Home.
Was I meant to meet fear face-to-face because of that word? It slithered beneath my skin, carving itself into my veins, making ahomethere.
“Um, I want to go back to your apartment, please.” There, that was easier. The quick, dejected look on Crescent’s face when I said it, though? Hurt more than any fucking kick to the ribs Jude had ever given me.
Chapter Eighteen
The entire way home,my stomach had been killing me. I felt bloated and heavy, like my pants were too tight to handle how much I’d gorged myself. My brain felt sluggish and slow, every thought eluding me in a race I hadn’t known started. I was in last place, never reaching the ribbon.
Now that we were parked, I didn’t want to move. Not a muscle in my body wanted to respond to my brain, too many signals misfiring to keep up with.
Crescent started to open his door, but paused. He turned toward me, his eyebrows pulled down with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“My, uh…” I cleared my throat, trying to clear the shakiness of it. “My stomach hurts.”
“Did you eat too much?”
It wasembarrassing how much pain I was in. “Definitely.”
“Okay, let’s just get you in the apartment, and I think I have something that may help.”
I closed my eyes, trying to fight through another wave of unforgiving nausea. It was a monumental battle to step out of the car, each step one closer to hurling on the asphalt. Crescent carried the bags of clothes so that I could go and lie on the couch as soon as we got inside.
Oh, the blessed couch. I fell against the cushions, resting the back of my arm on my forehead. Unfortunately, lying like this only exacerbated the full feeling in my stomach. I groaned, shifting my body in every way I could think of.
Crescent came up beside me, rubbing my arm gently. “Lie on your side, Sunshine. It’ll help. Let me get you some antacids and see if that’ll help any.”
I rolled onto my side and nodded, never opening my eyes. It’d been a long time since I’d overeaten like this. It was something I’d forgotten could happen, honestly.
After I chewed through an antacid, Crescent kneeled on the floor beside me. He stroked through my hair, never calling me out for the dramatics. I sure felt dramatic. He didn’t seem to think so, or at least he didn’t mind, because he stayed by my side until I could finally open my eyes.
The shame clouded my vision, blurring everything in front of me. Deep, golden eyes became my center point, guiding me back into whatever reality I’d been dropped into. After so many years, I’d given up hope on ever seeing it again.
Freedom.
Etched into his irises, written in shades of brown and gold, was a script so indecipherable that only my heart could understand it. It spoke to me and the life I’d hadbefore this one. The life where I’d had everything and more, tinged with nothing but pure, white innocence, a yellow center the only pop of color. Crescent was, and always had been, my guide to somewhere new.
A decade of nothing but empty, dark shadows, and yet there was a crescent moon rising in the distance, beautiful enough to paint.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He looked up at me, the words my soul ached for dancing in his eyes. “For what?”
“Not giving up on me.”
“Scoot over.”
I looked at him, confused. “What?”
He stood up, looking down at me. “Scoot over, Sunshine. I need some room.”
“Uh, okay.” I moved backward, though there wasn’t much space for me to do so.
It took some maneuvering and a lot more scooting, but Crescent crawled onto the couch with me, gently wrapping his arms around me. He cradled my head against his shoulder, a palm resting on the back of my neck.
Were we cuddling right now?
“I want you to listen to me.” His voice sounded different when we were like this. It rumbled straight into my ear, more vibration than sound. I could feel the intent of his words thrumming through me, shaking me to my very core. “I never gave up on you in the first place. It killed me to walk away back then. Do you understand that?”
