''Please don't''

''Stop''

''Stop!'' She whimpers in her sleep, and I am next to her, awakening her from her nightmare as I have done for the past ten days. Her whimpers grow louder as tears stream down her cheeks. My voice is drowned out by her cries.

"Please, no." I clench my jaws as she whispers. If it were up to me, I'd fucking kill that monster.

''I beg you," she whimpers again, and the agony in my heart becomes worse, causing me to close my eyes and clamp my teeth even tighter. And before I can call her again, her sobs had subsided and her breathing had returned to normal.

I sigh and rub my face.

My gaze is fixed on the frail, shattered body in front of me. These past few days have been horrible for me, and I can't even comprehend what she's been through. My heart stopped beating the second I spotted her lying unconscious in the washroom when I broke into it that night. I drew her into my arms and waited for the doctor. According to the doctor, she underwent a panic attack.

That night, I held her in my arms while she cried quietly after waking up. Days passed, and she began to normalize, but the nights were filled with her terrified cries. She told me I didn't have to stay next to her since she's fine and doesn't want to be a burden; she doesn't realize that I want to be near her. If she's not in front of me, my pulse rate quickens and I become worried. It's as though a fresh wave of vigilance has poured over me.

And I'm not sure what the future has in store for me with these unexpected impulses and new emotions. I kept looking at the sleeping form of the woman who, unknowingly taught me so much. Her soft pink lips parted, her open hair strewn over the pillow, and her lovely doe-like eyes were closed, while her eyelashes caressed her skin.

Arabella Oliver Brown, the girl who appeared out of nowhere and turned my world upside down. Who annoyed the hell out of me yet made me feel like more than a plastic human being. She made me feel safe; there was never a time when I hid my feelings in front of her, and I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but she accepted me.

Despite the fact that I do not deserve a single ounce of her desire or respect. I want her.

Fuck.

Fuck, I fucking want her so much.

I take a deep breath as I gaze at her sleeping figure. Accepting it makes it even more difficult for me to deal with the truth. When the reality is that she is still madly in love with my brother, Luke.

Luke called every day to check on her health. He wanted to pay me a visit, but I politely declined. It was getting more difficult for me to hide my emotions, and the notion of a guy, much alone her ex, seeing her makes my blood boil.

I know I don't have the fucking right to do so, but this possessiveness, feeling, and pain are all new to me.

And the woman who made all of this possible is also the one who taught me to respect women. There wasn't a single woman in my sight who took me to my knees, who made me understand how strong the female population can be, but this woman in front of me did it unwittingly, and I don't fucking regret it.

I check my phone and there are several missed calls from Jake. I cuss quietly and check the time; it was 2 a.m. and he was still up. Sometimes I wonder what he's still doing there. But there's Liv, and I'm guessing they just want to spend time together.

"Hello," I say on the phone after softly closing the room door.

''Hey man, how's Ells?'' He inquired, hoarsely, he sounded more tired than usual.

The day following the tragedy, I informed him about that night. He began cursing and immediately booked a flight. But he didn't make it because something came up, he claimed. And I couldn't help but clamp my teeth in rage.

What could have been more important than ensuring his sister's safety?

I yelled at him and asked him what on earth was more important than his sister. And his only response was, "It's complicated," while I couldn't believe he wasn't there for her when she needed him the most.

I didn't speak to him for straight three days because, on the third day, Ells gently inquired, "Does Jake know?" Her eyes were filled with grief, and I could see it in them. I knew she thought I didn't tell Jake because she feels if he knew, he'd be with us right now.

Fuck, even I thought the same thing.

I shook my head, not wanting to hurt her any further, and she softly sighed and nodded.

"That's good because he would have been worried sick." She chuckles softly.

But how wrong she was.

As a result, if it hadn't been for Liv's call on the fourth day, I would have never picked up Jake's phone call. She sounded depressed as if she was crying.

