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Adagio's red violet eyes snapped open as she sat up from her bed, breathing heavily as her heart continued to race rapidly. She moves to the side and notices that the pillows and sheets were drenched in sweat, a lot more than she's used to seeing.
"No, not again," The woman whimpered, body shivering non stop and hot tears sliding onto her soft olive cheeks.
She hid her head into the covers, sobbing into her pillow as the memories began to suddenly flood her mind like a pest that refuses to leave no matter how many times she tries to get rid of it.
It was about her previous boyfriends, who would aggressively yell at her if she made even the smallest mistake or attempted to vent her emotions to them and get called " Weak " for having those feelings afterwards, who would brutally beat her until she couldn't stand up if she showed any signs of any imperfections that are deemed " Unladylike" to them, who would force her into uncomfortable situations, even at gunpoint.
And the worst part of all of this; Adagio's so called ' mother' made her stay in these horrible relationships, which was the hardest thing to do since she was compelled to do so because it was against the rules to be single at home and her 'mother' wanted her to be with a man only she approves of and not a ' loser' that Adagio picked herself.
Adagio grimaced at the part. She ultimately despised that rule wholeheartedly, wishing that she had mustered up the courage to confront her mother about that stupid rule.
Not only that, but she also wished she was braver to speak up and escape those awful relationships sooner rather than enduring the abuse until one of her boyfriends discarded her like a heap of garbage and then having to deal with the harsh criticisms and whooping with the whip from her mother.
Even if she's now safe in Florida with the Fantasy family and far away from those who abused her in the past, Adagio felt completely worthless, like no longer had a purpose in this world and being forced to relive the events in last night's dream made it more disheartening for her. All she wants to do at this moment is to lay in bed and hide herself in the covers, waiting for the world to swallow her whole and to never, ever spit her out.
Unfortunately, Adagio couldn't do that. She had no choice but to disregard what had occurred and get on with her day. What if someone suspects that she's not at work and discovers that she's stuck in bed, despondent, unwilling to talk or be around anybody or do anything? She just has to act normal like nothing happened.
Adagio took a deep breath before leaping out of bed, changing into her work clothes and opening the door, only to hear the footsteps of people downstairs.
Shit, there's a funeral going on and no way in hell is Adagio going to interrupt it by running down the stairs and exiting the front door.
So, discreetly, she teleports to work each day, continuing to ignore that one nightmare as best as she could to remain professional, so that her co-workers, as well as the customers, won't notice that she's upset and then teleported back to her room at Tender Endings and keep to herself for the rest of the night. It worked for two weeks.
Until one day, as she was restocking the shelves, the images of that particular nightmare reappeared in her mind, making it very difficult to concentrate on her current task as her heart raced rapidly and her hands began to shake uncontrollably. Still, she continued to stock the shelves with boxes of cereal.
Then, Adagio thought about Pete, her current boyfriend and oh boy did the thought of her attempting to vent to him terrified her beyond belief. Deep down, she wants to tell him what's been going on and how all of this is affecting her. She has to tell someone or else these negative emotions will be bottled up inside her until she can't hold it in anymore and ends up causing more damage to her psyche.
But due to that said dream, Adagio is afraid he would yell back at her, beat her till she's unable to stand or walk, ordering her to " Grow up and get over it", just like her previous 'lovers' would.
Which is why every time she's with him, Adagio refuses to speak up about her bad emotions and instead, usually changes the subject to something more positive, like her music hobby and sweets treats. She's been faking a smile and hiding her feelings in a way Pete couldn't detect them, which is a challenge considering he's a fucking empath. Adagio felt guilty for keeping her innermost worries and secrets from him, since he's constantly venting to her about the stuff that's bothering him, no matter how ridiculous the topic was and she would stay silent, too scared to even mutter a single word.
Now, she's scared that both her distrust and overthinking might ruin their relationship, because it isn't fair that Pete is openly talking about his problems to her and she's hiding hers from him. It wasn't fair to him and she feels guilty about it, believing she's a bad girlfriend and Pete is better off without her.
Then, Adagio comes out of her trance to look at her beeping smart watch. No, is it really time for her to clock out now? She finished up her task, punched out for the day and spirited out of the store as fast as she could, immediately making her way to Tender Endings in the hopes that no one's home yet.
Fuck, both the car and Annie's bike are here, which means everyone is home, which in turn only added to the woman's already high level of anxiety. As a result, Adagio turned invisible and flew through the door in a last ditch effort to avoid being spotted by anyone. She tiptoed up the stairs.
So far, the coast is clear and she became visible once again.
