A Month To Live

A Month To Live (47)

I woke to a soft touch against my face. When I cracked my eyes open, Bradley's face was inches from my own and his fingers were stroking my cheek gently. I smiled at him sleepily and he brushed some hair back behind my ear.

'You always stare at people when they're sleeping?' I murmured, closing my eyes once more.

'Only you.'

'Not sure if that's creepy or cute,' I replied, smiling wider.

'Probably a little of both,' he said as he continued to trace my face. 'I thought...' he trailed off and I opened my eyes again to look at him. 'For a moment, I thought yesterday was a dream. I was so relieved when I woke up and found you here,' he murmured.

'Still doesn't feel real,' I replied quietly.

It didn't. It was hard to believe that this time yesterday I'd woken up in a state of utter misery in my own bedroom. Now here I was, in the middle of nowhere with Bradley and I felt indescribably happy.

'The only thing that convinced me I wasn't dreaming, was the fact that I'd never be able to imagine someone as beautiful as you,' he whispered.

'God damnit,' I muttered, placing my hand on his cheek and scowling. 'There you go again with your poetic words. I should have paid attention to Shakespeare in English lit the other week,' I added, stroking his jawline.

'You going to write me a sonnet?' he smirked, eyes twinkling.

'Not sure,' I smiled back. 'Fourteen lines is kind of a lot...'

'You did pay attention,' he narrowed his eyes accusingly.

'I like reading,' I admitted, frowning slightly as I thought. 'I did. Before. I guess I will do again.'

He shifted slightly and his face grew more serious as he eyed me.

'Tell me what it was like the past couple months,' he said. 'I can't even begin to imagine...'

I looked past him at the far wall over the fireplace as I tried to put it into words. I hadn't properly spoken about it to anyone. I wasn't one for spilling my guts but Bradley always made me feel comfortable enough to do so with him.

'Lonely,' I ended up on. I lowered my eyes to his shirt and began tracing the logo on his chest. 'Never really understood the phrase 'lonely in a crowded room' before. It's why I left in the first place. People stop talking to you and only talk about you. When I met all of you guys it felt nice just to be normal again,' I shrugged.

'You were never normal,' he said, making me pinch him. He laughed quietly. 'You must have thought I was super annoying,' he mused. 'Because of my excellent detective skills at the start, I knew you'd run away nearly straight away,' he added smugly.

'Yeah,' I grumbled. 'You really did piss me off.'

'You pissed me off more.'

'Let's say we're even and call it quits,' I smiled.

'Fine,' he agreed grudgingly.

I resumed stroking his face again and he slid his arm around my waist to pull me closer. It was barely possible seeing as I was pinned between him and the back of the couch.

'What ya thinking about?' I asked, brushing some hair back from his forehead gently. He'd been staring at me with open curiosity. It made me feel like some kind of zoo animal.

'I'm always thinking about you,' he said, making me heart squeeze. 'Specifically, how much I still don't know about you. I want to know everything. Where the hell do you even live?'