Living In Flames. by Emily Zimmerman. (always you kirsty moseley txt) 📖

down to the ground. The only thing that I could choke out was, “Why?”

“I can’t let you live in danger like this, Skylar. I won’t. If Michaels thinks I don’t love you anymore...he’ll leave you alone.” He muttered.

Anger broke through the pain, and I stood up. “If you do this, I’m walking out, and I’m never coming back. I’ll walk out that door, a-and I’ll be gone forever!” I told him harshly through the lump in my throat.

He started forward, and I had nowhere to run as he came close to me. “I’ll always love you, Skylar, please know that.” He whispered, stroking my cheek.

“No!” I denied, pushing his hand away.

I couldn’t leave, I simply couldn’t. Tears began to stream down my cheeks as he leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to both of my cheeks, and then one short one to my lips, before pulling me into a crushing hug. “Don’t forget me, Sky. Because I’ll never forget you.” He whispered.

“Dan,” I pleaded in a broken voice.

He let me go and backed away. “Goodbye, Skylar.” He mumbled.

I pressed my lips into a thin line to keep the sob from escaping, and turned to open the door. I was numb as I walked down the hall, not even noticing as Linda tried to speak with me. I walked out the front door, and started down the driveway.

I was halfway down the road, when my knees gave out, and the pain that my body was desperately trying to keep at bay, flooded through me, drowning all the numb feelings. I wanted to die. I wanted to curl into a ball and die on the side of the road. I was sitting with my head in my hands and sobbing my heart out,  and not even caring who saw. He left me, not even acknowledging my warning. He left me!

This was what was running through my mind, for what seemed like hours, as the sun began to climb higher in the sky. I sat staring at my hands the sobbing long gone, and a broken, empty heart left behind. A car skidded to a stop, and I didn’t look up as they pulled over. I expected it to be Lillian. The door opened, and someone got out, jogging over to where I sat. I was surprised to hear Blake’s voice calling my name, and I lifted my heavy head to look up at him. My movements were sluggish, as if my body was unwilling to move.

“Blake.” I said, barely over a whisper.

He leaned down in front of me, and studied my face with concerned eyes. “Come on Sky, everyone’s worried about you. Let’s get you home.” He murmured.

He scooped me up easily, and I just curled into his chest numbly. “He left me, Blake.” I whispered.

He tightened his arms around me, his expression hardening. “I know.”

“Why? What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything...I guess he was trying to protect you.” His words were almost a growl.

“What a shitty way of protecting me.” I whispered.

This made his lips twitch, but his eyes didn’t lighten. “Yeah.”

He put me into the car, and only then did I realize that I had gone the wrong way on the road. I was glad that his cruiser had three seats in the front, because I needed his comfort. I needed him to tell me that it would be alright, and that I would be okay. I wanted him to give me hope where there was none. He seemed surprised as I slid across the seat to curl into his side, but after a few seconds, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled away from the curb. “It’s going to be okay, Sky.” He said softly, as if reading my mind.

I nodded, suddenly exhausted and cold as pain twinged at my heart. “It just hurts.” I whimpered.

He tightened his arm, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I know.”

We sat in a comfortable silence on the way to my apartment, and I never wanted his comforting presence to leave.

Part Eight:

I awoke to myself being shifted onto a bed, and felt Blake pull a blanket over my shoulders. He was about to leave, when I grabbed his hand with a whimper. “Blake...please don’t leave, I don’t want to be alone.” I begged.

He stared into my eyes, debating. He finally shrugged and kicked off his shoes, taking off his gun belt and setting it on the night stand. He climbed into bed and I turned, curling into him like a child seeking warmth. Some part of my brain told me that this was wrong...but I needed him here. He wrapped his arms around me and stroked my hair softly.

I was feeling comfortable with his arms around me. Too comfortable. It sparked feelings of guilt inside at the thought of being in bed with another man...but I reminded myself that Blake was just here for comfort. Nothing more. “Blake...do you think I deserve this?” I asked him, my voice hardly above a whisper.

He looked at me with incredulous eyes. “Why would you think that?”

I looked down at my hands on his chest. “I mean, with everything that happened with John...and then Michaels, and then Dan leaving me...do you think I’m being punished?” I asked him, not looking at him.

He put his hand to my chin and pulled my face up to look at him. “What would you need to be punished for, Skylar?” He asked me.

I swallowed a lump in my throat, blinking back tears. “Maybe for my resentment toward my mother. For not being with her, for being so selfish to think that I was the only one hurting. I-I can’t help but think that I deserve this for what I’ve done-” He moved his fingers to my lips, silencing me.

