Chapter Twenty-Two
Adam
It had just gotten to the part where Michael Madsen does the dance while cutting off the guy’s ear, and I turned to see her reaction. In the dark, I noticed she had her head slightly tilted to the left, and her hair partly covered her face. So, I sat forward in order to see her better, but when she didn’t move, I got up to go over to her.
She had fallen asleep.
I knelt down in front of her, but she didn’t stir. It looked uncomfortable, the way she was sleeping in a sitting position, so I put my arms around her to lower her gently, so she was lying down, and I picked her legs up to rest them on the sofa. I didn’t want her to wake up feeling stiff and aching.
Her hair still covered her face, and carefully, I tucked it behind her ear out of the way. Looking down at her, seeing her mouth open slightly, and hearing the gentle rasp of her breaths made the twisting sensation in my chest tighten. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Her blonde hair made her look like an angel, and it was so soft–all I wanted to do was sit here all night and stroke it. I used the back of my finger to touch her cheek and sighed at how amazing her skin felt, like velvet. Perfect.
She was wearing an off-the-shoulder top and pyjama shorts, and I couldn’t stop the devil inside of me from touching her bare thigh, running my hand down to her knee, but I pulled away when I felt her stir and sigh. I didn’t want to do anything that she wouldn’t be comfortable with, and I knew a hand on her leg was overstepping the mark. I wasn’t ever going to be that guy. I might be a stalker, as she liked to call me, but I knew I could never take advantage of her. I may be a motherfucker, but as I always said, I was a motherfucker with a code. She was mine to protect.
I saw a fluffy blanket folded up in the corner of the sofa, so I grabbed it, shook it out and then draped it over her. Once I knew she was settled and comfortable, I went back to my own side of the room. But I didn’t take my eyes off her.
Watching her sleep was the most peaceful feeling in the world. And I suddenly realised, that kill switch in my head, the one that went from psycho to simmering, it wasn’t even on right now. The voices that were usually a loud screech or a dull roar, they were quiet. She did that. She centred me. And I knew in that moment, that I would never walk away from her. What started out as an obsession had become so much more. She was everything. She was my lifeline. My reason for being.
She was the one.