Chapter Forty Two

Chloe sighed quietly and slowly sat up in bed, glancing over at Lee who was still laying on his back, staring silently at the bedroom ceiling. She watched him closely, feeling slightly concerned as to why he was so quiet. Chloe reached down to the end of the bed and picked up Lee's shirt, quickly pulling it over her naked frame, feeling comforted when she realised that it smelt of him. Chloe jumped as Lee suddenly sat up and climbed off the bed.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him, when he still hadn't looked at her.

"I need to shower." he said quietly, quickly walking into the bathroom and closing the door. Chloe sighed, her shoulders sagging in disappointment. She hadn't really known what to expect, nor did she know how she felt. All she knew was that she wanted Lee to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was okay. She gazed down at her hands that were in her lap and silently picked her fingernails, like she always did when she was uncomfortable. She couldn't help but feel like Lee was disappointed in her. Chloe gasped as she suddenly noticed spots of fresh blood on Lee's sheets. Even though she was alone in the room, she could still feel her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She quickly climbed off the bed and frantically pulled off the sheet, before screwing into a ball and angrily throwing it on the floor. Chloe suddenly felt overcome with emotion, she dropped to the floor, tears steadily rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't understand why she was feeling this way, she'd wanted this. It was her that had talked Lee into it, she knew in her heart that she didn't regret it, but at the same time she felt strangely emotional. Her eyes flickered upwards as Lee walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly as soon as he noticed her sitting on the floor, beside the crumpled bed sheet. Lee's heart ached for her a little when he saw that she was crying quietly.

"Yes, I just need to get this washed." she said. She quickly gathered the sheet into her arms and slowly stood up, wincing slightly as she did so. Lee remained silent, watching her closely, not sure what to say to her. He glanced down as something caught his eye, his breath catching in his throat as he saw a trickle of blood slowly running down the inside of her leg.

"Chloe, you're bleeding." he told her gently. Chloe quickly glanced down at herself and gasped when she saw that he was right.

"I'll take that, you go and clean yourself up." he told her, holding out his hand to take the sheet from her. She nodded slowly, before handing him the sheet and quickly disappearing into the bathroom.

Lee sighed deeply as he quickly walked downstairs and angrily stuffed the sheet into the washing machine. He closed his eyes for a moment and rested his head against the machine. He couldn't get the image of Chloe being in pain out of his head. Even though she'd wanted this, he still couldn't help but feel guilty that he was the cause of the pain that she was feeling. As soon as he realised that he'd made her bleed he'd been even more racked with guilt than before. She was so precious to him, the likes of which he'd never felt before and even though he'd been as careful as possible, he'd still managed to injure her.

Lee slowly stood up and made his way back upstairs, glancing at the bathroom door on the way past when he heard Chloe switch off the shower. He quickly found a fresh sheet in the cupboard and began to make the bed. His head snapped up as Chloe finally walked out of the bathroom. She glanced at him for a moment before leaving the room. He frowned to himself as he heard her walking downstairs.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down on the sofa, her legs curled up beside her. She quickly placed a hot water bottle on her groin and took a sip of her tea. As she sat alone with her thoughts, she found herself longing once again to be curled up with Lee. Even though she felt strange and vulnerable, she knew in her heart that he wasn't to blame. It was her own insecurities playing on her mind again. Her eyes wandered across the room as Lee walked into the room, looking slightly nervous.

"Aren't you coming to bed?" he asked her quietly.

"Yes, in a minute." she said quietly. Lee nodded slowly and crossed the room, awkwardly perching on the sofa beside her. She glanced down at his hand as he gently placed it on her knee.

"I'm so sorry Chlo." he whispered.

"Sorry for what?" she frowned.

"The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you." he sighed. Chloe sighed quietly, feeling slightly sorry for him. She quickly shuffled forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Lee remained still and didn't even react when she placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You're overthinking things, it only hurt at the beginning." she reassured him. Eventually he turned to face her and raised his eyebrow sceptically.

"And I wanted this." she added.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked gently.

"Yes, I'm fine, honestly." she whispered. Lee glanced down at Chloe as she gently shuffled onto his lap, her arms still wrapped tightly around his neck.

"I love you so much." she whispered, gently resting her forehead against his cheek.

"I love you too." he whispered back. The two of them sighed quietly, finally feeling content now that they were where they both needed to be.

"Thank you for being so gentle with me." Chloe mumbled sleepily.

"You don't have to thank me." he said quietly. Lee turned his head slightly and placed a tender kiss on her lips.

"We should probably go to bed, before you fall asleep." he smiled when he noticed that Chloe was slowly getting sleepier by the minute. Chloe nodded slowly. She winced as she started to move off Lee's lap.

"Wait a minute." he said, quickly wrapping his arms around her hips to hold her in place on his lap.

"Does it hurt more when you walk?" he asked. Chloe nodded, her cheeks colouring slightly. Lee smiled at her reassuringly as he quickly placed one arm around her back and used the other arm to scoop up her legs. She smiled happily at him as he gently stood up, carrying her carefully in his arms. Lee glanced down at her as she gently wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked. He opened his mouth to tell her but stopped himself when he noticed that her body had relaxed, and her breathing was steady. For the second time that evening she had fallen asleep in his arms.