The doctor allows me to go home since my test results are within a normal range. I’m under stress these couple of days. I finally agree to see a psychologist when the nightmare still keeping me awake almost every night.
Pyke is still lying in the hospital bed for two days now. His lungs are filled with smoke. The pulmonologist advised to keep him on assist control breathing to clean up his lungs. And thank God, Kyland didn’t get many injuries besides a little bump on his head-no concussion, a left black-eyed, and split lip caused by that psychopath who pretended to be Pyke’s relative.
What happened two nights ago finally convinces me that Pyke is important to me than anything. I keep on denying that I’m only attracted to him rather than facing the fact that I let him into my life because I trust him more than I trust anyone in my life. I sleep with him because I know my body belongs to him-my fate is to be with him. Our connections are stronger that nothing in this world can break them apart.
That night proves to me that I fell for Pyke long before I even realize I’m capable of loving him. He made love with me, wrapped me in his arms with security when the nightmare occurred. Pyke is the only person can provide my needs, comfort me, and can make me feel the essence of a woman.
My heart explodes out of my chest along with the explosion inside the club.
There’s something with that explosion that takes everything out from me, leaving a hollow inside.
My feet move to the commotion as if they have their own brain. My world just stops when I see the unconscious familiar figure on the stretcher with a face mask that supposed to support his breathing.
“Kyland!” I don’t recognize my voice as I walk closer to him. But what I’m not prepared for is the next unconscious body carried by the fireman.
“No no no,” I say shaking my head repeatedly. My knees wobble and I can’t take another step towards him as I watch them place Pyke on the stretcher, ripping his clothes from his body in one quick motion.
“Pyke!” I hear myself calling his name before the darkness surrounds my vision.
“Why did you do that? Don’t you know that I almost lost you? You promise you will come back to me.” I look at him with my wet eyes, cup his face, and run my thumbs on his scruffy face. His eyes swirl with emotions. I can’t control myself anymore and finally give in, capturing his dry lips with mine. His sigh of relief warms me with excitement.
A cough startles me. “Seriously? You two will just shove each others’ tongue in each others’ throat in front of me?”
My face heats with embarrassment when I hear Kyland’s angry voice.
“Then you can leave me now, Wright. I’m perfectly okay now Camila is right in front of me.” Pyke rolls his eyes on Kyland.
“Then what? You will take her to this bed?”
“Then what’s your problem?” Pyke asks with irritation.
“Go home, Kill. Bianca is already waiting for you. Pyke will be discharged soon anyway,” I interrupt.
“We’re not done talking, asshole.” Kyland walks away after kissing me on my cheek.
“Don’t mind him. He’s just not used to see me kissing someone in front of him.”
“You better not kiss anybody other than me, Camila if you don’t want me to commit murder,” Pyke growls.
“Seriously, you just woke up from near death, now you want to commit murder? Anyway, how are you feeling?” I focus my concern on him. He looks pale though, but he’s still looking annoyingly handsome.
“I’ll kill everyone will kiss you. I’m good as new. Wright will probably call the doctor before he leaves the hospital. How about you, Babe?”
“I’m okay,” I answer him shyly. Heat crawls up my neck to my ears when I remember I’m already in the hospital bed.
“I’m sorry if I left you in the car. I can’t risk your life again. I can’t believe things are happening these to us. When everything gets better, something comes in between us.”
“That would be the last, Pyke. Kyland filed complaints against Athena.”
“Great because I’m not gonna let this go again.”
“Xandry came to visit you,” I tell him.
He meets my gaze. “What did he say?”
“He apologized.” I smiled. “I forgave him, and you should do the same thing, Pyke.”
He takes a deep breath and nods.
“I thought I’m gonna lose you.” My shoulders sag at the thought of losing him. If that happens, I don’t think I’ll be able to be whole again.
Instead of sitting beside me, he stands in front of me, between my knees, closing the gap between us. I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face into his taut abdomen.
“Only death can stop me from being with you, Babe. I might wake up from a death as well then kiss you, make love to you if that would even possible.”
I giggle in his arms. “That’s kinda creepy, don’t you think?”
“I can be creepy for as long as you’re mine.”
“Let me help you.” I take his shirt off when I notice him struggling to lift his arms. He has bruises on his right bicep and down to his right hip. He explains how did he get them. My tears stream down my cheeks, feeling horrified of how he suffered in that fire.
“Get in the shower,” I tell without looking at him and strip my clothes off one by one when I see him getting inside the shower room. I follow, closing the glass door behind me.
He turns on the shower into a warm temperature. I grab his shower gel, squeezing a good amount into my palm and lather it on his back. His body tenses.
“Babe, I can still fuck you here, you know,” he says with a laugh.
“I’ve no doubt. It sounds tempting, but I still need your strength for another time.” I continue to lather on his back slowly, to his chest. I press my body against him, shutting my eyes close to feel his warm body and listen to his accelerating heartbeat that I thought I’m not going to get a chance to listen to it again.
He takes my hands, pressing them against his chest, unmoving. “I don’t mind dying that night if not because of you, Camila, but I promised to come back to you, and that’s what kept me from staying alive. And I can’t disappoint you coming back without Kyland by my side. I know it will shatter my heart seeing you grieving his death while I’m slowly dying inside every day to the fact that I’m the reason for his death.”
