Lyla's P.O.V:


I woke up sweating. I had that dream again......the same one I've been having since that night. This time it was different though.


Derrik was still chasing me through the forest, calling after me, his voice loud and booming. I was running as fast as my little legs would take me, but it was never fast enough; I could always hear his footsteps pounding just a short distance behind me. This time as I skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff and turned around it wasn't Derrik that I had been running from; it was Vic. He was crying, pleading with me to stop, to stop running from him. He told me to stop forcing him away. I tried to open my mouth to speak but words would not come out. I started to cry and Vic walked towards me. He kissed my head softly before he flung himself off of the cliff; my chest hurt as my heart broke and I let out a blood-curdling scream. I moved to jump off the cliff after him, but at the last minute a strong pair of arms grabbed me and pulled me from the edge; this time it was Derrik.


I sat up and rubbed at my face, trying to calm myself down. My heart was pounding in my chest so loud I was sure it would wake the neighbors. I glanced over to see Vic still sleeping soundly next to me, his chest rising and falling subtly with each breath he took. I slid out of bed slowly and crept out of the bedroom, pulling the door shut softly behind me. I padded across the living room, my arms wrapped around myself as a chill crept over my body, and made my way into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sipped from it as I leaned my head back against the wall, letting my eyes fall closed as I tried to quiet the screaming in my head.


I had been doing fairly well getting used to the drug withdrawls, but I sincerely hoped it would soon come to an end; most of the time I was able to keep the urge down to just a quiet whisper in my mind, but there were a few times over the past few days since Vic had been here, especially when I was feeling stressed or overwhelmed, that I wasn't able to quiet the craving.


I wasn't going to break, though. I was determined to fight it no matter how hard it would be.


I walked into the living room and flipped on the small lamp, the light flooding the room, shadows playing on the walls. The sight of Vic's guitar case caught my eye and I walked to it, bending down and prying it open carefully. I smiled down at the beautiful acoustic guitar and softly ran my fingers over the strings, over the shiny wood. I took a seat on the ground, crossing my legs, and pulled it out of the case, resting it in my lap. I quietly strummed a few cords, my brain racing as I tried to remember what little I knew. After several minutes I began to play a song, the only song I knew, the song that Vic had taught me all those years ago.


I smiled to myself as the short song ended, and I gently sat the guitar back in its case. I stood up and turned around. I jumped a little when I noticed Vic leaning against the door frame smiling at me.


"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered. I gave him a small smile in return.


"I'm sorry I woke you," I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders.


"You didn't. I woke up and noticed you were gone so I just came out to check on you and I decided to leave you be for a while," he smiled a little bigger and I felt my cheeks blush a little.


"I shouldn't have touched your guitar without asking, I'm sorry. I just-" I paused as he walked over towards me.


"You don't have to ask, Lyla. I'm glad you did. I can't believe you still remember that song," he said as he pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his bare chest.


"I could never forget it," I whispered and he kissed the top of my head.


"You alright?" He asked; his voice was quiet, but full of concern. I just nodded my head in response, squeezing him a little tighter. "Lyla," he whispered, knowing all too well that I wasn't being truthful. He pulled away from me a little, still keeping one arm around my waist, and he led me to the couch. He laid down and opened his arms motioning for me to join him.

I shot him a small, weak smile and obliged, laying down in his arms and burying my face in his warm skin. He reached up and pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch and covered us with it before his arms returned to their previous postion wrapped tightly around me, pulling me into him.


"I had that dream again," I mumbled after what seemed like hours of silence. He pulled me closer to him, if that was even possible, and kissed my forehead, his lips lingering a while longer than normal. "Except it was different. You were there this time, trying to get me to stop running, and then-" I paused not knowing if I should continue on.


"And then......" he responded, signaling me to continue. I took a deep breath.


"I couldn't respond. I couldn't get my words to come out. And you....you jumped off the cliff. And I tried to jump after you but he-he caught me and wouldn't let me go." My words practically ran together as I hurried to get them out. He sat up a little so he was looking down at me, his big brown eyes meeting mine. "I just-I'm just afraid," I whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible......almost.


"Afraid of him? Or afraid that I'm going to leave you again?" He asked, his voice breaking a little towards the end; I could see the sorrow in his eyes, and I didn't like it. I didn't like making him upset. I swallowed and averted my gaze away from him to the wall behind him.


"Both," I responded. "Because I don't deserve to have you." He brought his hand to my face and stroked my cheek with his thumb.


"I'm not going anywhere, okay? It doesn't matter to me what has happened and- hey, look at me," he said as he turned my face so I had no choice but to stare into those beautiful eyes of his. "I love you so much, Lyla......so much that I can't even begin to express it to you." He paused. "I let you go once.......I'm not going to let you go again, alright? Letting you get away was the biggest mistake of my life. I can't help but think about where we would be now if I hadn't have been so stupid. You know, would we be married? Have a few kids? That's what I always wanted with you, Ly. I still do.....And that man will never hurt you again. I promise you that. Never again..." he trailed off and I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but they were different this time. They were happy tears. "Don't cry, baby. I'm here, it's gonna be okay," he said as he wiped at the tears rolling slowly down my cheeks.


