Page 45 of Light in Your Eyes

My chest rises and falls as I pant hard.

Kellan’s eyes are wide, just like mine. He’s panting too. “Fuck. I’m sorry,” he rasps.

I touch my neck, feeling like I want to burst into tears.

“It’s just reflexes,” Kellan says, disbelief crossing his expression.

“I need to go,” I stutter.

With that said, and with shaking legs, I get off the bed and rush toward the bathroom.

After I step inside, I lock the door behind me and slump against it. I hug myself when I start crying on the bathroom floor.

It was one the scariest moments of my life. I thought that Kellan was going to choke me to death.

Yet, he said that it was just reflexes.

I shouldn’t have touched him in his sleep. He’s a mafia man, and a blind one at that. It was just his way of protecting himself from danger.

A tear rolls down my cheek. I’m still trying to compose myself after what just happened. I don’t know how long I should stay here in this bathroom, but I don’t feel like going out anytime soon.

Right now, I’m afraid of him.

I keep sitting on the bathroom floor for long minutes until my gaze darts to the bathtub. I stand up, take off my clothes, and step into it. I turn on the water so that I can relax in it.

While I’m taking my time inside the bathtub, my mind wanders to Kellan again. I don’t know what he’s doing right now.

Is he okay?

But I just can’t get outside. Not yet.

I wonder what made him have such a nightmare. It must have been something really horrible that he wastossing violently in his sleep.

Maybe it was something related to his childhood trauma. Maybe it was about the accident.

An hour passes slowly, and I decide to get off the bathtub. I step out of it and dry myself with a towel. Then I put on my clothes and walk out of the bathroom.

When I’m back in his room, Kellan is gone. He left.

I walk toward the window and slide the curtain. It’s a silent night. I sigh as I watch the moon.

But then, something catches my attention.

Someone is taking a run at the backyard. It’s Kellan.

My eyes are glued to him. I keep watching him run in the middle of the night.

All my fear of him suddenly fades, replaced by my sympathy for him. My heart hurts for the broken man.

Deep down inside, I want to know what’s in his heart.

What’s bothering him.

What makes him feel so much pain.

And I pray to God that as time goes by, I will understand him better.

Chapter 18