Part 2: Chapter Twenty one

ARIA'S POV

And there was the sun, first off, up close, shining warmly but in an absolutely singular, discreet design, wringing and bright out through the blinds and all over my bed. For one moment all was also right in my world; this was just some stupid nightmare.

For a brief second, there was a sense that everything in the world was also just fine; it was all just some ridiculous nightmare. But as the fog of sleep thinned, I could see the face of reality coming creaking down upon me.

There was the weight of a body beside me and the familiar scent of Dave's cologne in the air. Dread consumed me as my head turned to his, slowly, heart in the throat, lying beside me, still asleep. His face really looked peaceful, quite unlike the trouble that I knew was dwelling underneath.

Panic surged through me at the full force of what I had done. As soon as I lay in Dave's bed, in full nudity and all the sheets, it all came back, the way that I kissed him. I had let myself fall into the biggest t