"I know it is, Vic. This time, even if you try to get rid of me.....I won't let you." I leaned up and kissed him, grabbing the sides of his face with my hands. He pulled away and looked at me.


"Good," he whispered before connecting his lips with mine once again.


----------


I could hear the faint sound of an alarm going off somewhere in the distance. I felt Vic stir behind me and I assumed he heard it to. I groaned and tried to trun around to face him, almost falling off of the couch in the process. Vic's arms reached out and grabbed me before I crashed to the ground, pulling me against him. "Morning," I whispered, my voice cracking a little.


"Good morning, baby," he muttered, his voice extremely sexy and coated in sleep. It pracitcally made me melt. I laid there for a little while longer until I could no longer stand the sound of the beeping alarm coming from the bedroom.


"Okay. I can't take it anymore," I mumbled, pulling myself out of Vic's grasp and stumbling off the couch and into to the bedroom, turning the alarm off with a groan. Vic stumbled into the room after me, pausing in the doorway to yawn and stretch his toned arms above his head; I couldn't help but stare. "I need to finish packing. It shouldn't take me long," I mumbled through a yawn and he nodded his head.


"Alright I'll go take a quick shower while you do that." He smiled at me and turned to walk down the hall towards the bathroom.


We were leaving in a few hours for San Diego. We were driving my car there; the drive wasn't too bad, only about 2.5 hours......if the traffic will cooperate that is. I was beginning to get a little bit nervous about going back home, but I was doing my best to keep my anxiety at bay.


I tried to pack my suitcase but I couldn't focus; I couldn't get my mind off of how extremely sexy Vic looked this morning. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I couldn't concentrate on anything else. Vic and I hadn't had sex since that one, drunken night in the hotel in Texas, the night that was responsible for bringing us back together. And since he had been here with me the past few days we had hardly even kissed at all; I figured he was probably trying to give me my space considering what had happened, and I really appreciated it because I didn't think I was ready, but something about this morning.....it was all I could think about.


Feeling courageous I made my way towards the bathroom, the only sound in the apartment was that of the water moving through the pipes. I quietly opened the bathroom door and shut it behind me without a sound. I pulled my pajama shirt over my head and dropped my underwear to the ground. I took a deep breath and grabbed a hold of the shower curtain, yanking it open and smiling at a very surpised, and very naked, Vic staring back at me.


"What are you doing?" He asked, chuckling a little under his breath as his eyes moved over my naked body. I felt a little self-conscious just standing there so I stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain shut as I did so. He turned to face me and I just shrugged my shoulders. I moved closer to him so that there was little space between it, the water falling down over both of us.


"Conserving water," I said, trying not to crack a smile. He continued to stare at me and I felt the corners of my mouth tug into a smile involuntarily. I grabbed the back of his head and pulled his mouth to mine forcefully. Immediately he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my bare body flush against his. I tugged at his hair and he groaned a little; I took the opportunity to slip my tongue into his mouth, his tongue gratefully meeting mine.


After about 20 minutes of making out in the shower we finally washed ourselves and got out. We didn't have sex; I think he could sense that I wasn't quite ready for that, considering everything with Derrik, and surprisingly he didn't even try to take it to the next level. I would be ready eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, and I would be sure to make it worth his while to thank him for his patience.


We both got dressed and I finished packing what little I had left. I did my hair and makeup, half-assed I might add, and zipped up my suitcase as I got the last little bit in there that I would need for the next few weeks. Vic carried all of our stuff down to my car and got it all situated in the trunk as I shut off all of the lights and locked up my apartment. I walked down the stairs and out to the car; Vic was leaning up against the driver's side door and he smiled at me.


"I'm driving," he insisted, reaching his hand out for my keys. I raised an eyebrow at him and he let out a small laugh. "I'm not letting you drive, Lyla. I would like to make it there in one piece." I smacked his arm lightly and he yanked the keys out of my hand.


"Hey! You haven't been in the car with me in years! I'm a perfectly fine driver!" I hollered in defense. He rolled his eyes and laughed at me as he opened the door and got in the car. I walked to the passenger side and did the same. Vic started up the car and I noticed the time; Vic had wanted to be on the road about an hour ago. "Sorry we're running late," I said apologetically.


"Oh it's quite alright, babe. Especially because of the reason why we're late," he responded, arching an eyebrow at me. I laughed and shook my head at him. He messed with the radio until he found something that was decent enough to listen to. He reached over and grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers. "You ready, baby?" He asked, sensing my apprehension. I nodded slightly.


"Ready as I'll ever be," I responded. He leaned over and kissed the side of my head before putting the car in drive and heading out of the parking lot towards the highway.....towards home.