The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

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."

Comments

[abrightboy]

He leaned into the kiss, unaware of the turn her thoughts had taken. He was slowly formulating a plan for that. She'd promised not to steal his thunder. That she still wanted to do it herself wouldn't occur to him.

"I best hold on to you, then," he murmured.

[thatsfascinating]

She would keep that promise, but it was still hard. She was eager to make it official, to definitively pledge her intention to be with him for the rest of her life. But she would hold back and let him take the lead.

"You best," she replied, smiling. "But don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

[abrightboy]

He started to smile brightly at that remark, but suddenly she was dead, her skin pale, her eyes sunken and empty. He jolted backwards, tumbling off the bed, then scrambled back towards the wall and squeezed his eyes shut.

"It's not real," he muttered under his breath to himself. "It's not real. It's not real."

It had been a week since the last incident, in the shower. He'd begun to think it was a fluke. Her presence, her calm perseverance, her genuine unconditional love was a balm, always, and it seemed to calm down some of the tumbling and racing and churning of his mind, but he wasn't cured and he hadn't really faced the aftermath of his own kidnapping or hers, either.

He tried to take deep breaths, but they were shaky. He was afraid to open his eyes in case she still looked like that.

What if he'd fallen asleep and that was the truth?

His breath got more erratic instead of less.

"IT'S NOT REAL!" he shouted at himself.

[thatsfascinating]

"Bright!" she cried out as he fell off the bed. She scrambled after him, onto the floor, but stopped before touching him, hanging back. She remembered when this happened a week ago, remembered that he had seen her as if she was dead. She didn't want to touch him and have it feel cold and clammy to him.

She flinched when he shouted, but didn't withdraw. "It's okay it's okay," she said. "Bright, it's okay. I'm here and I'm safe. You saved me. Everything's okay."

[abrightboy]

Shaking, he hesitated, but after a second he warily opened his eyes. She was, indeed, right there. Healthy and warm, full of colour and life. He swallowed hard and reached for her, his expression on the verge of crumbling.

[thatsfascinating]

She rushed into his arms, wrapping her own around him and holding on tight.

"It's okay," she repeated in a whisper that was heavy with her worry for him. She wished he didn't have to go through this, that she could ease his fears, but she knew the only thing she could do was be there for him.

"Was it the same as that time in the shower?" she murmured.

[abrightboy]

He nodded, burying his face in her neck to breathe in the scent of her skin and to feel its warmth.

"I'm sorry. I..."

The doorbell rang and he jumped, lifting his head.

"Ooh, the chef," he said with a wince. "C-can you let him in?" he asked. He didn't want to be separated from her at the moment, but his hand was shaking and he felt like maybe the rest of him still was, too, and he was in no condition to greet someone that hadn't met them yet.

[thatsfascinating]

She stroked his hair, trying to soothe him...then jumped a little herself when the bell rang. When Malcolm told her it was the chef she nodded.

"Ah, right, gotcha. Yeah, sure, totally." She didn't want to be separated from him either, but she could be really quick. She frowned. "Does he speak English?"

[abrightboy]

"Oh. Oh. I... I don't.... I mean. He does this for tourists? But I don't-I don't know."

He pushed himself to his feet, clenching his hand into a fist while he tried to take a deep breath. "I-I'll do it. Just have to show him where the kitchen is."

At least he had some practice pretending he was okay when he wasn't. He stumbled slightly as he stood, but flexed and clenched his hand one more time and took a deep breath and nodded resolutely to nobody.

"I can do it."

[thatsfascinating]

She got to her feet and moved to intercept him, shaking her head and holding out her hands. "No no no! It's okay, I'll figure it out. Just sit down, okay? I'll be right back."

[abrightboy]

He opened and then closed his mouth twice, like he wanted to protest, but he had no argument that was reasonable. Or even unreasonable.

He nodded and sunk back down onto the floor.

[thatsfascinating]

She leaned down and kissed the top of his head, then left the room.

The chef only spoke a tiny bit of English, but he was good spirited about it. He followed Edrisa to the kitchen and got started while she returned to Malcolm.

[abrightboy]

He looked up when she came in.

"I'm so sorry. Did it go okay?" he asked anxiously.

[thatsfascinating]

"It's fine!" she assured, sitting down next to him. "He's in the kitchen, got started right away."

She took his hand, threading her fingers with his.

"Are you okay?"

[abrightboy]

He slid down a bit, so he could rest his cheek on her shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm okay now. It... passed."

[thatsfascinating]

She leaned her head against his.

"Is there anything we can do to to make this better? Or is it something that we just have to endure?"

[abrightboy]

He huffed a sad laugh. "I don't know. A frontal lobotomy?" He gave her a watery smile. "You're qualified, right?"

[thatsfascinating]

"Oh Bright..." She turned and took his head in her hands, tilting it down to press a kiss to his forehead.

"I am never, ever going to let anyone hurt that amazing brain," she murmured.

[abrightboy]

A tear slipped down his cheek and he wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her neck.

"Thank you," he murmured.

[thatsfascinating]

That tear just broke Edrisa's heart, and she swallowed as he wrapped his arms around her, her eyes beginning to well up. "Always," she murmured back, wrapping her arms around him in turn, holding him tightly and cradling the back of his head. "I love you, Bright."

[abrightboy]

"I wish I had more to offer you than... shattered pieces," he said sadly. "I know you love me for what I am, I just... want to not do this to you. I want... I want to not do this at all and I don't know how."

[thatsfascinating]

"You're not doing anything to me," she murmured. "We're in this together. No matter what happens. I'm here for you, and I'm going to always be here for you. And you've given me so, so much."

[abrightboy]

"I-I try to," he said softly. "But I know that it's in between panic attacks and hallucinations and screaming nightmares and it's all too much for me sometimes...I can't imagine what it's like for you."

[thatsfascinating]

"I'm happy to be here," she answered, just as softly. "I'm able to hold you and soothe you and be here for you. I know what it's like. I've been here through some pretty difficult stuff. And I'm not going anywhere. I want to be here."

[abrightboy]

"I want to stop being a burden." He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes still watery with unshed tears. "I don't want people to look at you like you're married to an invalid..." He pressed he fingertips of his free hand, in its cast, against his forehead and then shook his head. "I'm spiraling. I'm just... spiraling. I need to take some pills," he said, getting up. He was still holding her hand. He looked at her. "...And I want you to come with me?" he said weakly.