Page 170 of Eternal
I’ve never doubted a mission, not once. But if it’s true, if she’s that little girl, if all she does is fight for something that was stolen from her, then why should I stop her?
Why do I feel lighter with her next to me?
Why does a fucking smile pull at my lips as I watch her sleep on my chest?
Is she killing me?
Maybe. Maybe her trust is a poison that’s soaked into my bloodstream, maybe her eyes carved into my ribs until my heart turned soft and weak.
Voron.
Voron.
Voron.
I inhale sharply, lifting her into my arms. She shifts slightly, sighs against me, and something in my chest tightens, she’s beautiful.
Does it make sense, this kind of beauty? I don’t think so, but my heart, traitorous, reckless, and alive, recognizes it. Like it was waiting for this moment, like it never thought it would see something like this in a lifetime built on blood and lies.
I lay her on the bed, but I don’t leave, Ican’t.
Instead, I lie beside her, still dressed, barely breathing. She’s too close…no. She’s not close enough.
Do I even want to keep tracking her? Or am I just doing a shitty job on this mission?
Fuck.
She breathes so softly, and all I can do is stare. Her face, calm, relaxed, but stillso, so sad.
And her words, they echo in my skull, burrow into my skin.
I need to know more, I need to know everything. I don’t know why, I just do, but not now, not tonight.
Tonight, all I want is this, her beside me, the sound of her breathing, the weight of her existence.
I won’t touch her. I won’t move.
I’ll juststay.
And maybe, if I’m lucky, she’ll pull me into whatever dream world she’s in.
My gaze met small drawings on the ceiling of her room.Stars. Drawn by hand, and all I want is to stay underneath the sky she created.
45
DAMIR
“The Beach” by The Neighbourhood
Present
Iwake up alone in this bed, and I remember our night.
I grabbed her hand yesterday, held her against me, and almost kissed her. I listened to her story, and for the first time, I told her mine. For a few hours, she made me forget what she did before I arrived.
But whatever happened, whatever she buried deep, it still clung to her.
I get up, splash cold water on my face, and head to the living room.