"Seb, answer his call," she said quietly.

''I won't, that fucker, he didn't even fucking come to attend his sister after she was about to be raped." As the memories raced through my head, I gritted my teeth.

"Seb, something came up. I swear," she said softly.

"What could be more important than her, LIv?" I inquired, but she remained quiet.

"What's going on?" I questioned, furrowing my brows, as everything appeared incredibly strange.

"Nothing," she answered quickly, "please talk to him Seb, he wants to be with her but can't, and it hurts that even I can't do anything." she whispered, '' He confines himself to a room. He sobs like a baby, and he broke down in my arms yesterday," a gentle wail burst from her mouth. ''He wants nothing more than to be near her, Seb, but fate has other plans for us. He's hurting Seb, please don't let him feel even more," she pleaded as I heard her cries rake through the phone.

After that, I contacted Jake back and told him everything about Ell's days.

''She's Alright, she's asleep," I tell him answering his question.

"Why are you still awake?" he inquires. And I know I can't fucking give him the truth, so I question him back.

''Why are you?'' I get a chuckle in response. And a smile tugs on my lips.

Fuck, I miss this bastard.

"Oh, you know I have someone to keep me awake all night," he says. And, despite the fact that he was being playful, he seemed sad, and then he screamed an ''Oww" as I heard Liv yell profanities. I couldn't help but grin as I heard their actions, and a new longing developed inside me.

Will I ever be able to find someone like that?

Will it be her-

I stop myself from thinking further because Jake's loud shrill voice grabs my attention, "fuck woman, your mood swings are becoming more difficult to handle."

''Then leave me!" She screamed.

''Fuck, you know I didn't mean it," he says.

"Fuck you!"

I could detect a smirk in his voice as he said, "You already do."

''Fuck you!" With that, I heard a hard thump and a loud sigh, and I broke out laughing.

"Did she just kick you out of the room?" I laughed as I clutched the wall for support.

"Shut up," he grumbled. As tears blocked my right eye, I couldn't help but laugh even more.

I can't remember the last time I laughed like this.

''Thank you, Seb," he said softly. I knew what he was saying, and the notion alone was enough to wake me up.

''You don't have to thank me," I sigh. Mostly because thanking me implies that I was doing a favor for him, but I was aiding her because I wanted to.

''I have to-''

"Jake, what's going on in there? Is everything okay?" I asked, my voice tinged with anxiety.

''Everything is good," In his too chirpy voice, he said. And before I could ask any more questions, he interrupts in,

''Oh, I need to go, or else if this woman sleeps, I need to sleep out," he chuckles strainedly, And there he is, rushing away from answering me once more. ''take care of Ells, would you?" he softly pleads, as if afraid I may refuse.

Never, ever, ever in a million years.

''Of course," with that, I hang up the phone.

Before I could return to Ells room, water began to drop from my window, the rain began to fall, and my legs instinctively moved towards the window. The sky is rumbling with thunderclaps, and the trees are bending with the wind. The swish of air resonates in the room, and I sense a presence behind me, without turning around to see who it is, I know it's her.

The window opens further as rainwater splatters my face; usually, this would annoy me, but with her alongside me, rainwater seems to make my heart delighted. I'm not sure what got into me as I intertwined my hands with her again, a gesture I tend to do every now and then, but when she tensed at the unexpected contact, I inwardly loathed myself for appearing desperate, but it dissipates when she tightens her grip in my hands.

The rain becomes harder and thunder roars triumphantly, as if we were watching a live movie of our life, only the trees were dancing in the thunder rather than us.

Even so, I cannot help but capture this memory in my mind, since the instant, my gaze falls on her, a childish giggle escapes her voice as she gazes in amazement at the rain; small drops of water caressed her cheeks, and I was suddenly envious and resentful that the water got to feel her skin against them and not me.

And yet, gazing at her while she's carefree and smiling, my heart was finally at peace.