Then You Look At Me |COMPLETED|

We'll Die Together Then

~You are not hidden. There's never been a moment you were forgotten. You are not hopeless, though you have been broken, your innocence stolen. I hear you whisper underneath your breath. I hear your SOS. I will send out an army to find you in the middle of the darkest night. It's true, I will rescue you.~ Lauren Daigle.

Chapter Theme Song: 'Rescue' by Lauren Daigle.

••

Rainey

"I am so sorry...you were so young." My tone is hemmed with sympathy as Ansel and I lie onto our stomachs, our faces just inches apart while our fingers are interlaced together.

He shared with me the details of the past dilemma between his dad and Ron Moretto, and what had started the never-ending rift between them. I have come to learn that Ansel was only seven when his uncles were killed and my heart aches at how hard it must have been to witness something so tragic at such a young age. Despite this, he seems to be coping well with the trauma, and it makes me wonder how he manages to repress such painful events.

Maybe we are not so different after all. We both tend to hide our true feelings behind this unphased façade. Fearing what? That we will be unsheltered from our cocoons to the open injustice of people who are just searching for our weaknesses to use as their weapons.

When I first met Ansel, he was like a puzzle; mysterious and quite difficult to solve. But now as we lie together like this, under the glow of the candlelight, I can easily see the hurt embedded in his eyes; his beautiful, unrestricted eyes that can easily see through my soul. Now it all seems fair because I am finally able to see through his too.

"Do you think of them sometimes?" I whisper, staring at his perfect fingers as they curl between mine, our promise rings glistening amidst the dark.

"Yeah...I was particularly close to Uncle Ashton. He would take me to see baseball games, drive around town. He looked a lot like my dad, you know?"

I smile. "You look a lot like your dad too."

He smirks, his once doleful eyes lighting up and I feel my body gradually relaxes. I was unaware of the strong impact his sorrow has on me until now. When he smiles, it always tends to set my soul at ease. Someone with such beautiful dimples and white perfect teeth should always be happy. I will ensure it.

"I think Alaric more looks like my dad."

"Mm..." I crinkle my nose pensively. "I honestly can't see the difference between you all. Like it just feels like your dad was the original document and God just decided to make several copies of the same file, maybe to make his work a lot easier; I don't know. Copy and paste."

Ansel laughs deeply, and I smile at how the bed vibrates as he does. "Ah, that's...partially offensive."

I giggle. "Why?"

"I don't know, I guess I just wanna be different in your eyes." He says softly, bringing my hand to his lips. I watch as he places a kiss there and my stomach forms a small knot.

"You are," I whisper, meaning every word. "No-one could tear my walls down. I mean, they couldn't even come close. But you did...effortlessly."

He smiles at me then lets out a heavy breath, a passionate look passing over his face. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I will protect you from Ron Moretto, even if it means dying in the process."

Dying in the process? The statement rises heavy anxiety within me and my forehead wrinkles disapprovingly. Why would he talk so...fatal?

"Don't talk like that."