REUNION
Oliver sat up in bed, reached over, and turned on the bedside lamp. Outside, a violent storm was producing thunder that was making deafening sounds which echoed throughout his penthouse, and lightning which was illuminating the sky, causing eerie shadows in the darkened room and him another sleepless night. Not that it took a storm to do that. He hadn't had a full night's sleep since. . .well, he wouldn't allow his mind to go there. It just caused too much pain. He grabbed at a bottle of single malt that he kept on the nightstand next to the bed and poured a generous shot into the glass beside it. He swallowed the drink in one big gulp, enjoying the burning sensation as it slid down his throat. He could have downed the entire bottle, and lost himself in the oblivion that would surely follow, but he never indulged himself more than just one drink each night. He would not allow himself to go to that place again. She had gone to such great depths and measures to drag him out of the "gutter" during that dark period of his life, there was no way he was going back to that. The ironic thing was, this time he felt more despair, more hopelessness than ever before. But no matter how depressed he was, he would not allow himself to sink into that abyss; It felt like it would dishonor what she had done for him.
Realizing he was not going to fall back to sleep anytime soon with the storm still raging outside, he grabbed a stack of papers that he had brought home from his office and had hastily deposited on the nightstand before going to bed. He had to do anything to keep his mind from wandering to her. If he did not, he was sure he would go crazy. He had never known his heart to ache more than it did these last several months. He felt as though he was just going through the motions of life.
As he was trying to concentrate on the documents in his hands, a bolt of lightning briefly lit up the outer corridor, and Oliver saw from the corner of his eye, a silhouette outlined in the doorway. He immediately recognized the small, petite figure that was now partially hidden in the shadows of the once again darkened hallway. He would know it anywhere. He sat there for a moment rubbing his eyes, barely breathing. He couldn't believe it. The very thing he had prayed for, wished for, agonized for, was it really happening? Was she really here? He heard his name being softly spoken by this "angel" which finally caused him to react. He doubted that even Bart could have raced across the room faster than he just had, and now he had her wrapped possessively in his arms. If it was all a dream, then he never, ever, wanted to wake up. The feel of her once again in his arms, where she always fit so perfect, made it seem as if time had stood still for the both of them. Oh, if only it would, so they could stay like that forever. He was sure that you could try to pry him off her with a crowbar and he still wouldn't let go. He was never going to let go again. He went back and forth from squeezing her petite frame, not so hard as to hurt her, but enough to assure himself that she was really there in front of him in the flesh, to kissing her all over. He then cradled her soft, gorgeous face in his hands while he gently caressed her eyes, which had tears running from them, her nose, and her full lips with the tips of his fingers. So familiar was he with her features, he would have known it was her, even if he had been struck blind.
"Chloe, . . .how, . . . what, . . . I thought you were…" He tried speaking some coherent sentences; he had so much that he wanted to say but his mouth couldn't seem to form the right words, so he just muttered these incomplete thoughts.
"Shhh." She softly spoke in barely a whisper, as she lay her finger gently on his lips, sending an electric current coursing through his body from just feeling the touch of her again. "I'll explain everything later. I am just so cold and tired and I don't want to think. I just want to feel; feel your arms around me. It has been so long since I felt anything. Just please, keep holding me. Please."
She didn't even have to tell him that, because there was no way he was going to let her out of his grip, not even for a moment. He felt her body trembling and her teeth chattering, and realized for the first time that she was soaking wet, so intent had he been in just having her there.
Without taking his hands off of her, he led her into the bathroom and tenderly, as if he was touching some prized, treasured, and delicate heirloom, peeled the wet clothing off her body. Now in the light of the room, he knew without a doubt this was his Chloe and not some otherworldly being. He intimately knew every part of her body: birthmarks, scars, and all, so many nights he had spent tracing his fingers over every part of her. She was still so beautiful, it almost took his breath away! Relieved that it didn't look like she had any new injuries, he did notice that she was a bit thinner and her face was worn and taut. He tenderly wrapped her in a soft, warm towel and tried to dry her hair with another one.
He gritted his teeth, and fought back the tears threatening to fall, as he thought of what she had done for him, what she must have gone through, finally finding the words to say. "You sacrificed yourself for me. You saved me, . . .again. No one has ever done anything like that for me. I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you."
She looked up at him incredulously with those big, expressive, green eyes he was sure were put here on this earth for him to forever gaze into. "Haven't you finally figured it out that it was you who saved me . . . from my own worst enemy, . . . myself? And it was only the thought of you that kept me going all this time. You make me want to be a better person, Ollie. I want to be the kind of person your love encourages and inspires me to be. I guess I have always wanted to save the world, but don't you know that you are my world?" Her voice gained strength when she spoke those words and he was glad that whatever she had just been through had not seemed to have crushed her spirit which he so admired.
"Oh, Chloe, I do love you so much. I have never loved anyone like I love you," he managed to choke out, squeezing her again, still not fully believing that this was all really happening and that he had been given a second chance to share his feelings with her.
"I love you too, Oliver. More than words can say. You are the love of my life," she said, her voice slowly losing strength as she rested her forehead on his chest. He could feel her legs start to give out.
He gently picked up her still shivering body in his arms and carried her to the bed. He poured a glass of the whiskey and encouraged her to drink it in hopes of warming her up. She did, and the moment she lay down and her head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep so quickly, he had to make sure that she was still breathing. She had collapsed with complete exhaustion and he could only imagine what she had been through these many months. He lay there next to her the whole rest of the night, gently stroking her hair and face, wanting to assure himself that she was real, never taking his eyes off her for a moment, for fear that if he closed his eyes, she would disappear from him again and this would all be some cruel hoax. He realized for the first time in a very long time his heart was no longer aching.
She slept well past morning, and all the while Oliver was reluctant to leave her side. He finally quietly crept out of bed, although he was sure a train going through the bedroom wouldn't have awoken her, so deeply was she sleeping, to go make some coffee because he was sure when she would finally get up she would want some and he felt he needed the caffeine boost himself. He kept going back into the room to check on her, not wanting her alone, or, hell, himself alone for that matter.
When she finally started stirring late in the afternoon, the storm had ended, but things inside were intensifying between the two of them. The joy and realization that they were together again was unbelievable. They would talk later. Right now, their lips hungrily found each other, and they made love with an intensity that neither knew could exist between two people. Their bodies and souls united so profoundly that it left no doubt that they were meant and even destined to be as one, no matter what anyone one else might say or do. Afterward, they lay, arms and legs wrapped protectively around each other and she slowly began telling him all that had happened to her since they had last been together. He listened intently, holding her closer to him as she spoke, but at the same time, he made a silent vow to himself. He was certain of one thing and one thing only. It would take death, his death, to once more separate them, because he was never going to let go of her, never let anything bad happen to her, ever again.