He hated seeing her cry. He came to tell her that he had fun tonight and that he wanted to stay with her. He asked the manager to lend him the spare key to her room for twenty bucks and an autograph. I’ll surprise her he was thinking as he opened the door to her room. He looked across the room to her balcony and he saw her. Silver tears slipped down her cheeks as she cried brokenly, alone in her little world. He ran for her, wishing he could stop the tears from burning her face. She looked up at him in surprise, tears shimmering in her huge black eyes. He pulled her into him, trying to soothe away her pain and wishing that he could keep the pain away.
“Adding breaking and entering to your rap sheet?” she hiccupped.
“No, I used a key. It’s interesting what you can get for twenty bucks and an autograph. As it turns out, the manager had a spare key to your room and I wanted to check on you.” He admitted.
“I’m fine.” She sniffled. He rolled his eyes, knowing that she was most definitely not fine.
“Yeah, I can see that.” He felt her lean in closer to him. “What happened?” he tried to get her to tell him, but his efforts were in vain.
“‘s nothing.” She sniffled again. He sighed, wishing he could somehow be a mind reader, if only for the moment.
“Silver, I know you and I know when something’s wrong.” He said. She’s not a good liar he thought.
“I’m just tired I guess. Don’t worry about me.” She gave him a shaky smile.
“No you’re not. I know what you’re like when you’re tired, and this is not tired. This is hurt and I want to know why.” Thoughts of her when she was truly tired flitted through her mind. He laughed internally when the memory of her throwing drum sticks at Jason after he woke her up on the bus. He felt her arms tighten around his ribs, sending a shudder through him. He tightened his arms round her shoulders and waist in response, willing her to sink into his skin, wishing he could hold her closer. “You know I’ll always take care of you, right?” he asked, waiting desperately for her answer.
“I know.” He saw the smile creep across her face as she answered. He pulled one of her arms from around him and carefully pressed her palm to his lips and felt her shiver as his lips caressed the tender skin there. He felt her soft fingers stroke his face from temple to jaw. His closed his eyes, wishing that this could last forever. She doesn’t know what she’s done to me he thought. His muscles relaxed as her fingers swept away his worry. He opened his eyes and saw her eyes lingering on his lips. She traced them with her finger, as if trying to memorize his face by heart.
“It’s cold out here.” He said, breaking her reverie. She nodded and turned to walk back into the confines of her hotel room.
“Do you want to stay tonight?” she asked absently. She turned to look at him, her desired answer clear in her beautiful eyes.
“Yes, I do.” He answered, grateful that she had asked.
“Ok.” She smiled up at him, all tears and pained erased from her features. He watched her as she walked to the bedroom of the suite. She pulled her suitcase off of the bed and set it on the floor near the door. She yanked her sweatshirt off, revealing a silky cream-colored camisole and turned the sheets down on the massive bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his shoes and shirt off, dropping them into a pile at the foot of the bed. He crawled under the sheets, pulling her close to his chest and throwing his arm around her waist. She curled up against him, her arms wrapped around his waist.
“Good night.” She sighed. He leaned his cheek into her hair.
“Sweet dreams.” He closed his eyes, listening to her breathing.
“I love you Ayden.” She muttered sleepily. Her breathing evened and soon she was asleep, curled against him like she had been so many times before.
“I love you too.” He whispered into her hair. He watched the sun rise above the ocean outside her room, replaying her words over and over in his head.
I love you Ayden he smiled at her words. How many times have I waited to hear those words? He thought. He laid there, breathing in her scent, holding her to him, loving every second of this moment. She stirred a little but relaxed and fell back to sleep again. He brushed her bangs back off her forehead, revealing the pale splendor of her delicate face. Her thick lashes cast little shadows across her high cheek bones. He would be lying to say that he didn’t pay attention to her looks at least a little bit. He could appreciate her narrow waist and the smooth curves of her hips, but to him, that was just an added bonus. She was smart, talented and a wonderful.
“How can something so delicate be so strong?” he muttered. The sunlight dared to peek through the massive floor to ceiling windows and creep across her skin. The faint golden light created an ethereal glow around her making her seem more peaceful. He poked his tongue at the corkscrew ring he had through his bottom lip thoughtfully. He thought about the time in high school where he had to pick Silver up from the psych ward at the hospital after she ‘attempted’ suicide. He got there and asked the nurse at the front desk where her room was. She directed him to her room where he found her sitting on the edge of a crisp bed with a white gauze pad taped over her wrist.
“Hey.” She whispered quietly.
“Hey,” he walked over to the bed to sit with her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m here to spring you. You must be starving after having to endure hospital food.” He tried to perk her up but she only looked down at her feet.
“Thanks for getting me.” She said. He looked down at her bandaged wrist she had cradled against her chest.
“You mom’s handiwork?” he asked knowingly.
