Escaping Liam

by H.L. Swan

I usually despise humanity; everyone can be bought out and no one can be trusted.

I feel better, I feel a little more alive. But nothing can fill the hole in my heart, my life is essentially ashes rising from a roaring fire.

I'm hoping that after I perish, my soul will fly away to someplace better.

Liam can't burn what's in water, is my last blissful thought before the salty ocean fills my burning lungs.

What if the weight of the dress pulls her under? Why does the thought scare me?

"You don't need to be fixed. You're not broken."

I want to make him feel like she feels right now. Only worse.

"Like what you see, Gabriella?" His voice is deep and earthy. As I look into his eyes, I note the way his emerald gaze travels slowly up and down my body. Unapologetically he says, "I know I do."

"You're not stupid, you just trusted the wrong man."

This girl is so beautifully broken, looking at her is like seeing a reflection of myself. A dark, lonely puddle on an old, empty street.

I tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, "Because you're worth it."

"And I wanted to see what it felt like to open those perfect legs with my hands... again."

him, "I'll fucking kill anyone who tries to take you from me."

Hale saved me. Without question. Without judgment. He swooped in and slew my demons.

I don't know why I put my last name; I just didn't want to hear her lips speak his.

The bond we share with a simple kiss, but this right here. It’s anything but simple. It’s two lonely souls coming together as one.

If she thought I was protective before, fuck. She has no idea the monster she's created. I'll do anything to keep her safe, but I also won't let her out of my sight.

This makes him smile. “You like, like me.” “A lot.”

He laughs, without humor. “Gabs, listen to me.” The way he’s speaking, with a hint of growl lacing his accent, it’s maddening. “You could suffocate me with these thighs, and I would die a happy man.”

“I would die before I allowed anything to happen to you.”

A knight in black armor, saving me from my demons even though he has his own that he should be taking care of.

His finger glides across my slit, and when I attempt to peek my head up to see how his inked skin looks against mine is when his lips crash into me. Fireworks, summer days, starry nights.

The experience is breathtaking and heartbreaking all at once like we’re stealing a moment in time that is most surely fleeting. But that’s how we met, and probably how this will all end for us.

"No, no. Gabriella, you have it all wrong. I've never done anything close to this with anyone." He shrugs, "I've never given a fuck about anyone besides you."

On the small island of Curacao, I've fallen in love with a broken man. I'm broken too, but I'm putting the pieces back together with his help and maybe once I'm all fixed, he will let me fix him too.

You took her soul from me. And I am not going to stand for it.”

"I will love her endlessly, she deserves a man. Not a fucking coward."

I don’t believe bad people go to Hell at all.

I think that when someone evil dies, they cease to exist. And that’s a scarier fate than them all.

“For a hitman, you suck at killing people.” He plants a kiss on my forehead, “Maybe it’s time for a career change.” He ponders, grinning at me.

“Because you’re the one who I want to grow old with, right here by the ocean that never sleeps.”