“Skylar, listen to me. You are a wonderful person, and you don’t deserve any of this. John was a horrible SOB looking for a beautiful woman like you so he could push her around and make her life miserable. And Michaels is a crazy SOB just seeking revenge. We’ll get him, and we’ll put him behind bars just like John. As for Dan...well he’s just an SOB.” He said with a dry look.

I couldn’t help the tiny smile that pulled at the corners of my lips, and I buried my face in his chest, snuggling deeper into his arms. “Thank you, Blake.” I whispered.

He sighed and tightened his arms. “Yeah, yeah. Anytime.”

We lay in silence for a while, and I knew Blake hadn’t fallen asleep, because his hand kept up a steady rhythm, stroking my hair. I knew that I needed to braid it, but I was too comfortable to consider moving. I wasn’t very tired anymore, just emotionally drained. My heart beat a steady rhythm, keeping up with Blake’s. It felt good to be in his arms, a very comforting thing. I knew that if Lillian were here in Blake’s place, feeding me ice cream, popcorn, and making me watch sappy movies, I’d still be crying and wondering what I did wrong. Blake was truly my only solace. Oh crap, Lillian!

I gasped and looked up at Blake. “Lillian was coming to pick me up!”

He pushed my hair back from my face. “It’s okay. Lillian got there when I did. I told her that she should go home and that I’d look for you.” He said.

“Oh.” I said, unable to stop staring into his eyes.

They were soft, sweet, and he had a strange look on his face. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Sleep, Sky. You must be tired.” He said, his voice mirroring his eyes.

I grimaced. “I can’t really sleep. I guess that nap I had on the way here was all I needed.” I said sheepishly.

He let out a laugh and squeezed me to him in a mini-hug. “Okay. Do you want to go watch TV?”

I nodded. “Okay. Nothing sappy or stupid.” I said, beginning to sit up.

He smiled. “That’s the rule I live by.”

He got up, lifting me out of bed and setting me on the ground. We walked into the living room, sitting on my tiny couch. I cuddled into him once again, and he wrapped an arm around me as he remoted the TV on. A small part of my brain told me that from the outside we probably looked like a couple, but I didn’t listen. It felt cold without him near, lonely. I could feel the pain creeping back up when he wasn’t there. It was like dipping frostbitten . I told myself it was just guilt that made me feel that way. The warning part of my brain was dubious.

My heart still pained to think about Dan, so I tried to concentrate on the TV. Blake had it on a sitcom that we both enjoyed. Blake and I were usually rolling on the floor laughing when this sitcom came on, but we were both quietly watching this time, occasionally smiling at the funnier parts.

I laid my head on his shoulder after a while, my eyes finally growing heavy as I watched. He gave my shoulders a small squeeze. I could feel myself drifting off, but something warned me that bad dreams were to come.

Those warnings were correct.

I had nightmares of Dan, walking away from me, and no matter how fast I chased after him, I couldn’t catch him. The area around me was black. There was nothing but blackness beneath me. I called his name, trying to get him to stop, and he finally paused. He looked back at me with emotionless eyes. “I lied.” He whispered.

I shook my head in confusion, a questioning look on my face. “I lied about always loving you. I never did.” And he turned, and began striding away again.

My heart was ripped completely from my chest, and as if in slow motion, I fell to my knees, hitting the ground hard.

I awoke with a sharp gasp, sitting straight up. My breathing was ragged, and my heart was pounding painfully, as if trying to remind me that it was still there. I was still in Blake’s arms, and the TV flashed different commercials. I looked at the clock over the TV and realized it was five AM. We had fallen asleep on the couch.

Blake sat up straighter, his face groggy, but his eyes alert as he took in my face. “Nightmares?” He asked, his voice quiet with sleep.

I nodded, unable to speak as tears welled in my eyes. He sighed heavily and stretched, cracking his neck. He stood up and grabbed my hands, helping me up with him. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked me.

I shook my head.

He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Daniel is a stupid man.”

The pain in my heart wouldn’t subside, and a tear slowly streamed down my cheek. I was trying hard to hold it together, but not having Blake’s arms around me was...strange. It felt like now that I’d felt his comfort, I didn’t want it to go away. He was like a drug. My mind warned me not to go near him, and I couldn’t understand why. He was a friend comforting a friend, that was it...right?

Wrong! My mind yelled.

So, naturally, I ignored