A whole bunch of Wholesomeness

Love and hate

"I can't believe you!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I am already sick of myself, and you seriously have to go and make it worse?!" The brunette looked at him, her emerald eyes filled with tears. "I gave you everything." She whispers, voice breaking with another sob. "My heart, my body, my love, time, effort."

"Baby, please just stop." The man says, trying to soothe her, his ocean blue eyes looking down at her, "It was one time!" He adds, starting to get angry himself. "And besides, I was halfway across the world! What was I supposed to do?!" he shouts, starting to get closer to her. His face is flushed red with anger, and his hands are clenched into fists.

"You were supposed to stay loyal!" she says back, fear creeping into her voice as she backs away. Suddenly, she isn't arguing with her boyfriend anymore; instead, it's her father, angrily approaching her with a belt in hand. His steps stutter with the alcohol, and his words slur together.

In reality, her boyfriend is just angry and pacing in front of her. But that's not what she sees. In a moment of panic, she just... Bolts. it only takes a second to be out the door and onto the street. "Riley!" she can hear him shout after her. She doesn't answer, though, for more focused on running. The next thing she knows, she's knocking on her best friend's door, trembling and crying. Her body shivers from the cold air, as she silently prays that he answers.

"Riley? I thought you were-" His voice is cut off by her body quickly meeting his, hugging him tightly and hiding her face in his neck. Her tears soon soak his shirt. He can feel how her smaller body trembles against his, and how scared her expression is. "Hey... Hey, you're okay..." he murmurs, softly stroking her hair as he hugged her around her waist. 

Gently pulling her inside, he shuts the door behind her with his foot, not loosening his grip on her. "H-he..." She tries to talk, but only chokes on her sobs, pressing her face against him again. 

"Shh... shh..." he whispers, trying his best to soothe her. "Just breathe..." he adds, slowly and gently guiding her into his house. She simply follows along, far too scared and broken up to argue. 

He soon gets her to the couch, sitting her down and then pulling her onto his lap. Immediately, her legs wrap around his waist, and her arms around his neck, holding on to him like he's her world. "Hey... Hey, what happened?" He asks softly, cradling the back of her head. 

It takes a while, but eventually, she's able to choke up an explanation; her boyfriend traveled with a few friends, and inevitably cheated on her, resulting in her breaking up with him. And now, she's sitting on his bed, curled up to him, with her head buried in his shoulder. 

The worst of her crying has stopped now. It's just sniffles and hiccups at this point. He rubs her back, whispering words of comfort to soothe her. The young woman is wearing one of his hoodies now, gripping his shirt. 

"Shh... shh... You're okay, you're safe..." He murmurs, holding her close to his chest. "Why not you stay here for tonight?" He asks softly, looking down at her as he gently strokes his fingers through her hair. 

With a slight nod, she nuzzles her nose into his chest, and shifts so that she's on his lap. "Yeah..." She mumbles, exhausted from all of her crying and running. His face flushes red when she moves onto his lap, but he embraces her nonetheless. 

"Okay... let's get you settled in..." He tries to put her down on the bed, but she just clings tighter to him. He laughs a bit, and asks, "What do you want, princess?" 

"Cuddles." She shyly mumbles into his neck, her face flushing as she tries her best to hide it. She hugs him tighter, shivering a bit against the cold air. 

"Alright, alright..." He says playfully, chuckling as he lays down with her on top of him. "Let's get you warmed up." He gently pulls the blankets over them both, and then resumes holding her, one hand entangled in her hair and the other on the small of her back. 

"Mmm..." She mumbles, contently. Soon, the sound of her soft breathing fills his ears, her heart slowly beating in rhythm with his as she sleeps on top of him. 

He, however, stays up for the whole night, watching over her. Concern remains etched onto his expression, but also affection and love. She's safe now, and he has her. He couldn't be happier.