Page 61 of Teach Me How To Fly

I was soaked in his blood.

“I need to take care of your wounds. We need to go back to Lydia’s house because I don’t have anything to bandage you with,” I whispered over his lips and he sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry that you had to see this. It keeps me sane every time I feel like everything is falling apart.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I replied quickly and brushed my thumb over his lower lip. “If we don’t get to see each other’s demons, then who would we even want to see them?”

He gave me a soft smile, then put his hand on my waist and pulled me closer. I felt the warmth of his body hugging me tightly as he buried his face in my hair.

“We should go. If you lose more blood than you already had, you won’t be here to protect me as you want,” I said, making him exhale deeply.

We looked at each other once again, then I took his hand in mine and we left the house.

If I thought my demons were bad, then I hadn’t met Maksen’s yet.

20

ANNALISE

Maksen was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, gripping it tighter with his hands as I cleaned his wounds with the antiseptic solution Lydia gave to me when we arrived. I knew it hurt him, but I had to do this. Otherwise, his wounds were not going to heal soon.

I was still in shock from the moment he took his pants off and I saw all the marks he had on his thighs. That wasn’t the first time he cut himself, and considering how many scars and stitches he had, he had done it multiple times in the past. However, he wasn’t going to do it anymore because I was a part of his life now.

“Promise me something, Maksen,” I said and raised my glance at him.

He looked at me attentively, then shrugged and nodded.

“Promise me you’ll never cut yourself again.”

“I can’t promise you that.”

His answer came out briefly, like a mountain that could never be moved from its place.

I pinned him with my eyes and sighed deeply, continuing to clean his wound. How could I convince him to find another way to cope with his feelings?

“How about you buy a punching bag and hit it until you fall on the ground?”

My idea caught his attention, and he gave me a comforting smile.

“I tried it already. Doesn’t work,” he replied and shuddered when I brushed the gauze over his open cut.

“We have to find something else to help you cope with your feelings, Maksen.”

“My mind has already found it. I forgot my childhood and I still don’t remember anything from it, and I love to cut myself in order to have a balance between how I’m feeling from the inside to the outside,” he explained, pinning me with his eyes.

I glanced up at him and saw a glistening of desire in his eyes, like he was ready to bring me up from my knees and kiss me like he had never done it before.

I saw it on his face. The need for closure that I also felt. I let my gaze fall back on his wound and after I saw that there was no more blood around it, I took the roll of bandage and started to wrap his leg with it.

I was doing everything so slowly and with so much attention that I surprised myself. I didn’t know I was good at doing this kind of thing.

“You’re done now,” I said as I stood up and put the bandage roll on the edge of the sink.

“Thank you.”

The moment I tried to step away from him, he grabbed my hand and pulled me between his legs, pressing his body onto mine.

I instinctively put my hands on his shoulders, and when I opened my mouth to say something, he closed it with his lipsin a soft and delicate kiss. I enjoyed each time our lips touched, and the way my stomach was tightening with emotion made me realize that I did feel something for Maksen.

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