abrightboy | The Adventure Continues

For

thatsfascinating.

The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

From:

abrightboy

Malcolm put on a fresh pair of sweatpants but didn't bother with a shirt. He paused in the doorway, watching her.

"Are you okay?"

From:

thatsfascinating

The sound of the water running had drowned out the sound of his footsteps, so she had no idea he was there until he spoke. If she had, she would have scrubbed the tears from her eyes before he saw them. As it was, her eyes were still wet when she looked up in surprise. She opened her mouth, but it was a second before she spoke.

"...Yeah," she said finally. "I will be."

From:

abrightboy

He moved into the room, helping her up from the tub. He started undoing her dress, finally getting her out of the clothes she was assaulted in, much, much too late for his taste.

"You're coming in with me, right?" he murmured.

From:

thatsfascinating

She nodded, and let him undress her, moving to help him slip the straps of the dress from her arms, stepping out of the dress when it fell to her feet.

"I liked that dress," she said softly, her eyes lowered so he couldn't see the tears.

From:

abrightboy

"We'll find a new one that you like," he promised. "If we have to scour all of France."

From:

thatsfascinating

She nodded. "We will. I know we will. We'll find a dozen of them. They'll all be beautiful."

Still, tears spilled from her eyes.

From:

abrightboy

"We're going to burn this one," he said, kicking it aside.

He took her hand to steady her stepping into the tub.

From:

thatsfascinating

She held his hand tightly as she climbed into the tub, then sank into the hot water with a sigh. Right away the heat permeated her tired, tight muscles, and she could feel them begin to loosen. She nodded.

"This it good," she murmured.

From:

abrightboy

He got undressed, then stepped in behind her, sliding in to wrap his arms around her, letting her lean back against his chest.

"Just what we needed."

From:

thatsfascinating

She leaned back against him with another sigh, her eyes closed, and lifted her hands to rest them on his arms.

"God yes," she murmured in response.

She had apparently been burying a lot of her own emotions about what happened to keep them going, to make sure Malcolm was okay. Now that he was and they were both safe and able to relax, it was all bubbling back up. Hence the tears that were still slowly dripping down her face, mingling with the steam.

From:

abrightboy

He knew she had to be. He'd guessed that even in a concussion haze.

"It's okay," he told her. "Let it out."

From:

thatsfascinating

He was holding her close, wrapping her in his arms and in his love. She was safe, her body and her soul, as safe as she could ever be.

The first choking sob tore from her throat. The dam broken, she turned her head, half buried her face in his neck, and wept.

From:

abrightboy

Finally, was his first thought. She couldn't keep bottling it up. He knew the damage that could do.

He rubbed her back with one hand and just held her.

From:

thatsfascinating

For someone who had to face some of the ugliest realities of life on a daily basis, Edrisa didn't always do a great job at facing her own personal traumas. Like the one that had put the kibosh on her being a doctor for living people. But here and now it felt like she had opened up her heart and all the pain and sadness just came pouring out. She had never cried this hard and this long before. It was several minutes before her sobs began to lessen, and she just lay on his chest, exhausted.

From:

abrightboy

That was important, that she had that release.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He didn't say anything. They were going at her pace now.

From:

thatsfascinating

She felt wrung out, empty, but also calm. Peaceful, even. She brushed her fingertips against Malcolm's chest, listening to his heart beat.

"Are the police going to come talk to us?" she asked softly.

From:

abrightboy

"They're supposed to come take statements at some point." He pressed another kiss into her hair. "We could stop by there tomorrow and get it over with."

From:

thatsfascinating

"I think that's a good idea. Better to be in control of it, right?" She lifted her face to look at him. "We could actually have lunch at a quaint cafe this time."

From:

abrightboy

"I'd like that," he said softly. "We'll make a concerted effort to have a good day."

From:

thatsfascinating

"Any sign of trouble, we totally ignore it," she agreed.

She leaned up to kiss him gently, then settled back on his chest.

"I love you," she murmured. And then, "Thank you."

From:

abrightboy

"I love you too," he said softly. "We'll be okay."

From:

thatsfascinating

She nodded. "We will." She was sure of it. The two of them together could do just about anything.

"So," she said after a quiet moment. "Where do you want to get married?"

From:

abrightboy

"I don't know," he admitted. "I think I want to look around the area. See what the options are. This is... a whole different plan from anything I pictured. My whole brain has to start from scratch."