The Forbidden Love of Aesop Sharp

Chapter 35 - Shadows

I woke up several hours later, the night had already fallen, and everything was silent around me. Lifting my head gently, I observed Arlette in front of me, peacefully asleep with a pillow providing comfort between the cold, hard surface of the window and her cheek. Next to her, Olivia was also deep in slumber, as was Sebastian, who had seated himself next to her at the earliest opportunity. Livy had her head resting on his shoulder, and they both seemed tranquil, oblivious to what was happening around us.

The only one who appeared to have stayed wide awake during the journey was Sharp. Still sitting on the seat next to me, he was reading a lengthy parchment with furrowed brows. I watched him for a moment as he moved his lips silently, seemingly reciting what he was reading. Letting out an annoyed sigh, he paused in his reading to scratch out a long phrase and write something on the side of the parchment.

Suddenly, he tilted his face toward me, and I smiled at him. He seemed to relax immediately, placing the parchment on his left and taking care to close his inkwell before gesturing for me to come closer.

I obeyed instantly, a tinge of excitement in my belly as I slowly crawled onto the seat to approach him. He put his arm around me and planted a kiss on my forehead without saying a word. We stayed like that for a moment, enjoying the silence to communicate through tender and affectionate gestures. He gently stroked my hair, his chin resting on my head, and I played with the fingers of his other hand, caressing and intertwining them with mine calmly.

"You're adorable when you sleep," he murmured with a sweetness and calmness I wasn't accustomed to.

"You watched me sleep?" I asked in the same hushed tone, careful not to wake anyone. The lights were dim in the compartment, and if someone woke up, I doubted they could see us at first glance. However, nothing protected us from potential prying ears.

"I did," he replied, squeezing me against him. "I wouldn't have missed it for anything; you're so beautiful."

"Oh," I let out, feeling embarrassed but flattered. "Have you slept a little?" I asked to shift the conversation.

"No, I haven't,"

"Aren't you tired? I mean... we barely slept last night," I added, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"That's the point," he whispered in my ear. "I had so many memories to explore; sleeping would have been superfluous."

"Oh... Sharp..." I murmured, placing my hand on his shirt, in the space between two buttons, to graze his skin softly. "I loved our night together..."

"I loved it too," he confessed. At this point, I was so exhausted that I couldn't hold back a yawn, which I concealed with my hand. "Do you want to sleep a little more, honey? I can wake you up when we'll be at Hogwarts."

A part of me wanted to succumb to his proposition. I was exhausted; I had barely slept the past few nights, and I knew that if I closed my eyes for even a second, I would fall into a deep sleep.

However, my desire to make the most of the time we had together, with him, kept me awake. Perhaps wrongly, but I felt that every moment we spent together was punctuated by the ticking of a clock, subjecting me to stifling pressure. My relationship with him was messy and stressful.

Even though, for the moment, he seemed sincere, doubt lingered. At what point would his determination fade again, erecting a wall of misunderstanding that would further distance us? His behavior during the morning demonstrated how fragile all of this was. He dissected every gesture, every action committed, interpreting them without ever giving me the benefit of the doubt or communicating his fears. The question was no longer whether the situation would shift again, but rather when.