“Yea, apparently she nicked an artery this time. Now everybody thinks I’m suicidal.” Tears began to flow down her cheeks silently. “She always did have a sick sense of discipline.” She laughed brokenly. He sighed and made his offer hesitantly.
“Well, then you can move in with me. My mom loves you so she’ll be fine with it. Please Silver, I’m afraid for you. She could’ve killed you.” He felt his cool demeanor slip into sheer desperation. His heart has plummeted through the floor when she called him from the hospital the day before. I came so close to losing her he thought bitterly.
“Good morning.” She sighed against his chest, bringing him out of his reminiscing. He looked down at the beautiful girl lying beside him, a sudden rush of intense gratitude rushing through him.
“Good morning.” He said, brushing her hair back from her face. Her cheeks were flushed pink from sleep, her eyes still half closed.
“What have we done?” she laughed quietly.
“We slept together.” He muttered. She looked up at him, at smile crinkling the corners of her eyes. He brushed his lips lightly across hers, feeling her shiver slightly in his arms.
“Best sleep over ever.” She laughed, sliding her arms around his neck. Her big black eyes held an innocence that he loved. She laced her fingers around his neck and pulled him closer to her. She carefully pressed her lips to his, much to his surprise. He kissed her back whole heartedly, deepening the kiss far past lust and into what it really was. He loved her, and there was no denying it, no hiding it, just letting himself feel it. She pulled away to catch her breath, her lips red and her cheeks flushed.
“Do you know how long I’ve waited to do that?” he asked, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Tell me.” She breathed, her voice becoming husky.
“Forever.” He replied sincerely. She paused as if testing his words for any falsehoods. I could’ve never said anything truer he thought. As if she could hear his thoughts, she looked up at him smiling.
“That’s a long time.” She chuckled, her hand tracing his collarbone. He felt a thrill of pleasure at her simple touch.
“Very, but it was worth the wait.” He rolled on his back, looking up at the ceiling of her room. She scooted closer and laid her head on his chest, throwing her arm across his stomach. He let his hand trail up and down her spine, drawing random swirls and designs on her skin. The silky camisole had wiggled its way up to just below her ribs, leaving the tender skin there vulnerable. He watched as she flopped back over on her side of the bed. Her midnight black triple crescent tattoo was exposed as she leaned back in the pillows. His hand moved of its own volition to trace the delicate moons she had inked on her hip.
“I was there when you got this.” He said, remembering how he held her hand when she sat down in the chair at Seattle Ink. He watched as the artist worked his magic, watching the beautiful design formed. He had paid for it her as a celebratory gift once the band signed to their record label. He saw goose bumps rise where his fingers traced the design, and felt her hand slide across his, flattening his palm against her hip.
“So what do you want to do today?” she asked, weaving her slender fingers through his.
“Well, I can think of a few things.” He said, slyly. He gave her his best sinister smile and stood up on the bed. She looked up at him, and reached her arm out to him. He pulled her up and into him, kissing her lingeringly. Again, she blushed deeply, a beautiful rose color spreading across her cheeks. Without warning he reached down and scooped her up effortlessly. She felt light as feathers in his arms.
“Put me down!” she squealed giddily.
“Do I make you nervous?” he asked wickedly. He jumped off the bed, landing on the balls of his feet. He spun her around, watching as she let her head fall back, laughing in delight.
“You’re insane. You know that, right?” she said, wriggling out of his arms. He watched her as she sashayed out of the room into the bathroom, his desire to follow her intensifying with each step she took. He heard the faucet turn on for an instant and the sound of a toothpaste tube snapping closed. She came out two minutes later, a smile creeping across her face. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she giggled.
“Hungry?” he asked, ignoring her question. She looked at him, nodding cautiously. He picked up the phone on the nightstand and ordered room service for them. The person on the other end assured him it would be up in a few moments. True to his word, the food arrived five minutes later. Ayden had the man set the food trays on the coffee table and walked with him to the door. He tipped the man and closed the door behind him. He was startled when two arms wound around his waist from behind him.
“Thanks for the food.” She laughed, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the table. His phone began to ring in his pocket.
“Hello?” he said, still laughing.
“Ayden honey, something happened.” He could hear the worry bleeding into his mother’s voice.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” He excused himself to the balcony and slid the glass door closed behind him for privacy.
“It’s Silver’s mother. She’s in the hospital and she’s hurt pretty bad.” He could see the worry lines that would be puckering his mother’s forehead as if she were standing right next to him. “Her newest boyfriend beat her up pretty bad over a money argument. The doctor said her skull is fractured in several places; she has a broken wrist and a couple of broken ribs also. He dumped her on the front walk of the hospital and drove off and she won’t say who he is.” He could feel the blood pounding harder through his veins.
“What are we supposed to do then?” he felt venom dripping in his voice. He hated Silver’s mom with an unholy passion and just hearing about her made his blood boil.
“I need you and Silver to come back home for a little while. You need to tell her now Ayden.” She said quietly.