I stared at the bruises they left behind... and the marks of their hands on me..."

"Diane..." I wanted to reach out and grab her, wrap my arms around her, caress her like a child, but I couldn't.

"I'm sorry I kept it to myself, but at least I'm starting the year working for a better communication, right?" She smiled in between silent sobs.

She wasn't actually crying, she just had tears scape her eyes.

I grabbed her pinky finger with my pinky finger, and she allowed me to, she didn't flinch or pull away.