The Ugly Love of Monster Girls

Chapter 23: Slipping Further (2) (18+)

That night we settled back onto the bed, the conversation still lingering in our minds. Nora shifted behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she pulled me against her. 

The warmth of her body seeped into mine, and slowly, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

Her hand slid up under my shirt, her palm warm against my stomach as her thumb dug into my stomach. "You don’t need to go," she whispered, her voice low and steady. "I’m here. You don’t need anything else."

I closed my eyes, trying to let her words soothe me, but the knot in my chest refused to loosen. "It’s not just that," I murmured, swallowing against the tightness in my throat. "I… I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this… I feel miserable. Doing nothing… worrying about mother and you. I don’t know how much longer I can handle it."

Her arms tightened slightly around me. "You’re still doing something," she insisted softly. "You’re here for me. You help me want to keep going each day, to keep working towards our future. You know that, don’t you?"

I wanted to just believe her. I wanted to let those words be enough, to be satisfied with them. But I couldn’t, when every day felt like I was slipping further and further into a lake I couldn’t crawl out of.

“I can’t keep living like this," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "Every day feels like I’m sinking deeper. Mom’s in a hospital bed, Dorian’s gone, and I-" My throat tightened, cutting the words off. "I don’t know how to hold it all together. I don’t know how much longer I can sit here doing nothing."

Nora shifted behind me, her body tense as she pressed closer. Her breath was grazing warmly against my neck, but it couldn’t reach the cold sitting heavy inside me. 

For a while, she didn’t say anything, just held me there. Then, slowly, she guided me onto my back, leaning over me.

Her eyes met mine,

“I’m always going to worry,” she whispered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Because you’re mine.”

I exhaled softly, lifting one of my hands to rest over hers again. "I’m not going anywhere," I promised, though the weight of her words clung to me. "I’ll be fine. I’ll come back to you."

For a moment, she didn’t say anything. Then, softly, so softly I almost didn’t hear it, she murmured. “I’m trusting you.”

And somehow, that felt heavier than anything else.