His forever is just one night

05

r a i n

The worst way to wake up , is drenched in sweat , heavy breathing and the memories of an unpleasant nightmare still lingering in your mind . This tends to happen quite often to me . The man that I have tried my best to forget about , still crawls into my dreams with the worst intensions . After many attempts to rid him of my life , I left . But still he invades my dreams .

I jolt up straight in my bed , removing the duvet from my clammy limbs and slide out of bed . Padding toward my en-suite , I shiver when the cold tiles come in contact with my bare feet . Flicking my eyes toward the mirror , I cringe at the sight of my disheveled curls , pale complexion and the dark circles resting under my eyes .

I grip the rim of the porcelain sink to try steady my trembling hands , clenching my eyes shut when my lungs refuse to fully accept enough air . I reach out and open the tap , watching the water spill into the sink before reaching forward and splashing my face with water . Closing the tap , I pivot my head back toward the mirror , watching the water drops run down my pale face .

The girl staring back at me is unrecognizable , she's so weak and miserable . Seeing myself like this is such a sorrowful sight that I avert my eyes to the floor , feeling complete and utter disgust. "You're okay." I whisper to myself , attempting to inhale and exhale even breaths . I lean back against the wall , sinking down to the ground and hug my knees to my chest .

'you're okay , you're safe' My subconscious chants repeatedly .

My hands claw onto my sweatpants , while my head is buried into my knees . I squeeze my eyes shut , trying to suppress the tears that threaten to roll from my eyes . 'You're okay , rain . Stop being so weak.' My subconscious screams . I clench my jaw , pulling my head up from my knees and resting it back against the wall .

A knock at my door startles me , causing me to jolt up from the floor in a panicked manner .

"Rain , are you awake ?" Alison's serene voice fills my ears . I stumble out the en-suite , stopping in front of my bedroom door before swallowing the lump in my throat . "Yeah , I'm just going to take a shower then I'll meet you downstairs." I croak out , mentally slapping myself for sounding so weak .

"Oh okay , we made breakfast ." She informs . I stay rooted by the door until I hear her footsteps fade down the stairs . I groan , throwing my head back staring up at the white ceiling before returning to the bathroom , feeling so frustrated at myself .

Stripping out of my clothes, I step into the shower and sigh in contentment when the warm water hits my back . I watch the water pile into the drain for God-knows how long before I finally urge my limp arms to move . Stepping out of the shower , I wrap the white cotton towel around my petite figure before striding toward my closet .

Deciding on a simple brownish sweatshirt with a white turtle neck underneath and my blue high waisted ripped jeans , I pair it with my favorite white nike air force .

I pad down the stairs , walking toward the kitchen where I'm met with my Grace and Alison . When they hear me enter they both pivot their heads toward me and Alison smiles. "Good morning , babes ." She greets and I furrow my eyebrows, surprised to see neither of them being hungover .

"Good morning," I reply slowly , taking a seat on one of the chairs . "Y'all don't seem hungover." I state , flicking my eyes between them . I would've thought they'd be groaning and moaning this morning with how much they drank last night. Grace snorts , turning off the stove and turns around with a stack of pancakes piled onto a plate before placing it in the middle of the island. "I told you I have a high alcohol tolerance ." She says , sitting down opposite me . "I didn't drink that much." Alison shrugs , sipping her coffee before jumping off the island and sitting next to Grace .

"You look like s**t ." Alison blurts out making me scowl at her choice of words . She tilts her head , a strand of her auburn locks falling over her face as she studies me intently . "Did you even f*****g sleep last-night?" Alison asks , shoving a fork full of pancake into her mouth , her eyes roaming over my face .

I nod slowly. "Yeah , I did." I lie , chewing on my lower lip nervously. They both start piling their plates with pancakes and when they notice I don't reach for any , Alison furrows her eyebrows "You're not going to eat ?"

I slide out of my seat and sigh. "I have plans with Elijah in an hour , so I'll eat there ," I rub my temples and watch Grace raise her eyebrows. "Thank you for breakfast." I smile , flipping her off as I walk backwards out of the kitchen .

--

When we arrive , I look out the window toward the small café we always come to. "Let's go." Eli says , opening his door before stepping out . I breath out a sigh before sliding out of the car , shivering when the cold breeze hits my face . I shut the car door and wait for Elijah to round the car before walking toward the entrance of the café . Elijah opens the door and steps aside , gesturing for me to go in first and I send him a soft smile before walking into the café .

The scent of coffee and pastry immediately invades my nostrils , the most heavenly smell . I look over at Elijah and furrow my eyebrows when I see his face scrunched up as he furiously types on his phone . "Is everything okay ?" I ask .

"Let's go find a seat ." He sighs , locking his phone before shoving it into his pocket . He walks past me and I follow behind , before he abruptly stops , nearly causing me to tumble into him . "Hallo , Riven ." Elijah greets . I feel the annoyance already creep up my spine at the mention of his name . Elijah steps to the side , giving me full view of Riven .

