Love & Loss

Chapter 14

Nico's POV:

I groggily opened my eyes, my consciousness slowly slipping back to me as I glanced around and noticed that I wasn't in my bed.

Lifting my head up from where it had been resting I saw that I was still on the balcony, the cool night breeze still blowing.

It was admittedly chilling me, which was probably the reason that I woke up.

I looked down, noticing how Khloe, on the other hand, was fast asleep, her head resting peacefully against my chest and shoulder as her arm wrapped around me to hold onto my other shoulder.

Her other hand still cupped the practically empty mug against my stomach, keeping it from falling.

Apparently, my head had been resting atop of hers.

It was odd that I didn't even remember trying to fall asleep out here. The last thing I remembered was our conversation.

I guess I was a lot more tired than I thought.

I just hope I wasn't the first one to fall asleep...

That would be kind of embarrassing.

Judging by the positioning of the moon, we couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple hours.

I gently took hold of the mug and set it on the small table beside us, opting to use the hand that was resting on Khloe's legs instead of the one that I held around her.

If I felt cold, then she probably did too, despite the blanket she had around her.

Slipping my arm under her knees, I scooted to the edge and lifted her up as I stood.

Her hand on my shoulder slowly fell onto her lap, but luckily that was the only reaction I got from her.

Warmth quickly enveloped me as I stepped into my room, closing the door with my foot before walking over to my bed.

I somehow managed to lean back and balance Khloe against me as I used one hand to pull back the blankets on my bed and remove the blanket that she already had around her.

Leaning onto the bed, I set her down so that her head was lying on the pillow I knew she preferred the most.

She always favored the softer pillows that were filled with more stuffing than usual. Whenever she wasn't laying on me, that is.

Somehow, she didn't wake up when I rolled her onto her side, save for a small, adorable groan.

She said that her back felt fine enough to lay on, but I still wanted to give it a couple more days.

The meds I used on her were working excellently, but I still wanted to be safe.

Covering her with the sheets and blankets, I turned around, giving her body some time to warm up before I joined her.

She's never complained about my skin being colder than hers, but I couldn't help but feel bad about it at times.

I quietly walked over to my desk, lifting the half empty-glass of blood I had grabbed when I got her hot chocolate thing.

The blood had long since gone bad since I left it out for too long, not that I think it would have helped anyway.

That itching in my gums and throat were still going strong.

My tongue subconsciously ran over my fangs as I soundlessly opened my door and set the glass outside for one of the slaved to retrieve before closing it.

I was going to have to take care of this soon.

If I had to guess, I probably had another 48 hours before it would make me go wild.