Page 60 of On The Edge
Softly, I tuck a dark lock of hair that had fallen onto her face behind her ear and let my fingers trace her jaw. My fingertipstingle as they brush against the soft skin. God, I’ve missed her more than I knew.
She gasps slightly as she jolts awake. Her dark eyes look wild and fearful as she looks around to make sure she’s safe.
“It’s just me, I’m sorry,” I say quickly to try and soothe her. I can see the moment she realizes it’s me, and calms down, snuggling back into the comfortable spot on the pillow.
“Markus,” she hums dreamily. “You’re back.”
“I am, baby.” I kiss her forehead. “Did you have a good nap? You were snoring loud enough that our soundproofing was tested.”
“I’ve not been sleeping well lately,” she says with a yawn, scooting closer to me.
“You mean that being drugged after being hurt at a rock concert, then staying up most of the day trapezing around New York didn’t help you sleep?” I tease her. Melody looks at me deadpanned, telling me she’s not impressed, and it makes me chuckle. “I’m sorry. Hopefully tonight you can actually sleep well. I promise, I’ll make it a zen experience in here.”
“Oh, so I have to sleep in your room if I want a good night's sleep?” The corner of her lips tip up in a smirk as an eyebrow rises in challenge.
“I mean, I’ll make sure you sleep well, don’t you worry about that.” I wink. “But there is the matter of payment.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” She asks, repositioning herself so she’s laying on her side, head resting on her folded arm. It makes me so fucking relieved that she’s engaging with me. That she’s open and comfortable. I lean in and cup her chin softly, my thumb grazing over her cheekbone.
“I want to cuddle,” I whisper.
“Cuddle?” She giggles. God, I love that sound. All my best and favorite memories are times when Melody is laughing. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“What?”
“That big, bad boy Markus likes to cuddle.” She teases me, smiling and rolling her eyes like she’s above cuddling. I know she’s not. Melody used to love cuddles, it was always the best part of movie night.
I scoff, but do it with a grin. “I mean, doesn’t everyone like to cuddle? If memory serves me right, you and I cuddled quite a bit in high school.”
The humor is still present on her face, but is laced with the same kind of heat I saw that night in the club.
“I think it means something a little different now,” she says in a sultry, shy way, and her eyes drop down to the sheets.
“I think it’s always meant the same thing.” I put a finger under her chin and wait for her to make eye contact with me. “At least, it does for me.” Her breath catches and I watch a million emotions cross her eyes as she tries to make sense of what she remembers and what I’m saying. I don’t rush her, I wait. I’ll wait however long she needs.
“Markus?” She asks softly, holding my arm.
“Yeah?”
“Did you ever love me?”
Did I ever love her? The immediate answer is yes. And what’s more is that I’minlove with her.
I sigh, and take her hand in mine.
“What I felt for you, Melody,” I start, smiling at her softly, leaning in and kissing her forehead. “What Ifeelfor you hasn’t changed. I’ve been so gone for you since the moment I saw you. You were this beautiful, magnetic, sweet, and caring girl who took care of the four of us idiots, and did so with grace and a smile. And now you’re all those things and more. The feelings I had for you as a teenager never went away, and they’ve only grown with age and absence.” Her big brown eyes widen, and her chest heaves with shallow breath. “I’ve beenin lovewith you foryears, Songbird. I love you. I’minlove with you,” I say strongly, absolute in my feelings.
There’s absolutely no question in my mind how I feel. And we’ve wasted far too much time without each other for me not to fall at her feet now.
“But you left me so easily…” Her eyes turn glassy, and her bottom lip quivers. I can see her trying to figure out what to believe. Maybe she believes my feelings, but she doesn’t believe that what happened won’t happen again.
I can understand that. But I’m never leaving her side willingly again. And that’s something I’ll spend every single day proving to her.
“I was young. Stupid.” I take her hand in mine, threading our fingers together, before bringing up our joined hands and kissing the back of her hand. “But know thatallof us regret it. I know I do. Deeply. I’m so fucking sorry, Melody.”
She looks at me through her eyelashes, and tucks our hands to her chest.
“It was hard, Markus. So hard. I was so in love with you guys, and you left me so quickly. I thought our friendship would at least mean that you guys trusted me, but you left. All because you apparently overhead something without understanding the full picture. I was called everything under the sun because of my feelings. Then Reis' mom…”
