Hopelessly Devoted | Hale- TO/TW [6]

39 | All My Heart

Author's Note (from 2021): Looking back on when I wrote this book in 2017, I recognize that this chapter may be a bit cringy with the dialogue. That being said, I think I wrote this in a time where I just wanted someone to be with me and care for me the way Lexi does with not just Derek, but everyone around her which sort of translated into this cringy chapter. So, I recognize that it may make you cringe (I do when I read it), but I also just wanted to say that I'm glad the time in my life where I felt like this was the ideal is over and I'm in a much better place while being more comfortable with the people around me. 

Quick note: things get a little steamy in this chapter. It is much more steamy than I am usually comfortable with, but I felt the need to expand. Plus, my friend who reads this series and kills me every time something bad happens to Dexi has been begging for actual smut (seriously, I suggested that at one point, Lexi would have some meaningless sex with some random guy and she glared at me for the rest of the day). Don't worry, it's not smut--I'm not experienced enough for that. But it gets steamy. Hope you enjoy!

(MY GIF- Imagine Leon is Derek)

Walking up to the apartment door, Derek's scent washes over Lexi. The emotionally traumatizing day had drained her, but she needs to talk to him. To see him. To make sure he is really there.

When she opens the door to the moonlit apartment, she sees Derek at the island, a glass of bourbon in front of him. It had not been touched. He glances up and instantly gets to his feet. "Hey," he says, trying to sound casual.

"Hey," She replies, closing the door behind her and walking up to him. "Drinking?"

"Been a long day."

She stares up at him, her blue eyes unblinking. He doesn't look away. "Where is Cora?"

Derek clears his throat, glancing at the ground. He moves away from Lexi, his feet carrying him towards the couch. "I updated her. She wanted to stay with Davina. They're friends now, I guess."

"I knew they would get along."

When Derek turns back, he finds Lexi right next to him. She runs her hand down his arm, the silence of the night deafening. The air in the room grows tense as Lexi's eyes flicker to Derek's lips. "Something's wrong," she states. "What's wrong?"

Derek debates lying to her. Nothing can get past her, though. She knows everything about him. And he knows everything about her. "He shot you," Derek says, his jaw tight. The words feel like acid in his mouth. "And you fell. Into my arms. And I thought I would lose you."

Lexi stretches her arms around Derek's neck, her breath caught in her throat. She smoothes the hair on the back of his head as he hugs her back. He nuzzles his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply.

Lexi opens her mouth, but the words get caught in her throat. I'm here.

"Lex, I thought I was gonna lose you," Derek admits, pulling away just so he can lean his forehead against hers. "There was so much blood. I saw the red and black... I wanted to rip Lucien apart right then and there. But you were falling. It seemed like an eternity before I got to you. And you were trying to get air, but you couldn't, and all I could think was, 'Not again. Please not again.'"