Caspian
I had been sleeping for what seemed like quite a while, and was confused when I began to hear cries. Although I was completely conscious and awake, no part of me wished to open my eyes and force my body into a state of alertness. But the cries that snaked their way to my eardrums sounded too much like they belonged to Gwendolyn, so I forced my eyelids apart.
When they cracked open, and I saw Gwendolyn sobbing into Roman's chest, I immediately dove deep into a pool of worry. Roman had one hand rubbing up and down her back, and another petting her hair.
I slid my eyes to his, and he looked back at me. He was alarmed, and I had to admit, so was I. Atlas, Roman, and I had all been wondering when Gwendolyn would exhibit any form of a reaction to what had happened these past few days.
She almost seemed numb to it, and it caused us to wonder what she might have experienced to lead to that kind of...dissociation. It was true that her parents were cruel people, but something in me felt like her parents weren't the source of her subconsciously shoving down her emotions.
I stayed silent, constantly shifting my eyes between Roman and Gwendolyn.
Several minutes passed, and Roman continued to whisper sweet nothings into her ear until her tears slowed and her breathing evened. As if she could feel my eyes on her, she turned in Roman's embrace and faced me.
She didn't say or do anything when she saw me, so I leaned over to her and placed a hand on her cheek, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead before pulling away and looking into her hazel eyes.
"You're awake," she whispered, her voice shaking just a little bit.
"I am, princess," I replied, running my thumb along her cheekbone and giving her a warm, comforting smile.
Silence fell between us as we stared into each other's eyes, and I hardly noticed when Roman asked her a question.
"Do you feel better, sweetheart?" I hadn't heard the conversation that had taken place before Gwendolyn started crying, but all I really needed to know was that it ended with her crying.
"Mm-hmm. I'm glad I cried. It feels good to let it all out." I could see the truth in her eyes and hear the sincerity in her voice. "I have no idea how long I was holding that in for, but it was definitely for too long."
"I'm happy that you cried, then," Roman told her. "We've all been curious as to when you might show some emotion because of what's happened."
She shrugged. "I guess it hadn't clicked until we were talking. My brain didn't actually realize the reality of the past few days till then."
"We understand, little one," I reassured, keeping my gaze locked onto hers. "And we're not mad. We're just glad that you felt comfortable enough around us to let those emotions out."
She said nothing in response. For a moment, I was wondering if maybe I'd told her the wrong thing, but then she reached out and laid her head on my chest, keeping her legs tangled with Roman's.
"You don't have to be strong right now, sweet girl," I professed to her, using one of Atlas's pet names for her in hopes that she might be able to feel his love for her, even though he wasn't here right now. "You took care of us. Now let us take care of you."
None of us said anything as Gwendolyn's tears began to spill down her face again, the sound of her soft cries filling the room once more.
~~~~~
Henry
I couldn't remember the last time I had gotten such good sleep.
The moment my head had hit the pillow, I was out. But something must have pulled me to awaken, because after what seemed like a few hours, I was lying awake in the bed, blinking hopelessly at the ceiling.
YOU ARE READING
My Devoted Demons
Romance"Um, hi," I say, my voice quivering under their gazes. "Hello, little one," the leader -- Caspian -- says. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun, don't you?" ~~~~~ When Gwendolyn Sage waltzed into Whitmore Academy, she didn't expect her dorm to...
