Our eyes stayed fixated on each other as I brought her peace. Her lifeless eyes, which were staring at me with fright before, now watched me with wonder.
When I was done, I swallowed against the emotions that choked me. My lips parted but no words came out. After clearing my throat several times, I said, “Look. There’s no blood now.”
Ayla’s head snapped down and she gasped, her eyes widening with shock. She brought her arms up and I saw tears building in her eyes, making her eyes glassy.
“No blood,” she whispered hoarsely. Her voice was scratchy from crying. “There’s no blood.” She rubbed her thumb over the length of her arms.
She blinked and the tears that had built up in her eyes fell down her rosy and already tear-streaked cheeks.
Before I could stop myself, I brought my hand up and brushed my thumb over her soft cheeks, gently swiping her tears away.
She tore her gaze away from her arm and looked at me again. Ayla swallowed hard multiples times and I realized that she was struggling to find words, so she just stared at me speechlessly.
My hand was still cupping her cheeks, so I moved it slightly upward and brushed her hair out of her face. I brought the towel up and rubbed it over her forehead and cheeks. Her shoulders sagged in relief and she closed her eyes, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips.
Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m acting like a fucking pussy. I quickly took my hands away when I realized what I was doing.
Shaking my head, I stood up and Ayla blinked in surprise. She cocked her head to the side in question but didn’t say anything.
“You look better,” I said.
She licked her dry lips but still looked slightly confused. She was still coming down from her panic attack, so she wouldn’t completely understand what was going on.
I sighed and took her hands in mine, pulling her upward. She stumbled forward and I pulled her up to my chest again before walking out of my bathroom. Ayla laid her head on my shoulder with a sigh.
Stopping in front of my bed, I placed her down and pulled the covers away. She moved under the black comforter and laid down. I tugged it around her body and her eyes started to close sleepily.
Standing up straight, I looked down at Ayla. She looked so innocent lying there. So fragile and vulnerable.
I couldn’t wrap my head around what just happened. Did she have a nightmare? Or was it a memory haunting her?
I didn’t know anything about Ayla. Her identity. Her truth. Her past. Nothing. And I was intrigued. It made me want to uncover her hidden truth.
She sighed sleepily, and when I looked down, she blinked up at me, a small sleepy smile playing across her lips.
I started to walk away but a sudden cry of panic stopped me dead in my tracks.
Quickly swiveling around with my heart in my throat, I saw her sitting up on my bed. Her eyes were wide with terror and indescribable panic.
“No. Please don’t leave me…alone,” she stuttered.
“Ayla,” I started to say, but she shook her head. Moving the comforter away with a rush, she stumbled out of my bed.
“Shit,” I muttered. Quickly moving toward her shaking body, I pulled her up in my arms and placed her on the bed again. She gripped my arm tightly and stared at me with dread.
“Please. Don’t leave me,” she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.
When I wanted Ayla to beg me to touch her, this wasn’t how I envisioned it happening.
What a fucking mess.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I soothed, sitting down on the bed in front of her. Pushing the strands of her hair behind her ears, so that her face was fully visible to me, I cupped her cheeks reassuringly. “It’s okay. I’m right here. I’m not leaving.”
She hiccupped a sob and her fingers tightened on my arm. “It’s okay,” I said again. Gently grabbing her shoulders, I pushed her down on the bed. After pulling the comforter over her, I patted her knee. “I’m right here.”
I kept my eyes on her as I stood up. She followed my movement with her unflinching but tearful eyes. When I climbed on the other side, Ayla turned and faced me.
We stared at each other, our gazes unmoving as we settled under the comforter.
I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, but eventually her eyes started to droop sleepily, her long dark lashes fluttering against her pale skin. Tiredness took over her body and she went limp. An almost inaudible sigh escaped her lips as she fell asleep, her body cocooned warmly and safely under my comforter and my watchful gaze.
What happened tonight changed everything. It made me want to know more about her. I could make assumptions about what happened to her, but I wanted to hear it from her.
A few minutes later, I closed my eyes as the darkness enveloped me.
The last thing I saw was Ayla’s sleeping and peaceful face.
Chapter 23
Ayla
I felt disoriented and my head was pounding. I blinked my eyes open but then closed them again because of the bright sunlight.
Wait, what?
My eyes snapped open in alarm and I quickly sat up in bed. I wasn’t in my room. I looked down at the soft black comforter. Panic filled my chest; I looked around the strange room. It was familiar to me.
Turning my head to the left, I shrieked in surprise. Alessio was sitting beside me, his back propped against the headboard as he mutely stared at me panicking.
I was in his room.
The last thing I remembered was falling down on my bed tiredly as sleep took over my body and mind. But after that, everything was blank.
“How did I get here?” I asked, bringing the comforter up to my shoulder. Alessio raised an eyebrow at me in surprise.
“You don’t remember?” he asked, his voice gruff from sleep.
I shook my head. He stared at me for a few seconds, the air crackling with tension between us. There was an awkward pause before he continued.
“You came to me last night,” he said.
That didn’t make any sense.
“What do you…you mean?”
He sighed in annoyance. “You had a panic attack. Came to my room, knocked at my door, and begged me to make it go away. I did, and then you fell asleep on my bed,” Alessio explained. When he was done, he stared at me expectantly.
Bringing my hand up to my head, I rubbed my forehead, trying to ease the horrendous headache. When I closed my eyes, sudden clipped images of last night crashed behind my close lids.
My nightmare. The hallucinations. Crying. Begging Alessio to make it stop. I remembered him cleaning my arms, telling me there was no blood on them.
My eyes snapped open and I stared at Alessio in shock. He raised an eyebrow in amusement and made a tsking sound. “Ah, so you remember now.” Embarrassment and shame filled me as I tore my eyes away from Alessio’s penetrating gaze. My throat went dry and my body grew cold.
Silence filled the room. Neither of us moved.
After a few minutes filled with tension, I licked my lips nervously and started to move toward the end of the bed. When Alessio didn’t say anything, I kept my eyes down and pushed the comforter away before getting off the bed.
Just walk away, Ayla. Walk away. Get your thoughts together. Make up an excuse.