Obsession 6
To disclaimer and such see part 1
Author's note: Okay, so I was reading the last chapter and just now I realized that I wrote Miranda has a cell phone. I don't remember if she really has one , probably not, but just pretend she does, for the sake of this fic -. And this part, well, I just think it's too sappy, lol.
And again, thank you for all the reviews
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Obsession
Part 6 - Closer
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It seems like it took forever for him to get there, but she knows it must have only been a couple of minutes, just maybe five for him to get from whatever he was when she called to her apartment. He has already taken her home several times after late night meals, or when he made her stay late working with him and it has always been innocent, until a while back. She doesn't know when she started to see him in a different light but she does and now there's no way she can change that. She's not innocent anymore.
She's crouched down just outside her apartment door, her knees pulled up to her chest, her head resting on them. In that position she believes no one can hurt her, no one can get close enough to even threaten her; that's what she believes, that's the illusion she has. She knows it's stupid... if someone wants to hurt her it wouldn't really matter how she is, she'd get hurt. She's not scared anymore, though, the frozen moment has passed and now she just doesn't know how to feel, how to react.
But Declan is coming.
It's funny how her brain seems to count on him even when she's not aware of it, how Miranda seems to need him more than she's never depended on someone, more than she's able to admit. She doesn't know what exactly is it that attracts her to him; she can feel something pulling her towards him, something that can't be put into words. Just something, so she believes this must be something especial.
Sometimes she wonders if he feels the same. Not exactly how she feels but if there's at least a tiny little part of him that thinks about her in a especial way, that doesn't think of her only as a friend, or worse, as a sister. She doesn't want to really think he thinks of her as a sister, that will only break her heart more than it already is.
She can hear the door opening to the stairway, suddenly the metallic sound muffling the dark night silence. Is it him? Her heart starts to beat more rapid at the thought of it. She hears the pounding of feet against the stairs and there's another thought that invades her mind, playing with her sanity -what if it's someone else? What if it's the someone that entered her home, violated her sense of space? What if it's Trevon doing exactly what she had asked him not to do?
"Miranda?" She hears and the voice sounds as if the one of an angel, ready to come and take her by the hand, back home.
Declan, her brain cries out and she struggles to stand as he comes around the corner of the hallway. He stops as he sees her trying to support herself against the doorframe. She watches as he comes to her and when he's close enough she clings to him and he scoops her in his arms.
"What happened?" He asks even though he knows what happened, he just needs to hear again, make sure the panic he felt when she called is only a trick of his brain.
No such a luck, though.
"Trevon was here." She says as a chill runs down her spine making her voice seem as if it's breaking. Declan lets go of Miranda and goes inside her apartment with her following behind. "I already checked. There's no one in here anymore."
"Ok..." Declan nods. "Just-just making sure." He shrugs and turns to the kitchen where he sees the small note still lying where Miranda had found it. "We got to call the authorities. Did you call the authorities?"
She shakes her head and looks at floor as she puts her arms around herself to stop a very inappropriate, uninvited shiver and sighs. Declan immediately looks at her at hearing her sigh and walks to her, his heart breaking for seeing her in such a vulnerable state, then he wraps his arms around her, hugging her. She sighs again, but this time of satisfaction. The warmth of Declan's arms is definitely what she needs most right now.
He pulls back after a while and places a gentle small kiss on her forehead just as he had done a while back, when Miranda was in the hospital. He gives her a warm smile and she returns it, giving him one of her own.
She doesn't take her hands from around him, so he leaves his hands around her back and stares into her eyes. It hurts so much to see her like that, to see the life of that beautiful, amazing woman being wasted with such a moron as Trevon. She doesn't deserve to go through all that, to suffer the way she's suffering. But at least Declan is there for her; he promises he's going to always be there whenever she needs him.
Miranda's eyes go from his for a second to the paper over the table and then looks back at him, with visible fear in her eyes. Suddenly he knows he'll never feel as strongly for another person as he does at that moment. As he returns her gaze, that simple realization makes him wish for the millionth time that he could make all this go away.
"Come on." Declan whispers taking one of his arms from around her but keeping the other around her shoulder as he guides her to the telephone. "Let's call the cops and then you're staying at my place."
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Miranda lets her suitcase fall heavily on the bed in Declan's room as soon as she's inside. She looks around, taking in her surroundings. As far as she can remember she has never seen Declan's bedroom and would never imagine it is so.... His.
There are pictures everywhere, of everyone, even Miranda's. There're a few she can't even remember were taken but for some reason she feels her heart warms as she sees that Declan has frames with her photos near the bed, or that he even has photos of her. It sillily makes her smile.
The walls are white and nearly covered with poster and paints as if he is a still a teenager with his idols of rock. And just as a teenager's bedroom, his is just as messy -she wouldn't expect otherwise. The bed is covered with a big fluffy blue blanket and she feels tempted to feel the softness of it; so, without thinking, she just sits on it and closes her eyes, letting the events of the day float out of her mind.
All she wants to do is to crash on the bed and sleep for the rest of her life.
But his soft voice stops her thoughts. "I'll set some towels for you of you want to take a shower."
