The Cuddle Pact

14

Angel.

In which Mira is Sebastian's angel.

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QOTC: What's your dream job?

I think I've finally decided what I want to be, and even though it could change in the future, I really doubt it will: I want to be a firefighter. Alsooo, this chapter is where you finally get a deeper insight into Sebastian's life :)

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"THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE SUNSHINE, BABY."

Ada and Mara laughed at my rendition of my favourite Starstruck song as Lena and Kira finished making our hot chocolates. Kale sat in the corner with his phone in his hand, which lead me to approach him and pull him up by his hands.

He laughed as I squeezed his hands and eased him into dancing with me. "Where's all this energy coming from?"

"I'm trying to cheer you up!"

Ada took it upon herself to play another song from our teenage years and High School Musical's 'We're All In This Together' sounded through Lena's living room.

Deciding to pull an Avery, I coaxed Mara up from the couch and not-so-subtly brought her into the dancing circle that once consisted of Kale and me. Meeting my gaze, Kale's cheeks warmed and he directed an amused smirk my way.

When they began dancing on their own, I took a breather and took a seat beside Ada, resting my head on her shoulder. "Next time I'm off work, how about we go out and watch a movie?"

Smiling at me, she gave me a side hug. "Sounds good, babe."

Before long, Lena and Kira brought out the hot chocolates. The setup for the movie was Lena and Kira on one sofa, Ada and me on the other with Kale and Mara being comfortable to sit together on the blankets and pillows on the floor.

A cloud of steam rose from my mug, marshmallows swimming in the opaque chocolatey goodness. Before I was able to taste it, my phone buzzed on the table. As I was far from it, Lena took it into her hand and smirked when she handed it to me.

"It's your boyfriend." She mouthed, winking and laughing when I quickly broke eye contact with her.

Placing the mug into Ada's hands, I picked up the phone when I was in Lena's kitchen. "Hello?" There was silence on the other end prior to a sniff meeting my ears. When that was followed by a whimper, I knew something was wrong. "Sebastian, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry." His voice cracked, and he proceeded to clear his throat before continuing. "I didn't want to bother you or anyone else for that matter, but I don't think I'm getting home tonight."

A frown made its way onto my face and I tried to figure out what was happening. Was he crying? I was pretty sure that he was, but if I learnt one thing about Sebastian over the past few weeks, it was that he was good at hiding his emotions. "Why? Are you drunk?"

"Drunk would be an understatement." He laughed, but it was more of a strangled snort. "I gave George the night off. I'm not going to drive because I don't want to die, but walking isn't an option because it's dark."

Noticing that Kale was standing in the threshold of the door, I sighed. "Where are you, Sebastian?"

"No, Mira." Shaky breaths were emitted from his mouth and I could hear him drink another sip of whatever alcohol he had with him. "I'm not letting you see me like this."

"Well, tough." Adjusting my phone on my ear, I noticed the concern in Kale's eyes. "I'm coming to get you. Tell me where you are."

Kale instantly had his keys in his hands and was passing me my jacket when Lena approached us. From the look on my face, I guessed she realised something was wrong with Sebastian and brought me into a hug.

After saying our goodbyes to everyone, we were on the road. I could tell that Kale wasn't acting like this because he was Sebastian's employee, but as the family friend who Sebastian thought of as his brother.

My curiosity, however, was piqued when we neared a graveyard. Stopping the car, I was quick to climb out of it, my eyes squinting to focus on the figure hunched in front of a grave. Traipsing towards him, I stopped a metre away and saw his head turn slightly to acknowledge my presence.

Wrapping my arms around him from behind, his body shook with his breath and moved me along with him. His hands enveloped mine, but I remained silent when he squeezed them and brought one to his lips. No sound came from him and his hands fell back into his lap.

Glancing upon the vodka bottle, I bent down and placed the lid back on before moving it from Sebastian's reach. He sat still, his hand continuously gripping his hair. It was only then I saw the name on the gravestone.

Cade Douglas.

Douglas? When I came to the realisation that he had the same surname as James, I couldn't stop Sebastian from hearing the loud inhale. He turned his head and a cynical laugh fell from his pink lips.

"The universe has a way of fucking with you sometimes. Good people always die." He stood up on trembling legs and turned to look at me with dark sienna eyes that shone with his fervent emotions in the lighting the moon provided.

Stepping closer to him with my heart hammering a tattoo on my chest, I linked our hands when I noticed the scraped skin on his knuckles. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

His serious expression crumbled and he screwed his eyes shut. "I don't even know what I'm feeling, Mira. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"You're not wasting my time, I'll always be here for you." I eyed the fading bruise on his face. "Did James punching you have anything to do with what's going on now?"

Releasing his lip from his teeth, the blood returned to it. He nodded. "Yes, I crossed the line with something I said and it pissed him off."

He sunk back down onto the floor and left me standing beside him before I joined him and sat staring at the flowers that were placed around Cade's grave.  I thought he was shutting me out when we were left in silence for the next ten minutes, but in the midst of it all, our hands were joined.

