Chapter 11: Give Me Love
We all slept in the car that night, Astrid and I swapping places in he seats. I got shotgun, reclining the seat and cranking up the AC. Nico somehow insisted that he'd be fine sleeping upright in the drivers seat, stating that if he leaned it back that Astrid would have no room to comfortably rest.
"How noble of you," Astrid grumbled, fluffing her pillow. "Now can you all shut up so we can get some shut eye?" "You're welcome." Nico turned to face the window, and I couldn't see his face through the darkness. "Goodnight, Katie."
"G'night," I said softly. I turned on to my side, using my bicep as a headrest, and stared at the side of the car. Waiting until I heard the steady breathing of my friends, I quietly allowed a tear to roll down my cheek. My breaths became shaky and I saw Nico twitch. Covering my mouth with one hand, I continued to cry, trying to soothe my swelling throat at the same time.
"Katie?"
I mentally cursed at myself. I cleared my throat, trying to sound normal, and whispered, "Yeah?" My hair fell in front of my face and I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hey...are you crying?"
Nico gently tucked my hair behind my ear, concern written on his weary face. I sniffed. "No. I'm just laughing on the wrong side of my face."
His hand moved from my shoulder to cup the side of my face.
"I'm serious. What's wrong?"
My throat tightened again, and the hot rush of tears blurred my vision. Making a noise that sounded like a whimper, I let them fall as I buried my head in his chest. I heard a small intake of breath from him but he soon recovered and wrapped two arms around me. "Shhhh, um, it's okay..."
I heard a click of the radio, the volume barely audible so it wouldn't wake Astrid.
"Give me love like her,
'cause lately I've been waking up alone,
Paint splattered teardrops on my shirt,
Told you I'd let them go,
And that I'll fight my corner,
Maybe tonight I'll call ya,
After my blood turns into alcohol,
No, I just wanna hold ya.
Give a little time to me or burn this out,
We'll play hide and seek to turn this around,
All I want is the taste that your lips allow,
My, my, my, my, oh give me love,
My, my, my, my, oh give me love,
My, my, my, my, oh give me love,
My, my, my, my, oh give me love,
My, my, my, my, oh give me love..."
The song continued to play and Nico wrapped his arms around me. "How'd you know this would be playing?" I asked, still buried in his shirt.
"Uhh, luck, I guess?"
"Give me love like never before,
'cause lately I've been craving more,
And it's been a while but I still feel the same,
Maybe I should let you go,
You know I'll fight my corner,
And that tonight I'll call ya,
After my blood is drowning in alcohol,
No I just wanna hold ya..."
I took a moment to listen to the lyrics, and heard the steady THUD THUD of his heart speed up slightly. Nico lowered his head so it rested on mine. "Is this okay?" he said quietly.
I sniffed again and nodded, suddenly aware of how close were and how tired I was. "You're homesick, aren't you?" he murmured. "Mmhmm," I closed my eyes.
Soon I completely relaxed and began to nod off.
"M my,my, m my, my, m my, my, give me love, lover
M my,my, m my, my, m my, my, give me love, lover
M my,my, m my, my, m my, my, give me love, lover..."
The music began to grow softer as my ears drowned it out with sleep. Even with Ed screaming I felt totally comfortable; not that his screaming wasn't beautiful, because, well, it was. In an odd sort of way.
The last thing I felt before completely slumping in Nico di Angelo's arms was the soft and quick caress of a kiss on my head. Unknowingly, if I had turned around at that exact second, I would have seen Astrid snapping silent photos and laughing quietly to herself.
