Page 73 of Monster's Obsession

It struck me, what he’d just said.She still loves us.

"You love me?" I asked, my chest burning with embarrassment at how pathetically I’d just asked that. I was such a stupid idiot.

She raised her hand to my chest carefully. She was always so careful with me, just like Ash. When her hand hit my chest, she didn't say anything for a moment, or make any attempt to move, like she was waiting to see if I would push her away.

"I do love you. I love all of you,” she whispered. I knew why she’d put her hand on my chest…because that was where the demons were apieceof me, butnotme at the same time.

"You shouldn't love me. You shouldn't lovehim.”

She has no choice, he snapped, and I growled. Her eyes widened and she moved her hand, thinking I’d growled at her, but I quickly reached out and hauled her into my lap.

I was never going to be unbroken. Once you experienced what I had, the trauma didn't go away. If you were lucky, it just faded. But it was a funny thing with Blake. Even though I knew I’d never be whole, the cracks in my soul seemed far less severe when she was with me. Her love felt like a glowing, living thing inside of me. The feeling was alien, but unlike my demons, it was one that I welcomed gladly.

Tell her you love her back, you idiot,he snapped.

My eyes widened, realizing that I hadn’t said it back. Still, I hesitated. It felt like once I confessed it to her after she'd confessed it to me, she'd be locked in. Stuck. I’d never be able to let her go.

That's the whole point,he hissed.

Shut up.

"If I say it, you’re mine, angel. You've seen the worst of me, and you're still here. If you give me this, if you give me hope, and you choose to leave, there won't be anything that can hold me together." There was a hitch in my voice, the truth of what I’d just said settling in.

"I love you. I love all of you, even your broken, ruined pieces. Even your demons. They're all beautiful to me.”

My eyes closed, that brightness in my chest growing until it felt like it could burst. I opened my eyes, and I half expected her to be gone, for this all to be a dream. But there she was, looking beautiful, perfect, and…exhausted.

We can fuck her to sleep, hecommented.

That sounded kind of like a good idea, actually.

"I love you, Blake. And even the worst of me is obsessed with you. I’ll never be good enough for you, I'll never be the whole monster that you deserve. But I promise I'll do my best every day. I promise to love you with all the different parts of me.”

A hitched sob tore from her throat and she flung herself against me, burying her face in my neck.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Ash was standing there, a giant, stupid grin on his face.

“Oh, good, I have perfect timing. You finally got my brother to pull his head out of his ass."

Blake slowly lifted her face, and she was beaming. She was beaming at being mine. It was hard to comprehend that.

"He's perfect," she cried, squeezing me tighter.

I was sure she was wrong about that, but if she wanted to see me that way after everything she knew about me, I could work with that.

She loves us,hecommented. And once again, we were in agreement.

Ash closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall, still smirking. "I can think of some ways we can celebrate," he offered.

"If you can unbreak my vagina, I'm all for it,” she said with a cute giggle.

"Unbreak your…?" I asked, a little perplexed.

"It's a long story," she answered. “I'll explain it to you after."

"After…?"

Ash prowled towards her. "After we have some fun."