Hurts so good

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE||MILO

I wake up to the sound of piano notes flowing effortlessly throughout the house followed by a huge log hitting me in the face. Except it isn't a log. It's Aiden's huge arm. Cassius, Aiden, and I seem to be tangled up in a huge mess, and Amaris is nowhere to be found. I fling Aiden's arm back over to his side and he groans. Still sleeping, he turns over and hits Cassius in the chest. Cassius pushes him away, throws his foot up in the air, and lets it fall, hitting me in the chest.

We've all been sleeping in the same bed for a while now and I'm seriously debating whether or not I should poison them. If it wasn't for Amaris insisting we sleep together, I would've dragged her off to my room days ago.

I sigh and maneuver my way out of the web they created so I can go search for Amaris. As I walk out of Amaris's bedroom, the sound of the piano gets louder and I follow it to find my prize. She sits in front of the piano, wrapped in a thin white sheet. Her shoulders and legs are exposed, displaying the marks we gave her last night. Her hair is in a messy bun at the top of her head and some pieces of escaped curls fall down the back of her neck and at the sides of her head.

I lean against the doorway to her piano room, studying her while she plays 'Solas'. The way she sways to the notes. The way her forehead creases as if she could feel every note resonating inside her body. The way she lets he eyelids fall close as if they've become too heavy for her to hold open. Rain falls outside the windows beside her as her fingers move with ease across the keys and she looks at peace.

Absolutely mesmerizing

Cassius and Aiden come up beside me and watches her the same way I do; like she's the beginning and the end, the sun and the moon, heaven personified.

"She hasn't played in so long," Aiden says softly and I nod, refusing to take my eyes off of her.

Amaris transitions from 'Solas' to 'Experience' at the exact moment thunder strikes. The lights are off but the illumination from the lightning that follows shines across her face and shoulders. My feet move to walk toward her but I stop myself in fear of breaking her focus.

We stand there watching her in silence for what feels like forever before her fingers cease movement and her eyes flutter open. She takes a deep breath and if sensing our presence, turns her head toward us. She smiles and that's the only signal we need before walking over to her.

"Hi," she says, smiling up at us.

"Hi," I say, cupping her face and kissing her lips. Soft. I pull away and look down at her, tracing the features on her face as if to confirm the picture I have of her in my head. As if to make sure that nothing about her has changed since I last saw her. She still has tiny freckles on her nose. Her top lip is still slightly darker than the bottom. Her eyes are still filled with unspoken words and consuming warmth. She's my Amaris.

"Why do you always do that?" Amaris asks, tilting her head.

"Do what?"

"You look at me like....like you're afraid I'm going to disappear. You've done it since we were kids. Why?" She whispers this time like she's been thinking about it for a long time and still hasn't been able to find the answer.

I smile down at her and stroke her cheek. How oblivious can she be? Can't she tell how completely and utterly in love with her I am? "You are the only perfect thing to ever exist. Looking at you, touching you, loving you, it's when I'm the happiest."

She blinks in shock and before she has time to feel awkward, I kiss her again. She moans into my mouth and I pull away before I start something I'm not sure her body can handle.

Aiden slides onto the piano chair to her right and hands her the pill and water I didn't notice he had. "How are you feeling, princess?"

"I'm sore but I'm fine," She says, smiling at him and he gives her a small kiss. When he pulls away, she returns the favor by kissing his lips, then his right cheek, his left cheek, his chin, his nose, and finally his forehead.