Miranda opens her eyes and gazes at his soft brown ones. "Thanks."
"Make yourself at home." He smiles sweetly and heads out of the room after her nod.
Maybe, even if with all this bad situation she can take some advantage out of it. If it means she can be closer to Declan, than she will look at this and thinks as a good thing instead of the frightening effect this is having on her. She won't let Trevon scare her the way he wants.
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It hasn't been even twenty minutes that he has settled into the sofa when he hears footsteps pad coming down the short hall of his apartment. Declan looks up to find Miranda standing in the room, leaned up against the wall, her arms wrapped around herself. Under the night light provided by nature he can see the silver glow on Miranda's cheeks, looking wet as if she has been crying.
"Hey." He says softly eyeing her carefully.
"Declan?" She says his name with the same voice of a scared child.
"Yeah?"
"I'm scared."
He's frozen. After all these years investigating the mysterious, the unnatural, seeing strange things, for the first time he finds himself amazed. For the first time since he's known Miranda she's being completely honest, she's opening herself enough to let him know what she's actually feeling instead of what she wants people to see. She looks so small standing there in her oversized sleeping t-shirt, her face wet and her expression of openly fear that it breaks his heart for the second time today. He briefly imagines her uttering the same words to her mom or dad as a young child, seeking for their comfort after a nightmare.
Declan sits up in the bed to get a better look at her and decides she has definitely been crying. Her cheeks are streaked with tears and her chest is heaving slightly with the shaky breaths of a person who has recently been gasping between sobs. He curses himself for not having heard her cries and gone to her sooner.
"Of what?" He asks slowly having been bewildered out of his dozing slumber and realizing the stupidity of the question he is making but a little too late to take it back.
Miranda shifts her feet on the shag carpet and wraps her arms around herself tighter. She chuckles sadly as she thinks about what to answer. "Everything..." She shrugs as the words leave her mouth.
Declan notices how hard it is for to be saying the words, to show so much vulnerability to the point of needing someone. He gets the impression that this is her way of telling him she would rather not be alone right now. He stands and walks to her, once again wrapping his arms around her, substituting her arms for his.
"It's ok." He whispers softly in her ear and that action sends a welcome warmth through her body. "I promise everything is going to be ok."
"I know." She whispers back, settling her head in the warm hook of his neck and closes her eyes, pretending that -if even for a moment- her world is not as bad as it seems.
Declan puts a soft hand on her hair and gently tucks his fingers through it, running them up and down, giving her all the comfort he can -the comfort she allows him to give her. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" He asks softly.
She nods her head from where it's resting and lets out a small, breathy sigh. "Please."
"Ok." He says and pulls back, taking her hand and leading her back to the bedroom.
Miranda is the first to jump in the bed and quickly settles herself on the opposite side of where Declan and she had come from. Declan climbs in and takes the other side, watching not to invade her personal space. As soon as they're both lying Miranda pulls the blanket up until her chin, tucking the blanket under it.
Declan settles himself and turns to lie on his side, facing Miranda. Sensing his eyes on her, she turns to face him and suddenly becomes very self-conscious and blushes slightly so she turns her eyes down, as if this way he won't be able to see the scarlet state of her cheeks.
"Good night." Declan finally says, trying to break some of the tension between them.
Miranda looks at him again and smiles shyly. "Good night." She murmurs and as she finally gets aware of how tired she is, she gives in to sleep.
Before Declan can find his own sleep, he watches Miranda dozing off, her breathes coming in and out softly. When he finally sleeps too, he's happy to believe his night will be filled with dreams of Miranda.
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When he wakes up next morning, he curses himself for the thoughts running through his mind. Realizing how Miranda is sprawled out over him and his hand is spread across her warm, naked hip only make things worse.
Somewhere along the night Miranda had moved over to his side and somehow gotten herself completely over him, no inch of her on the bed and to be honest he doesn't mind at all having her like that but the thought of him dead isn't appealing at all either.
That's what he's going to be if she wakes up and finds him under her instead of the mattress and his hand spread across her hip and... she is so soft, god... she's so damn soft, her skin so white and soft and gentle to the touch. He feels as if he can touch her for the rest of his life and never get tired of doing so.
Miranda stirs a little in her sleep and Declan closes his eyes knowing he's already a dead man but when no punches or screams or anything like that comes he opens his eyes again and feels Miranda only snuggling more into him as she lets out a breathy sigh, the silkiness of her hair tickling him very slightly on his cheek, the faint smell of her shampoo surrounding his nose.
Declan freezes in place as Miranda moves and when she finally settles herself again he breathes out relieved. Not going to die today -at least for now. He wants so badly to just put his arms around her -take that hand from her hip, which he doesn't know why is still there- and pulls her closer to him. Or maybe he could just sneak a little kiss... her lips are just so damn close...
Then suddenly the clock goes off and Declan practically jumps from under Miranda and out of the bed before she can wake up and see him there and turns the clock off again. Before Miranda has time to even open her eyes Declan is already out of the bedroom and in the kitchen to make breakfast.
Miranda only stares confused after him.
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