Page 17 of Silent Truths

Tor kissed me then, and I groaned, melting into him, rolling him to his back so I could settle between his spread thighs. We kissed languidly—nothing rushed or heated about it. But fuck, it felt hot. All the way to my core. Still, I just braced my arms on either side of him, my hands cupping his cheeks.

“I love you,” I told him once we parted.

The smile he gave me… fuck, that smile was everything.

He was my light again. Suddenly, the darkness wasn’t swallowing me up. His hand was wrapped around mine, pulling me closer, warming me as if he were the sun.

And I soaked up every bit of his heat.

11

Tor

The sun was warm on my skin, the pleasant smell of weed swirling around me. My pen moved over the notebook balanced on my thigh, words flowing seamlessly onto the page.

I hadn’t felt this free in over a year. Writing songs hadn’t come this fucking easily in just as long. Something that had once meant so much to me, had once been one of my favorite pass-times, had lost all its beauty.

But now, that beauty was finally coming back. Finally shining through again. All because Salem had finally taken his head out of his ass and started fixing things between us.

We still had a long way to go—I knew that—but I had faith he was done shoving me aside and pretending I didn’t exist. And even if that hope fucking killed me one day, I’d hold on to it all the same.

Pain left me hollow

Sorrow tore me to pieces

The mere sight of you threatened

to tear me to my knees

Agony fucked me up

Your words slaughtered my soul

But even though pain is all you left me

“You left me in bed,” Salem complained, his voice a low rumble as he settled onto the concrete beside me, his thighs on either side of me. His arms wrapped around my chest, tugging me back against him.

I couldn’t stop the small smile from tilting my lips even if I tried.

Leaning my head back on his left shoulder, I turned my head to look up at him, my pen resting between my fingers. “You were sleeping like the dead,” I told him honestly. “You didn’t even feel me crawl out of your monkey hold.”

Salem arched a brow at me, amusement shining in his eyes even though his lips didn’t twitch in the slightest. He’d always been like that—so serious. So unmovable. But I’d always been able to read him like a book… so long as he wasn’t shutting me out, that was. And right now, he was letting me read every single one of his emotions.

My heart clenched in my chest. God, I’d missed this so much. Missed him so much, even while he was ripping my heart to shreds and gouging out my soul. I craved Salem any way I could have him… even if it was toxic.

“You should’ve continued laying with me,” he grunted.

I shook my head and glanced down at the notebook still balanced on my thigh, tapping my pen against it. Salem glanced down at it before picking it up, running his eyes over the words. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but I didn’t try to stop him. The entire world would hear the lyrics soon enough.

“You’re writing again,” he murmured as he read the words I’d bled onto the paper. “You haven’t been inspired in months.”

My throat clicked as I swallowed. He’d noticed?

Salem glanced at me. “This is how I made you feel?” he asked, setting the notebook back on my thigh. I couldn’t read him again, and it made my stomach clench. Was he about to get up and walk away because I was being too real? What move should I make? I couldn’t lose him again. I wouldn’t survive it.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just remained silent. Avoiding his gaze—which was easy since I was technically facing away from him—I grabbed my blunt from the ashtray on the concrete beside me and relit it, inhaling the smoke into my lungs, letting it settle there for a few moments before I slowly blew it out.

I wished the hammering of my fucking heart would stop, too. It was goddamn painful.

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