The Boy I Was, The Man I Became

Damien POV The doorbell kept ringing. I pulled away from Lilith slowly, letting her body settle back into the sheets. Her breath was still catching in small, uneven pulls. I stood, grabbed my shirt from the floor, and walked out before she could sit up. The delivery boy waited in the doorway with a paper bag. He looked at me, looked past my shoulder, then looked back like he regretted seeing anything at all. I signed, took the food, and closed the door without a word. When I turned around, Lilith was no longer in bed. She was fully dressed, her hair slightly messy, with her cheeks flushed. Pacing in the middle of the room like something frightened had just climbed inside her chest. The way she held her own arms made her look small again. Small, but not weak. I let out a quiet laugh, not mocking though. Just a little familiar. “Still the scared little cat, hm?” She stopped pacing, her shoulders dropped, and she exhaled like she had been holding her breath and her sanity toget