Bed Sheets

32. Left Collarbone

"I was going to leave it at your door, but I wanted to see you one last time," Eric said quietly.

When he glanced upwards, Draven's icy cold blue eyes appeared as warm as a fireplace, as one cozied close to it. He remembered the first time he had seen them, they were so icy that he thought his soul had frozen, now it was so warm that he thought his soul had melted with endearment.

Draven shook his head, and with a quivering lip, breathed shakily, "I don't know what to say."

Eric tilted his head, forcing himself not to sob or else he would regret this decision. It was tough, living on his own within the environment of the woman he had placed his entire trust into, and whom had supported him for years, only to never be able to speak to him again. He did not want to be reminded of the pain he had felt, and wanted to properly move on.

Hence why, he stepped forward towards Draven who set the card aside, and kept his face lowered for a few minutes, not saying anything. His jaw was evidently tightened, and all he wanted to do was beg him not to leave.

"Draven," Eric spoke, which caused him to shake his head, "look at me." When Draven finally raised his chin, Eric could see how teary his eyes were, "This is for us, I need to get better, and stronger, and make a title for myself."

"You can make a title for yourself here," Draven whispered quietly, his throat clogged, "with me."

"I know but I need to get away from all that happened—"

"Then come stay with me," Draven begged with such desperation that Eric was hesitant, "I can take care of you."

Eric shook his head, "I don't want someone to take care of me, I just..." he paused for a moment, "I want to become me. I want to become a person I'm not ashamed of anymore."

"I don't know why you're ashamed of yourself but you can fix it here, we can fix it here."

Eric started at his face distorted with hurt, and tightened his lips close. His decision was meant to save each other, since at the moment, he believed that he was toxic, and would only break Draven, not lift him.

Draven noticed that Eric had paused, and continued, "We can move somewhere together."

Eric bit his bottom lip, "I need to become the person I want to be Draven—"

"That can't be done with me?" Draven screeched.

"No, because I'll just be in your shadow, and that doesn't solve anything," Eric breathed rapidly. When he noticed the conversation slowly becoming intense, he reached for Draven's jaw, "Listen to me, I'm doing this for us."

"No, you're doing this for you."

"Is that so bad?"

"It's not, but I thought after all this time, I'd at least have meant something to you," he sighed.

Eric furrowed his brows, "You do." He did not seem convinced, but Eric added, "Draven I love you." Draven simply shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut, but Eric tightened his grip on his jaw, "Listen to me, I love you."

"Stop saying that—"

"I love you," he breathed.

"No you don't."

"I love you so much."

Eventually, Draven opened his eyes, and when he observed the honesty behind Eric's features, his eyes lowered to Eric's lips, back to his eyes, and then all of a sudden, he crashed his lips on Eric's.

With hunger, his lips began moving with Eric's, as they both panted for breath, exploding with aggressiveness, wanting to devour one another to the very core. Draven slipped his tongue in Eric's mouth, gaining dominance and before Eric could reciprocate, he left his lips and reached Eric's sensitive flesh on his neck dying to be touched. As Eric's soft moans surfaced, Draven pulled back for a moment to lift his own shirt over his head, before helping Eric do the same.

He then reached for Eric's thighs, lifting him up and Eric wrapped his legs around Draven's lower back. He was carried to the kitchen counter table, on which Eric sat as Draven climbed on top, causing Eric to fall on his back.

Draven reached for Eric's belt buckle with such stress, his fingers still shaking with all the thoughts of Eric's departure roaming through his mind. Eric noticed that, and reached for his hair, massaging his scalp a bit and whispering, "It's alright." His palms stopped shaking, and he was able to undress Eric of his pants, to which he did the same.

After that moment, when they were both done, Draven carried Eric to his bedroom, where they lied naked, embracing one another and Draven memorized every single groove in his body. From the manner his left shoulder was a bit weaker than his right, to how the lines on his palms had a different curve than normal. From how his fingers felt behind his ear, to how sensitive the spot right above his left collarbone.

He wanted to remember every single detail he could, but by the time he woke up to continue, Eric was gone from his bedroom, and that was the last time he saw him.