When the alarm clock rings in the morning, I rub my nose against my pillow and sigh. Even with my eyes shut, my head throbs like a broken tooth, and I can’t breathe through a stuffy nose. I fist the sheets beneath my chin and think I just might skip class today. That’s what I get for crying right before I go to sleep.
I feel the bed move beneath me as he rolls over to silence the alarm. Then his arm wraps around me, so warm, so safe, so right. “Wake up, lover boy,” he purrs into my ear.
I roll onto my back and he kisses my cheek. “Aww, look at you,” he coos, planting another kiss on the puffy skin beneath my eyes. “Poor baby.”
My body conforms to his, two halves of one whole. How could anyone think this man hurts me? Every inch of him is studied concern; I see the love he has for me in