“Thank you, though you still risked your life.”
“I’ll do everything for you. I may say that many times, but I mean it. I did that because of you, but I will still do it because Kyland is also my friend.”
I know I’m crying again because my eyes are stinging.
We sleep peacefully without my nightmare waking me up in the middle of the night. Pyke wraps his arms around my body protectively, possessively as if I will escape from him when he falls to sleep. I love these feelings. I love the thought of me being his.
We eat breakfast together when I find him in the kitchen flipping pancakes. He leaves early to follow up on the report of his club. I heard it needs a good renovation to get back to business. The good thing is I can’t find the worry on his face despite losing his club. I’m so thankful that nobody got hurt besides him, Kyland, and the fireman who rescued them, but nothing serious other than some bruises on the fireman’s body.
I text Pyke an hour before dinner.
Cam: Dinner at my apartment?
He replies immediately.
Pyke: I miss you as my dinner, Babe.
My inner muscles clench. Heat shoots in my core.
Cam: Stop with innuendos, Pyke. Dinner after an hour.
Pyke: Can’t help it. I need to talk to you about something.
Cam: See you after an hour then.
Pyke: Later, Babe.
I get back to the kitchen after taking a shower and change into a black dress and black high heels. I apply some light makeup and curl my hair.
I play the playlist I arranged after he left this morning, turns off the lights after lighting some candles. I release a nervous breath when I hear the doorbell rings. I walk to my door, checking the peephole as my driver, Fitz advised me.
“Hi, just right on time,” I say, smiling timidly.
Pyke’s jaw drops with slightly wide eyes, then rakes his gaze on me from head to toe. I’m surprised that he has flowers in his hand.
“Are we just gonna check each others’ out or are you gonna come in?” My sassiness is back. My words just come out naturally.
“Well, you look beautiful with your tiny dress that I can rip off in a split second. You just blow me away, Babe. I guess the flowers just right for the lovely dressed up.” He hands me the flower and presses his lips to mine.
My heart gallops in my chest to the way he looks at me.
“Can we cut the dinner and just go to bed?” he says, smiling on my lips.
“Get in, perv.”
He laughs. “Seriously, can we skip the main and just eat the dessert?”
“Stop it! I exerted so much effort because I kinda regret not having dinner with you when I saw you lying unconscious in that bed,” I tell him honestly. “So, I hope it’s not too late to make it up to you.”
“Long overdue, huh?” He gets inside and locks the door behind him. “Fuck! Babe, I don’t know you prepared for this. I should’ve dressed something better. I-I’m such an asshole. I don’t even deserve this.” His eyes scan around my apartment.
His mother told me about Pyke’s favorite food and helped me cook. She called for a flower arrangement when I asked her for help. She’s excited than me actually because it’s Pyke’s first real date. Paul gave me some wine. Parker and Emily sent me some thank you gifts with scented candles that I’m now lighting up and Pyke’s favorite dessert that we’re about to eat later.
I squeeze his hand as we get near the dining room.
“Stop saying you’re an asshole. Dance with me?” I ask tentatively.
“Babe, thank you for this,” he says as he places his hand at my back.
“You should thank also your family.”
His brows meet. “My family?”
I nod as we dance slowly. “Your mom and your dad including Parker and Emily helped me to make this possible.” I grin sheepishly.
“You’re also my family now, Babe. You will be my real family very soon. You will have my family name. You will be my wife and will be the mother of my children. We will grow old together. But I know you want to take it slow, so let’s have it your way. And we’ve just started our first real date right now, yet here I am scaring the hell out of you about my dreams. I just have these obsessions about you and me since I first met you, but please, don’t go running up the hill because I’ll follow you even if you will go to the top of Laila Peak and ask you to be mine. I’m just crazy in love with you it hurts and it’s even hard to breath being far from you, what more living without you. I only want two things in my life, Camila, first is you, and the second is to be with you. I’m not proposing, you know,” Pyke chuckles nervously. “I didn’t even ask you to be my girlfriend yet, but fuck me if I don’t want to marry you right now.”
I don’t realize how do we suddenly stop dancing. All I can do is just stare at the mesmerizing blue-gray eyes that staring back at me fixedly, caging me in with full possession. And love.
He curses under his breath.
“I sounded like a fucking idiot. I don’t even have a ring. I just told you I’m not proposing, and I don’t wanna scare you away, but here I am, be my girlfriend, my woman, my fiancée, and be my future wife.” He takes my hand, placing something on my palm. “I’ll buy you a ring, Babe. That’s a promise.”
“Y-you’re kinda bubbling, a-are you okay?” I stutter, still looking at him incredulously.
“I know, I’ve never been nervous in my entire life even getting inside the brink of death days ago. I mean every word I said, Camila Leigh. I love you so much.” He swallows. “More than anything in this world. I don’t know how it happens. Don’t ask me because I really can’t answer you that, I just feel it. I know it, and I am a hundred percent sure about it.”
I raise my hand to see what he gave me. “This is my car! How did you have it, Pyke? It’s from Uncle Levi!” I look at him with accusation.
“I took it that night before I found you in the rain.” His brow shoots up as if playing innocent.
“You stole it from me and then you’re proposing me a marriage with this?”