Then, Adagio hears footsteps coming this way and using her mind's eyes, she saw Pete walking out of the kitchen and making his way upstairs. Her heart starts to pound again and her stomach was doing violent flips.
"Please no…" the woman pleaded with her voice lowered, as Pete drew near the stairwell. Now, she's truly scared, big time and this caused her stomach to unleash a deep rumble. Adagio dashed into the bathroom, releasing all the pressure in a way her body knew best into the bowl.
Five minutes later, Adagio cleans herself up, flush the toilet and proceeds to wash her hands. She splashes her face with ice cool water. She then slid down the wall, curling up into a ball soiled in tears. Why? Why did she let her overthinking make her so frightened to the point of getting sick? Why would anyone love a pathetic soul like herself, who can't even face her own boyfriend?
Adagio remain on the floor for the next twenty minutes, before forcing herself to stand up and casually exited the bathroom, only to be greeted by Pete's worry gaze as he took note of her tear-stained cheeks, "Oh my goodness, Ada, what's wrong?" He asked in a calm voice, "Did you get food poisoning again?"
She didn't want to respond, unable to get the correct words out of her mouth. If only this was just a wave of food poisoning and not her anxiety acting up. The only thing she could do is say, " Nothing, I'm fine" telepathically while she twiddled her fingers and avoided eye contact.
Naturally, Pete sensed that she wasn't telling the truth, "It sure doesn't sound like nothing. You sure? Can we talk about it?" But he didn't want to force her, "If you don't want to, that's fine. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
She want to say no. She desperately wanted to run to her room, to hide in the covers, never be seen again…
However, unable to contain her feelings any longer, the woman finally gave in and nods "Yes". She needs somebody to talk to and if the only available person is Pete, that is the risk she's willing to take. It's time to let all these negative emotions out.
So, Adagio follows Pete into his bedroom, shutting the door behind them so they can have this conversation in private. Pete sits down on the bed and Adagio rests her head on her boyfriend's lap and allows him to gently stroke her thick, wavy, red violet locks in an attempt to soothe her.
Now feeling a bit more secure and at ease, Adagio is finally ready to tell Pete everything that happened, with Pete paying attention to every word that comes out of his girlfriend's mouth.
"I-I had a nightmare about my exes again…"
"Oh," This is the first time he's heard about Adagio's ex-boyfriends. He didn't think too much about it and focused only on his girlfriend's story, "Did they do something to you?"
Adagio nods, trying to clear the lump forming in her throat, "They, umm…" This part was difficult to put into words, "They were abusive because I'm not perfect."
"Not perfect?"
"They insulted me and called me an idiot for making the smallest of mistakes. They would beat the living shit out of me if I broke into tears or expressed any 'weak' emotions," Her voice got more hoarse and she's unable to stop the tears falling out from her eyes and landing onto Pete's pants, "I was forced by my so called 'mother' and she would bully me too if I didn't stay with them."
"Oh dear."
It was getting worse by the minute, but Pete remained by her side and continued to listen.
Then, Adagio mentions the one part that broke his heart, "One day, I saw you in a separate dream, doing the same thing those bastards did to me…"
And once she got into more detail about the abuse, Pete's body starts to tremble and he immediately bursts into tears. He could never imagine committing the same, horrific acts on someone he truly cares about and the idea of him hurting his girl in any manner made him sick to his stomach. He wanted to puke but his body simply wouldn't allow it. This only made him want to protect Adagio ever more from the byproducts of this sick and twisted world they live in so she won't get hurt again, regardless of how much of a coward he still is.
"You're not mad at me for venting, are you?" She asked, with puffy, innocent red violet eyes.
Pete smiles at her, rubbing the tears off his cheeks with a tissue, "Why would I be mad at you for that? All you did was share your feelings with me."
But she couldn't help it, "You're not going to yell at me or slap me in the fa-"
Pete gently shushes her, placing his finger on her lips, "No sweetie, I would never treat you in such a way. What those men did to you is completely unforgivable and they never deserved to be with a gorgeous lady like yourself."
Adagio sat up, confused, " Me? Gorgeous? But I'm just a loser who's fat, ugly and gross."
"Please don't say that about yourself, because none of that is true. You're a very special and talented person, Adagio. I hear you play your saxophone during our off days and the beautiful songs you create are music to my ears. I would listen to you all day if I wanted to."
"Is that so?" Adagio cheeks turn bright red. Did her boyfriend really complement her music? What strange fuzzy feeling is this? "You're always welcome at the coffee shop I play at if you want to hear my tunes."
