Page 115 of Where We Ended

It was late when I woke, hearing Silas reading.

It had been three days since he carried me to his truck, tucked me into the passenger seat and drove us home. I was drunk, completely hammered, but had fallen asleep the second we arrived home.

The next day, I unpacked all my things and managed to fall in love with Silas in completely new ways. Like seeing him build me a new shelf. Hearing him talk to the deer that would walk into our yard, watching him grow into this profession that he now held, and seemed to love. I had always assumed Silas would miss the war brewing in his blood, but peace seemed to suit him better than battle.

I loved him for standing with me in the kitchen while I baked. Silas would eventually move further into the room, and stand next to me, while he helped me cook. I loved the walks we took together in the evenings.

Tonight was such a quiet one, that I’d fallen asleep early.

That deep, soothing timbre that pulled me from sleep, started again, making me look over at what he was reading. He had a notebook open, his handwriting staining the white sheets of paper.

This was something he used to do with me, back when he’d return home to me. We’d talk, cry, fight and then we’d cuddle, and in the middle of the night, he’d read his poetry to me. It was the only poetry I could ever listen to and be at total peace. I knew he grew up reading various poems, some were long and beautiful, others short and powerful like the point of a sword. Sasha had him reading anything and everything, but when he was ten, he had started writing them himself. As he grew, they seemed to grow talons and feathers.

Each word could pierce and make me feel like I was flying, all at once. As his mouth moved, I lowered my lashes, so he didn’t stop reading.

“Once upon a time the sun was the brightest it had ever been. It looked down through the sky, and on the land below, searching for something of its equal. The ocean had depths and darkness to it that even the sun’s rays could not reach. The desert sands loved to bask in the sun’s glow, greedy and boastful of its heat. The trees would die from too much exposure. Everywhere the sun tried, she was either too much or not enough. She began to cry, sending solar storms to the land below and disrupting all the peace she’d previously found. The ocean roiled, the trees burned, and the deserts turned to glass. Nothing could soothe the sun, not until from under the surface of the vast land rose a great darkness. A vast shadow that was not deterred by the raging or the turmoil, and bravely asked the sun what was wrong. The sun stopped crying, its tears of fire holding off long enough that the land below eventually healed itself, for as curious as the shadow was, it did not anticipate the feeling of utter completion when it finally rose and found the sun. For the darkness had craved the light and warmth, and likewise, the sun had finally found a place that could absorb her shine. So the darkness fell in love with the sun, and for as long as the two held each other, sharing the sky, the land was prosperous.”

I listened, feeling my chest begin to expand with a new sensation of pride and love. He was so talented, and I had no clue if he was even remotely aware.

“But someone else was watching too. The first man to ever walk the earth.”

Silas turned a page while playing with a rogue curl of mine.

“He emerged from the distress the sun’s tears put on the land. He came up through the crevices of darkness; pieces of glass and the deepest, inky blue of the ocean made up his heart. Verdant trees became his home, the vast galaxy of stars, his canopy and his great love was the sun. He watched as the darkness lived in the sky, surrounding their great land together in harmony. In complete surrender to one another. The man became jealous.”

The story stretched long enough to span an entire book. Man finds a way to capture the darkness and subdue it long enough to steal the sun right from the sky and lock her in a cage. All in the name of love. The darkness wakes hundreds of years later and realizes his love is still in chains, so he slays every star from the sky and blankets all of space in complete blackness. So dark, nothing on land below survives, and when the man realizes he too will not survive, he finally releases the sun.

I realized Silas stopped reading, so I brushed my hand over his abdomen.

“Don’t stop.”

He turned his head, lowering the notebook.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

My hand drifted lower. “You never do. I love it though, getting to wake up to some epic love story.”

Dark brows furrowed as my husband frowned and stared off at the wall. “It’s our story, Caelum…but I’m not…I shouldn’t have dug into it this soon to everything…”

“Then live out a different part of it.” My hand slid under the band of his boxers and passed over his soft length, jutting to the side of his leg, stretching the fabric. He was ridiculous if he was stretching the material while soft. He’d probably burst through it hulk style if he got hard while it tried to contain him.

“Why are you giggling?” he asked with a slight smirk.

My hand squeezed around him, making him hiss.

“Because you’re massive.”

His hand wound through my hair as my lips found his ribs and I moved closer to his waist.

“You think I’m big? Better show me what you’re talking about.”

I licked along his muscles and six pack, pushing the covers down as I released him from the confines of his underwear.

“Definitely too big,” he mused. “I bet you can’t even fit it inside your mouth.”

I scoffed. “You know that I can.”

“Better prove it then.”

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