A light In Her Darkness

Chapter Ten - Falling quickly

Dylan’s P.O.V

“In here, this is my favourite room…my photography room.” I smiled as Ava, and I headed through my house to where I was taking her.

I opened it, letting her step in, and as soon as she did, her eyes went wide.

“Did you take all of these?” She gushed, turning to look at me.

“Yeah. Do you like them?” I smiled, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

“Like them? I love them; you are amazing at this.” She gushed.

“I try.” I smiled.

I let her look around, Ava gushing at me over every one of them. Her eyes fell on one in particular…it was a photo I took of my sister a few years ago, when she was at her worse before she got help. She wanted me to take it, a reminder of what she was before her treatment.

“Whoa, who is that? She is beautiful, but she looks lost and broken…like me?” Ava said, turning to me.

I went over to where she was, standing next to her.

“That is my little sister I was telling you about. That was the day before she went into treatment. She wanted me to take it, a reminder of how far she has come.” I said, smiling as I thought about how far she has come from that day, “And that one over there, that was from only a couple of months ago.” I added.

Ava looked to where I was talking about, going over to it, and I see a small smile on her lips.

“You can see it in her eyes; she looks happy now.” She smiled.

“She is. As I said to you Ava, you don’t need to stay broken; you can get better with the right help.” I said, reaching in and stroking her cheek.

Ava closed her eyes over, moving into my touch as a small sigh fell from her lips.

“I told you I am not strong enough, not right now.” She whispered, and I soon felt the dampness of my thumb, she was crying again.

I hate seeing her like this, but I can’t force her to get help if she isn’t ready. I removed my hand from her face, pulling her into my chest and wrapping my arm around her protectively. She buried her face in my chest, clinging to my tee as she sobbed. I played with her hair, letting her get it all until she was ready to stop. After a few minutes, she pulled away from me, taking a step back, wiping her tears.

“Sorry. I never meant to break down like that. I must look pathetic right now.” She said sadly.

I reached for her again, placing my hand on her hips and pulling her back into me.

“Ava you do not look pathetic…you are hurting Ava. I want you to feel comfortable enough around me Ava to tell me how you feel at any time, no matter what.” I said.

“Anyway, moving on. Cameras?” She said excitedly.

I chuckled at her excitement, leading her to where I kept them all.

“Take your pick.” I smiled.

She looked at them all, taking time to study them all before picking the one she wanted to use and I grabbed my other favourite one.

“Ready?” I smiled.

“YES!” She said, clapping her hands like an excited child.

************

Ava and I had spent the last four hours going around Miami taking photos and enjoying each other’s company. It was good seeing her laugh and smile. She was in her element, going around taking pictures. She seemed to see the beauty in things that other people struggled to understand. I was mesmerised with her, smitten even. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Ava was standing looking out to the ocean from the cliffs we were now on. She was lost in her little world. I grabbed my camera, snapping a couple of photos of her.

Ava turned around, clearly working out what I was doing. As she did, I snapped a photo of her making her soon cover her face, looking away from me.

“Don’t take photos of me. There are more beautiful things for you to do that with, you don’t want need or need photos of me,” She said sadly.

I knew why she was saying that she never believed that she was beautiful, not even a bit—all she sees herself as was broken and worthless. And I wanted to make sure I would be the one to help change that. I made my way over to her, standing behind her, slipping my arms around her waist and reached into her ear.

“You are beautiful, every single inch of you,” I whispered in her ear, placing a soft kiss just below her ear.

She whimpered, relaxing into me. I placed soft kisses over her neck and shoulders, circling my fingers on her hips.

“I really, I am not.” She whispered.

I slowly turned her around to face me. At first, Ava refused to look at me. I placed my finger on her chin, making her look up at me. Ava looked at me, her beautiful, broken eyes looking straight into mine. I don’t know what it was, but to me, she seems like when she looked at me she seen hope, and I am hoping that is the case cause she needs some hope in her life.

“You really are, baby.” I smiled, taking her hands in mine, resting my forehead against hers.

Ava shook her head, closing her eyes. I reached in, placing my lips against her softly. She moaned loudly against my lips, wrapping her arms around my neck and deepening the kiss between us. I felt my heart beginning to pound in my chest as she did. I ran my fingers down her back, placing my hand on her lower back, pressing her body tightly against mine. I wanted her close…needed her close. I was head over heels for this woman already, and it has only been a day and a half. We pulled apart from the kiss, but I never let her go; instead, I pulled her close to my chest and wrapping my arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

“Ava I am crazy about you already,” I whispered into her hair.

I felt her full body tense when I said that, maybe it was too soon for me to be telling her that, but I am not the kind of guy that hides his feelings, more the type of guy that wears his heart on his sleeve.

“I know you probably don’t wanna hear that from me this soon Ava, but I am not one for hiding or lying about my feelings. I just wanted to make sure you knew how I feel.” I said.

Ava nodded, looking up and pecking my lips before turning her attention back to the ocean. I sighed, not sure how to take that response. I wasn’t expecting her to say anything. I just hope I had not ruined everything.

She reached behind her, grabbing my arms and pulling me into her, wrapping my arms around her body and linking her fingers with mine. I nuzzled her neck from behind, Ava letting out a small sigh of content and leaning into me. A comfortable silence fell between us. I smiled to myself; she seemed to fit perfectly for me. I knew this was her way of telling me she feels something for me too, she just wasn’t ready to say it, and that was OK.