"I'll take your word for it." He switched back to the previous topic, kissing her nose. "Adagio, the music isn't the only reason you're special. You're kind, funny, a bit feisty and overall, a remarkable person who always puts a smile on everyone's face." He gazes into her tearful eyes, "And I think you shouldn't be afraid to express yourself just because some crappy men from your past don't like it. You keep being you, Adagio. Remember that."
Adagio moves closer to her boyfriend, thanking him for the wonderful comments and lifting her spirits. She pecks his forehead while Pete rubs her back in the soft, comforting motion that she knows and loves. He whispers in his girlfriend's ear, giving her tingles like the ASMR videos she always watches," I'll always be here for you, my love. If you ever need to talk about something that's bothering you, I'll be there to listen."
His soothing voice only made Adagio embrace him longer and tighter. The light, yet sweet aroma of his suit comforts her. It felt so very different being around Pete compared to her exes. There was no screaming (Well, not at her), no hitting or other forms of criticism. He wasn't angry at her for venting nor did he force her to spew out the details against her will. All he did was listen sympathetically, shower her with compliments and even gave her a kiss afterwards. Pete is not a dangerous, abusive monster, far from it. He is sweet, loving, compassionate and only wanted to treat her with the utmost respect, the same way she treats him.
Adagio is still not used to receiving all this kindness from an actual man, but now, she truly feels safe talking about that kind of stuff to Pete and only wanted to stay in his warm arms for the rest of her life. They continued to embrace and kiss each other until they parted.
Then, Pete makes a suggestion, "Hey, how about we go eat at that one restaurant you love so much. I bet eating your favorite meal will lift your spirits."
Adagio smiled back and said, "I'd like that very much."
She left his room with a flirtatious yet shy wink and entered her room to change from her work clothes and into a tight pink crop top that exposed her cute belly, her usual blue jean shorts and lilac jellies, feeling confident in showing a bit of skin tonight. When she returns to Pete's bedroom, changed from his black suit he wears during funerals and into something a bit more comfy: a long reddish-brown long sleeve shirt and tan pants.
"You look so cute." Comments Pete on her outfit.
Adagio blushes, "Oh, thank you. This is just something I put together."
"The outfit still looks good on you." His eyes now fixated on her stomach, "I never thought I would be seeing your adorable belly."
She smirks, "Enjoy it because you deserve it."
"Ready to go?" He asked with simplestly.
"Yes," She replied, holding onto the strap of her purse.
And with his arm around her shoulders, Pete and Adagio leave the home and head off to the Mexican restaurant they first went to on their very first date. She devours her large helping of chicken enchiladas with joy while Pete happily watches his girlfriend eat as he munches on a burger.
"Want a bite?" Adagio offers, with a forkful of the food.
"Sure. Can't hurt to try." And he took that bite.
Later on, they proceeded to the park, where Adagio sat down on her boyfriend's lap as he wrapped his arms around her under a tree, watching the stars shining brightly in the night sky as they casually told each other stories that made them each other laugh.
And before heading home, Pete and Adagio stop by a local dessert shop to share an enormous cup of sweet cream.
Once home, they jumped onto the couch. Adagio gets on top of Pete and the two make out with each other passionately, like no one was watching, with the occasional shifting positions from top to bottom and vice versa. They were in love before, but this time, there's now a genuine spark and Adagio felt it more so than ever since the bad memories of her love life were no longer clinging to her being and she can finally be intimate with Peter Fantasy, the man she absolutely loves and who gives her the sense of security she deserves.
She didn't care how awkward he could be at times. To her, it was cute and it brought back memories of the first time she had a crush on him, making her heart skip a beat. It felt nice and she secretly didn't want it to end.
Fifteen minutes later…
"C-Can I sleep with you tonight?" Adagio asked politely, giving her boyfriend innocent puppy eyes.
"Yes, Ada. Thanks to you, I feel snuggly tonight." Replied Pete, tenderly, with a yawn.
So the couple runs upstairs to the respective rooms and a few minutes later, Adagio walks into Pete's bedroom in her pink and white polka dot pajamas, with sleepy eyes. She jumps onto the bed and draws closer to Pete, burying her face in his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he embraces her tightly.
"I love you, Adagio." Pete whispers in his girlfriend's ear, "I'll make sure you have only sweet dreams here."
"I love you too, mi amor." Adagio whispers back, "And thank you for today."
And he kissed the top of her head, "You're welcome, sweetie. Get some rest."
Tomorrow, both Pete and Adagio plan to go to the beach to spend some quality time with Trophy, Annie and Baba. For now, they kiss their goodnights and drift off to sleep in each other's arms, awaiting for what the future has in store for the both of them.
Artwork by me.