|60| arms of safty

She's the type of flower

That can still grow

After a forest fire.

~Acrewss

_______________

Waking up, my body throbs in pain, my body shoots up in fear, still thinking I'm in that room that brought me pain,

"Hey, hey, I'm here, you're not alone" I hear a gentle Husky voice speak against my skin,

My vision finally adjusts to the dark and I realize it's not morning yet, looking at the clock, I see the time 4:32 am,

"Hey, look at me" Aaron whispers

I turn on my side so I'm met with his concerned gaze, his arms gently drape over my waist, barely putting weight on it,

"They're gone...David and Wren, died, they can't hurt you anymore" he gently speaks, cupping my jaw in between his warm big hand,

I lean into his touch, my eyes closing slightly "they died?" I whisper

"Yeah...my friend took care of it, I'll explain everything to you when you're not half asleep" he kisses my forehead and gently pushes my head down onto his chest

My hand goes to his tattoo over his heart, I tear up as I lay a gentle kiss over it, I start to tremble, making Aaron drape the blanket over me,

fear crawls up my throat at the feeling that it's like my body is still in that room.

But it's okay...He's here...

I'm alive,

He saved me, and I'm in the protection of his arms, they keep me steady and remind me that I get to live another day getting to be loved by him.

"I'm here, I'll always. Be. Here." He runs his fingers through my hair gently as he speaks

"I love you" I whisper half asleep

"I love you sunshine, so damn much, and I'm so sorry that you had to wait that long for me to find you" he whispers sounding pained,

I shake my head "not your fault"

We lay in silence as he holds me close, breaths ragged and against my hair,

"I missed the talk I was supposed to have with the homeless yesterday" I sigh into his skin,

"Don't worry Henry talked at the meeting and said they're making a lot of progress and many are taking the first steps to change" he says against my head

"That's good" I whisper weakly

"You're shaking sunshine" he murmurs

"Sorry," I say muffled into his chest

"You cold?" He asks

I shake my head "not really"

"Then what's wrong? Why are you shaking?" His words are filled with worry

"It feels like the knives and weird tools are still touching my body, still cutting my skin over and over again" I sniff

"Let's take a bath, maybe it'll help your skin," he says sitting up

I wrap my arms around his neck, hiding my face in his neck not wanting to see my body, not wanting to see the destruction I faced in that torture room,

Aaron begins slowly walking into our master bathroom, turning the water on "I'll do the water on room temp so it doesn't burn your skin" he says kissing my shoulder

He stands, holding me as we wait for the water to fill up, I play with the strands of his hair loving the feel of the soft locks in between my fingers,

My body doesn't stop trembling as flashbacks of what happened not even a day ago come in full force in my mind,

"Talk to me" he speaks gently

"I don't want to" I whisper

He nods against my head "you don't have to talk about what happened in the warehouse, but I don't want you in my arms trembling thinking of that knowing I can't do anything to help...just talk to me about anything, so your mind can stray away from the bad for at least a few moments"

His kind heart makes me love him even more than I already am,

"I constantly think of the trip we took...I loved you holding me safely in your arms as we watched the hot air balloons, I loved going on the dog sleds with you, sitting in the hot tub, and seeing the northern lights as we got to know each other, but most importantly I just loved your presence next to me through it all, getting to experience those firsts with you by my side" my mind fully goes to those moments as I speak, a smile tugging at my lips as I remember those memories,

I'm so in my memories that I don't feel him taking my clothes off and his, or even when he kisses my forehead,

But I do finally get sucked into reality when the warm water hits my skin, it's colder than what you'd want a bath to be, but it's perfect for the burn my skin feels,

Aaron sits behind me, my back against his chest as we both sit in the tub, my head falls against his shoulder as I sigh,

"Well...I think we should take a new trip soon, maybe to some new places we haven't visited" he smiles against my ear,

"Too much money" I mumble as I shake my head

"When it comes to you, I would drain every cent in my bank account and wallet just to see you smile" his statement makes me need to close my eyes so I don't completely break down in his hold,

"You're the best person I've ever met Aaron...the most kind, loving, passionate man that I've had the pleasure to know and Love" I grab onto his arm that rests on my waist

"You flatter me" he murmurs against my wet shoulder

I softly smile as I turn my head to the side so I'm met with his soft gaze "you make me feel safe" I whisper

His eyes grow cloudy as a layer of tears gather, he cups my face gently with his hand, watching me with so much love In his gaze and the hold of his warm palm against my cheek,

"Vanessa-" he shakes his head the rest of his sentence gets lost in the air, he just stares and stares some more at me, lost in a scary thought clearly behind his watery eyes,

"I'm going to make sure you have a second chance at life...that your heart doesn't give out on you, because you deserve the best in life" his voice cracks as he speaks and a tear makes its way down his cheek

I gasp so quietly I doubt he catches it "Aaron" I whisper as I wipe the tear

I hear the slight splashing of water as Aaron moves so he can bring me even closer,

"There is no life where you're not next to me, no air in my lungs if you're not by my side, nor will there be a reason a smile touches my lips unless there's happiness coating your skin" he shakes his head, breaking my heart with each sweet word he speaks against my neck,

"Aaron, don't say things like that...it sounds like you would stop fighting when I die, that you'd kill yourself, and I can't bare the thought about me being responsible for such a thing" I shake my head blinking rapidly to rid me of my tears

"If...not when Vanessa, if you die" he speaks so brokenly that my throat constricts

"If" I whisper the words back, just to rid him of the tenseness that covers his body, that makes his breathing ragged and unsteady,

My heart is giving up on me as each day passes, and it's impossible to wrap my head around at times, but I know my chances are slim of surviving or even finding a heart in time,

But...Aaron's hope that I'll live to have a second chance at life, breathes hope into me,

That maybe just maybe I'll be lucky,

But my mind can't wrap around the fact that my luck might be at the expense of someone else's heart...it's difficult to stomach, but Aaron's grip on me as the water swallows our body, holding me with gentleness and love...

I can't help but have a little spark of hope...a wish for more time with this man.

Yet another bonus uploud!🤭

This is probably the shortest chapter I've written so far...but I'm mentally drained at the moment.

I also didn't really read this through before posting it so my bad if it's really grammatically incorrect....

Word count:1419