My fingers pressed against his skin and I exhaled harshly into the cold air. Resting my head on his shoulder, I covered our hands with my free hand.

Everything was too quiet for comfort, I could practically hear the leaves descending in air. "It's okay to feel what you're feeling." A tilt of his head let me know he was listening. "You think that over the years you'll learn how to cope with it, but sometimes it gets too overwhelming, like all your emotions crashing into you, and making you constantly think about the what-ifs. I know what you're going through, Sebastian. I go through it every January 8th, but you can't self destruct. You're stronger than that."

Seeing a faint trace of a smile, I squeezed his hands and made a move to stand up. Bringing him up with me, I turned towards the car when he stopped me with a tug of his hand.

Pulling me close, he held my face in between his hands and looked me directly in my eye. "You're an angel, Mira Casey, you know that?" he spoke, his smile widening through his tears and raising my hand, I wiped them away.

With that, he went to close the distance between us when his lips stopped a hair's breadth away from mine. I didn't dare finish it and stood still as his nose touched my cheek. His thumb brushed against my jaw tenderly and he pulled back with a sigh.

"Hey, Kale."

"Hey, Sebastian."

By striding in front of me, he put a fair amount of distance between us on the way to the car and gave Kale a quick hug. Following in his pursuit, Kale gave me a rigid smile before he returned to the driver's seat.

The half an hour car ride was dead silent. It was as if Sebastian was refraining from breathing too loud with his shallow breaths, and Kale no doubt felt the awkwardness settling between us. I kept myself occupied by staring out the window, my hand itching to hold his.

When we arrived at his penthouse, he gave Kale the night off, so there we were, sitting on his bed with our gazes locked. Leaning on the headrest, Sebastian wrung his hands and wet his bottom lip with his tongue.

"Mira."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," I spoke gently, moving closer and placing my hand on his leg. "If you want to talk to me, we can do that. If you don't, just promise me that you'll speak to someone."

The silence reclaimed its throne and continued its reign for the next five minutes before Sebastian laid down and opened his arms. "Come here."

Laying my head on his chest, my arm draped over his abdomen as he stroked his hand down my back. "The cuddle pact is nearly over." I murmured sleepily, tilting my head upwards to meet his gaze once more.

A ghost of a smile plastered across his face and he nodded. "I'm glad I met you, pumpkin. These past few weeks with you have made me happy, and hey, my heart isn't broken anymore."

"Who broke your heart?"

Sebastian choked on a laugh. "Let's just say that karma has it out for me. I'm definitely a better person than I used to be." His fingers played with my hair again as I smelt his signature cologne. "Sweet dreams, pumpkin."

When the next morning came around, I was up early and was in the midst of making our breakfast when keys jingled at the front door. Turning my head, I watched as James walked in and closed the door behind me quietly.

"Mira." He spoke in surprise, his eyes red and puffy. "Is he sleeping?"

Nodding, I placed the glass in my hand down and proceeded to give James a hug, which he quickly accepted. He ducked his head to rest on my shoulder and pulled away after a few moments.

A smile of gratitude crept onto his face as he brought his hand up to wipe his face. Noticing the bruised knuckles on his right hand, I smiled stiffly. "How are you holding up?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, he cleared his throat. "I'm hanging in there. Look, I know you know Sebastian and I got into it, but my best friend is bloody stubborn."

Holding my hands up, I rendered James with a sympathetic smile. "I'm not going to intrude on your friendship, but I'm sure you'll get through it."

Smiling, James nodded. "I'm going to go talk to him."

Continuing to make breakfast, I accompanied it with some music through my earphones. I could easily tell that Sebastian was going through a rougher time than he was letting on, but I was no one to push him in directions he didn't want to go in.

Once I sliced the strawberries to put atop the waffles, Sebastian walked out of his room with James in tow. A towel was around his shoulders that caught the water droplets that fell from his hair as he walked passed me and leaned down to kiss my cheek on the way to the pot of coffee.

Turning to face James, I gave a small smile. "I made extra if you're staying."

"He is," Sebastian spoke up, bringing his mug to his lips as James smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Mira."

Laying the food on the plate for each of them, I poured myself some coffee and took a seat on a stool in front of the island. Meeting Sebastian's gaze, he rendered me with a breathtaking smile that had me gripping the fork harder than needed.

Finishing off my breakfast, I quickly texted Ada and made a mental note that I had to spend more time with her. The only time I saw her was in the mornings that I was at the apartment and she was leaving for work, which I thought had an effect on our friendship until she told me she understood.

"I've got to get to work, I'll see you later?"

Sebastian swallowed his mouthful before a small frown marred his features. "I have meetings for the majority of the day, but I'll swing by your place after that."

Standing up from his stool, he locked me into a quick hug. James gave me a wave and a smile before speaking. "Thank you again for breakfast, it was delicious."

