drowned ✔️

• t h i r t y - t h r e e •

"I'm going to trip and die, and when I do, I'm definitely coming back as a ghost to haunt you," I ranted, wanting to pry his hands away from my carefully painted eyes. He was attempting to lead me over what felt like a rocky terrain (in five-inch stiletto heels, may I add), while keeping me "visually unaware of my surroundings to better stimulate my surprise," to quote him, exactly.

"I won't let you fall," Rhys whispered in my ear, somehow calming me to a point where frustration for how his voice relaxed me became a thing. His arms were still wrapped around me from behind, leading me over a suspiciously large rock.

"I hate you so much," I groaned, knowing the words were a complete lie as soon as they passed my lips.

"No, you don't," Rhys chuckled, his lips brushing across my ear. Desire flooded my thoughts as he pressed a kiss into the crook of my neck, before continuing to lead me down what I now concluded was a mountain.

"If your strategy is to keep me complacent by kissing me," I began, sighing as his lips touched my bare shoulders, "it's totally working."

He laughed, again, giving me something to admire since I still couldn't fucking see.

"A few more steps," he promised, keeping his lips on my skin. "We're almost there."

"You said that thirty-two-and-a-half steps ago," I pointed out, smiling as his mouth caressed my cheek.

"I was lying then," he told me, and I could feel his shoulders move around me like a shrug. "I'm not lying now."

"How do I know you're not lying now?" I questioned.

"Because we're here," he declared, unsheathing my eyes in a dramatic flourish.

"I think Ms. Ophelia rubbed off on you a little too much," I noted, watching his gestures in a daze.

"Nonsense," he hushed me, and as my protests died out, I shifted my attention to perceiving what was around me.

Canopy lights were strung everywhere, from tree branches and thumbtacks placed in the tree trunks. They illuminated a beautiful woven blanket on the forest ground, decorated with an assortment of food.

"It's so beautiful, Rhys," I mumbled, aghast at the sight before me.

"You deserve it. You deserve so much more," he informed me, placing another light kiss on my cheek.

I could feel my old self beaming, threatening to shine through the hardened and emotionless exterior I had spent so long perfecting. I didn't fight her this time. I let her grow stronger; I let her embrace the light I had struggled for so long to keep her from seeing.

"I love you, Rhys," I smiled brightly, looking back at him cautiously.

"I love you too, Nara," he grinned, swooping down to kiss me gently.

I didn't need her anymore. My old self: the one who had vowed to never get hurt again by never feeling again. She was a savior in a time where everything seemed hopeless, but Rhys had changed things. He had given me a new lifeline to cling onto: one that didn't tear me apart. He had shown me the strength of love after I had spent years wallowing in its weakness, and through all of that, he had made me stronger in ways I never thought to be possible.

~
OOPS, that's the end
(Sorry about the cliche towards the end, I'm not very good with... happy endings.)

ON THAT NOTE... hope you guy(s) enjoyed reading this book.

:)))