He leans back in his chair , crossing his arms over his chest , his icy sapphires meeting my hazel ones . "Hello , Sunshine ." His voice comes out low and husky , so disturbingly attractive. "Hi , Riven." I reply , breathlessly . I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear and avert my eyes toward my brother , who is watching us warily .

Elijah clears his throat. "I have to go . I'm sorry , Jason messaged me asking if I could go and help him , his car broke down and he has no one else he can contact to help ." My brother informs. "So is it alright if you wait here with Riven and I promise I'll come pick you up when we're done ?" I frown , disappointed that he has to leave , but more so that he wants to leave me here with Riven .

I look back at Riven , who is still watching me with those intense icy sapphires and an involuntary shiver runs down my spine ."Sure ." I flick my eyes back to Elijah's , his lips lift up into a soft smile before he pecks me on the cheek , saying goodbye and then hurrying out of the café .

"Are you going to sit down or just stand there awkwardly?" Riven taunts , grabbing my attention. I heave out a heavy sigh , walking toward the chair opposite Riven and reluctantly sit down , keeping my gaze focused on the table .

Tapping my finger against my knee , I quietly sigh through my nose and slowly peek up at Riven through my lashes , watching as he glances out the window . I watch his long lashes flutter as he blinks , the dark clouds outside causing an ominous feeling to creep over the café , the dim lighting in the café only adding to Riven's dark aura .

After last night , his words still linger in my mind and I despise the way it still has me clenching my thighs every time . Riven so quickly looks over at me that I clear my throat and straighten in my seat , feeling the heat creep up my neck before settling on my cheeks . I avert my eyes , looking everywhere but at him . I'm not a shy person , I'm never nervous ? Why am I all of the sudden so reluctant to look at Riven ? Maybe it's his words that pierced through my ears last night . Or maybe it's because Riven is now even more attractive than he was when we were children .

I feel his eyes on me for a long second before I hear him pick up his fork and knife . Slowly pivoting my head toward him , I watch him shove the fork full of omelette into his mouth , his eyes trained on me intently . He hums in appreciation , sending a slight shiver down my spine at the husky sound rumbling from his mouth . I gulp , dropping my eyes down to my watch , impatiently tapping my foot .

His phone chimes , the screen lighting up . He tilts his head , reading the message before looking up at me . "Well , it seems like I'm taking you home ." He smirks , returning to eating while watching my reaction like a hawk .

"Why ?" I ask , scrunching my face up in disbelief . My brother promised me he'll be here to take me home , and now ? Now I have to ride home with the devil himself . Elijah hasn't even been gone for more than ten minutes , why can't he just come pick me up ?

"Because, sunshine , they're still struggling with the car and they'll be struggling with it for a long time . So he asked me to take you home ." He shrugs , the ghost of a smirk never leaving his plump lips . My eyes subconsciously drop down to his lips , watching his tongue slowly run over his bottom lip .

I flick my eyes back up to his icy blue one's. "No." I scoff. "I'd rather walk ." I stand up abruptly, the chair screeching against the floors , attracting the attention of the few people in the cafe .

He sets his fork and knife down , leaning back in his chair while crossing his arms across his broad chest. "Well , go ahead sweetheart ," He gestures with his fingers toward the café entrance. "Walk home in the rain , see if I give a f**k ." He shrugs , his eyes never once leaving mine . It's as if he's penetrating me in my spot , my tongue feels heavy for a moment but I shake it off , the hate I have nestled in my heart for him returning .

I turn around to look out of the café window , watching the light rain pour down on the street . I wish I had an umbrella. The walk back to the apartment is about 35 minutes , but by car it would probably be 15 minutes , depending on the traffic and how fast Riven drives — That would still mean being in a car alone with Riven for 15 minutes too long . God , I can barely stand to be around him in public — less so in the same f*****g room . But catching a flu isn't on my calendar.

"f**k sakes ." I huff , turning around to face him again and plop back down on the chair . I cross my arms across my chest , watching him bite his lower lip to prevent himself from smiling . I roll my eyes , my mind running with various scenarios of how to kill Elijah , slowly .

"Good choice , sunshine ." His voice drips with sarcasm. I watch him lean back in his chair with his coffee cup between his veiny , tattooed hands . f**k , that nickname .

My eyes meets his stormy gaze from across the table , so intense with no emotion dancing in the walls of his beautiful sapphires . "Would you like to order ?" The high-pitch voice snaps me out of my trance . I slowly pivot my head up toward the waitress whose staring down at me patiently . I clear my dry throat before softly smiling up at her and with a shake of my head , I respond. "No , thank you." Ordering something would mean sitting here longer than I need to .

"She'll have pancakes with a strawberry milkshake ." Riven orders for me , his gaze averting back to his food . I gape at him , watching him innocently return to eating his food .

For f**k sakes .