Opening the door, Sebastian walked over to close it behind me after I met James' gaze once more. "No problem, it was good to see you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Blake, my coworker, stood near the counter as I wiped it down, a grin plastered on his face. We were talking about me opening my own restaurant, which was in the works. It would be a couple of months before everything was ready, but Blake seemed interested in it.

"What are you going to call it?"

"Esmeralda's. In honour of my mother."

He smiled and patted my shoulders consolingly before untying his apron. "That's amazing to hear, Mira." He hung up his apron and offered me one last smile. "My shift is over so I'll see you later."

Saying my goodbyes to him, I continued cleaning up as someone came in to start their shift. Blake and I normally have the same shifts, but he had started an hour earlier since he had something important to do.

Lena, who was a regular customer, brightened my day when she came in. Handing her the usual, she hung back to initiate a conversation. "I know whenever we hang out, something always comes up with Sebastian, but this time can be different. James and I are going to a birthday party thrown by one of my good friends, and I want you to come." She smiled and sipped on her latte. "You can bring Sebastian and someone else if you want."

I nodded but sighed. "I don't have anything to wear."

"I'll have something delivered to your apartment for you and Ada." She pivoted on her heel and gave me a warm smile. "Thanks for the latte, babe!"

Cameras took pictures of her as she exited the shop, but Kale stopped anyone that had cameras from coming him once they caught sight of me. I only had to get through one more hour, and I would be done for the day.

Before long, my shift ended and I was leaving with Kale by my side. He took a glance at his watch and tilted his head in my direction. "Where to now?"

Entering the car, I clipped my seatbelt in. "You haven't eaten since I started my shift, we can go get lunch?"

Nodding, he drove to his favourite bistro and soon enough, we were having lunch and talking as if we were old friends. Although Kale was my bodyguard, he had also become my friend. Of course, he was professional when it was needed and although I continued to receive attention, no one could get close enough to actually do anything unless I gave the say so.

I had picked up on Avery's matchmaker tendencies and asked Kale about his dates with Mara. Instantly, a grin lighted his features and he had a look in his eye that I knew I had whenever I looked at Sebastian.

"I'm not trying to rush anything as I did with my ex-wife, but I really like her. She's incredibly beautiful and we just click, at least I think we do."

Laughing, I sipped on my lemonade. "I've seen you two together, you do."

Finishing our lunch, Kale drove me back to my apartment and during the car journey, I had called Sebastian to ask whether he could be my plus one seeing as I was always his. Relief washed over me when he agreed because even though I wouldn't mind going by myself or with friends, I felt like Sebastian needed the distraction for one night.

Once I arrived home, Ada was finishing up some work in the living room. Placing what I got her from the restaurant on the table beside her, she gave me a warm smile and greeted me with a hug.

Kale sat on the opposite couch and opened up his laptop as I took a seat next to Ada.

"You busy tonight?" I questioned and upon her shaking her head, I continued. "Lena invited us to this event with James."

"I'm down."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Well don't you two look amazing." Sebastian greeted as he stood in front of my apartment beside his car. I noticed it wasn't his Lykan Hypersport, and grinned as he held his keys by the ring.

Descending down the steps, I took his keys and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Thank you so much, Sebastian." He stopped me from stepping away by placing his hand on my waist.

He rested his forehead against mine for a brief moment before he smiled softly. "I'm grateful you were there for me last night. You made things a lot better." Proceeding to take a step back, Sebastian regarded Ada with a smile. "I'll let you drive my car on the way back."

Ada squealed excitedly and made a move to hug Sebastian as he laughed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Seated in the passenger seat, Sebastian reiterated words he spoke when I first began to drive us to the address Lena gave me. "I trust you, pumpkin. But, this car is my baby, so please don't get too excited."

Laughing, I stopped at a traffic light and glanced at him momentarily. As I told him to not worry, I squeezed his hand with a chortle. "This car is worth more than my life, I'm definitely not going to crash it."

After turning the radio on, the rest of the car journey was filled with Ada and me singing at the top of our voices as Sebastian looked cautious every time one of my hands left the steering wheel.

When we arrived, cameras and flashes surrounded us as soon as we exited the car. Sebastian's bodyguards and Kale were quick to create a path towards the doors and Sebastian stayed glued to my side when I linked my arms with him and Ada.

Within seconds, we were passed security and inside the large mansion that was decorated, and anyone could tell no expenses were spared. I spotted Lena through the crowd and when we made eye contact she threw her arms up in the air and raced towards the three of us.

"I'm so glad you could make it!"

She kissed all of our cheeks, and when she attempted to hug all of us at the same time, I knew she was drunk as hell. Sebastian simply laughed and began to look around.

"Where's James, Lena?"

A giggle fell from her lips and she bit her finger. "Somewhere near the bar. He's talking to Weston Caldwell."

At that moment, my face blanched and I could feel my heart speeding up, but for entirely the wrong reasons. "Lena—"

"Here they come!"

"Do you know Weston, Mira?" He turned his body to face me and his hands were around my wrists. "Who is he to you?"

I swallowed and took a deep breath, wincing. "My cheating ex-boyfriend."