Page 67 of Condemned By Pain
Your hand reaching for mine in the dark.”
As the music winds down, I carry us through the final chorus.
“I don’t need the sky to bend for me,
Or fate rewriting destiny.
I just need your arms around my fears,
Your whisper drying all my tears.
If I have your love to hold,
I need nothing else at all.”
His hands stop. I turn to him, our eyes locking as my fingers continue, carrying the piece to its end.
“I need nothing else at all,” he whispers, his lips almost still, yet the words reach me.
I don’t give him—or myself—a single breath to think. I lean in and press my lips to his.
For one eternal second, we both freeze.
Then he pulls away, rising in a jerky movement, and leaves. My heart sinks into my stomach.Another rejection. Worse than the first.
My throat tightens, my gut knots. The breath that had held still leaves me in a trembling exhale.
This is your reminder, Wen: get over this foolish, one-sided love, or you’ll end up crying.
Salvario
My body won’t stop shaking. I make it downstairs without falling. I’m awake, but it feels like a dream—I can see everything, yet can’t process it.
I enter my room. Lock the door with trembling hands.
My head burns. I drop to the floor, holding it. Even with my eyes open, I can’t see anything. She’s taken me over.
Even now, away from her, all I see is her. Her eyes. Her face as she leaned in. The flush on her cheeks. The soft pink of her lips.
All I feel is her. The press of her lips—cool, soft—against mine.
And my head burns hotter. Like it might ignite.
I dig my fingertips into my scalp, eyes squeezed shut. My breathing won’t return to normal. My chest aches from the sheer effort it takes just to breathe—just to keep my heart beating.
She kissed me. She wanted to kiss me.
I could have done everything I’ve wanted so desperately. I could have gripped her neck and devoured her mouth. Merged us: lip and tongue and breath. Pulled her into me until nothing remained between us. Not air. Not space. Not sense. I could have shown her how much I need her. How much I want her. How completely she has possessed me.
But I didn’t.
I pushed her away.
Because I can’t have her.
I can’t even kiss the woman I want so fiercely.
Not even once.
