Ecstasy of Love

Chapter 23: Claim

His grin turns a bit sour, knowing I won't let go of this topic. I understand that he may feel pain clashing with pain may be the only way for him to cope with it, but I can't stand watching him get hurt. This, now familiar, feeling takes up all space in my chest, weighting me down.

I soften my expression for him even as he's the one pinning me onto the floor, "Tell me truth, are your bloody knuckles from where I think they are?" I gently take his hand from my face and run my thumb over his bruised knuckles. Even as his long and sculpted fingers lace with mine, I don't let my mind detour this time.

A deep sigh comes from him as he looks up at the sky, resigned, and then his gaze flits down back to me. "I went to the fighting pit yesterday night." On a weekday? I guess since it's almost vacations people don't really care what day it is as long as there's a fight.

"Where else are you hurt?" I ask worriedly.

"I'm okay. I promise." The weariness in his tone tells me otherwise and I observe him, quietly considering how could I get him to be sincere with me.

"Trust in me," I say in a whisper, a breath away from his lips. There are blazes in his gaze as we keep our eyes locked on each other. This close, I know he may be able to read every hidden truth on my eyes, but for the first time, I try to leave the fear behind and stay determined in front of him.

"Let me help you," I continue in the same intimate volume of voice, as if anybody could enter our little world and hear us. But that's all I ask of him, to let me try somehow. I want him with me, and in this exact moment, as I look into his eyes, I decide I want him any way he'll let me have him.

"Physically, I'm okay. I promise you that. We already took care of that."

We? "We?" I ask this time out loud.

"Yes, my mates and I. I'm just upset I got caught, okay? The fight wasn't even that rough, the only hit the guy had on me was a blow to my side."

"Okay, don't sound so cocky about it." I bite on my lower lip from keeping a smile from peeking out.

A small one also appears on his lips. "I'm not," he says defensively but I stare at him with a look and he relents. "Okay a bit, but whatever. It's all solved. Except for my mates. They've already given me shit for going to the fighting pit on the first place, and secondly for not telling any of them I was going." He pauses for a second before responding more thoughtfully. "I think they're more cautious I may go again, and now that summer is starting they really have no idea what to do with me."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"Not in a bad way, I mean it like...I think they're frustrated they don't know how to keep helping me socialize more, getting me to leave the flat more often...To help me build a life of my own, you know? Each of them has something going on for them, and as much they love me and I love them back, I know I need to truthfully start living my own life."

"That's why you came to L.A., isn't it?"

"Yeah, part of it. The plan was to get me to interact more with people outside our inner circle. Not sure how well it's going though." He mutters the last part for himself, but I hear it.

"I think I've told you before, I don't really go out except for classes and those times when I hang out with my mates, or the ocassional party. Not really exciting, is it?" He humorlessly chuckles and I think my heart breaks a little at hearing a similarity we both share. Only, lonliness wasn't one I wanted to share.

"Being with you is pretty exciting," I tell him below my breath. I don't avert my eyes up to see his reaction, instead my eyes stay trained to his collarbones until he grips my chin and lifts my face towards his.