The Desolated Two

// forty six //

Aaron's POV

She steps out of the room, unlocking the door behind her and bumps right into me, without noticing me there. She groans as rubs her temples and looks into my eyes but then quickly gazes down. Her cheeks seem damp and her eyes red.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask, putting my finger underneath her chin as I make her look at me.

She clears her throat as she puts a smile on her face, "Yeah. Did you have dinner?"

Well, she just changed the topic and from the way a frown is there on her forehead, it seems pretty clear to me that she has been crying. She just went to tuck Emily in bed, why would be she crying?

"Nah, I figured I'll give you company since you didn't eat with everyone." I say and she gives me a small smile.

She motions for me to make my way towards the living room, and so I do, but I don't miss the way she takes in a deep breath behind me. When we enter, everyone is standing and chattering.

"Dee, I think we're going to leave. Charlotte's locked out of the home, and we have the keys." Shelly starts and Diana almost winces at mention of the devil.

"Yeah okay, thanks a lot for coming." She says, moving forward to give them a hug.

"I cleaned the table and set up food for you both already." Ella informs and I give her a thankful smile which she returns. "We'll leave though. Connor's really tired and he has a meeting in the morning." She says.

Diana wraps her arms around both of them and Connor ruffles her hair, to which she calls him out. After a bit of messing around, they leave and I look at the girl who seems incredibly tired. We move to the dining table and eat the food in silence. Just by her expressions, I can tell that there's a lot going on in her mind. She really needs to sleep!

"Alright, listen to me. How about I do the dishes and you go to bed?" I say when we're done eating.

"No, I'm fine." She protests and I take the dishes away from her hand as I get into the kitchen.

"I know you're fine, but I'm volunteering. I thought you hated doing the dishes." I argue.

"Yeah, I still do." She huffs.

"At least go change, lie down for a little while and after I'm done, I'll let you know and you can come wave me goodbye." I say with an amused smile and she manages to crack one too.

She steps forward as she keeps her palm on my cheek, "Come here." She whispers and I lean down to kiss her. It's slow and sensual, not rushed or lusty like always. Rather, it's more comforting. I almost hear her sigh in the kiss.

After we part lips, I wrap my arms around her and give her a tight hug, almost wishing to fix back whatever broke her. She may seem like a badass to Diana to everyone, but now that I've seen this whole new other side to her, where she can be vulnerable, I know that she's far from badass. She's just a young girl who had to bear with the responsibilities of an adult grown up woman.

We part and she finally agrees to go to her bedroom. I know that we're going to be okay, she doesn't need to say, neither do I but the way she touches me, the way her skin almost comes to live under my finger, it says a lot more than words can convey.

It takes me a while to do the dishes, but I don't mind at all. She's tired, and she cried and I'll do anything to make her feel better right now. If even she asks me to tidy around her whole apartment. It may not seem like much, but that's just the least I can do.

When I'm done, I go to her bedroom and give it a light knock before turning the doorknob. She's cuddled around in a corner of her bed as she holds a pillow like her life depends on it.