And a massive part of that was because ofhim.
His next words broke through my thoughts like a wrecking ball. “Are you feeling up to having that talk?”
I felt my heart stutter.The talk. I was far too curious at that point,needingto know what he wanted to say, even if I might not be ready for it.
So, I nodded.
Chapter 35
Five days.
That’s how long I’d been waiting to say everything I needed to say to Haley.
Hell, longer than that, if I were being honest.
I could have talked to her in the hospital, but she was already overwhelmed. She was in pain, hopped up on meds, and exhausted, drifting in and out of sleep. It just didn’t feel right.
But now, things felt different. She was here with me, her presence filling this space with a sense of belonging I couldn’t ignore. And I was ready to say it out loud, to lay my feelings and my heart bare.
“Can I say something…before you start?” she asked quietly.
I nodded. “Of course.”
“I need you to know how grateful I am.” Her eyes locked on mine, shimmering with unshed tears as her hands twisted together tightly in her lap. “You…you saved me.” Her voice quivered, every word heavy with raw gratitude and emotion.
“I didn’t–”
“Youdid,” she cut me off. “I know you won’t take credit. I know you’ll say it wasn’tjustyou. But if you hadn’t found me...if you hadn’t done what you did…there’s a very real chance things could have gone much differently.Yousaved me, Blake.”
She was right—I wouldn’t take all of the credit. But I wasn’t going to argue with her either because I knew there was no point.
I swallowed, my hand shaking as I reached up to cradle her cheek from where I was crouched before her. “I was just returning the favor, baby girl.”
She tearfully smiled. “I didn’t save you.”
“Yes, you did.” I said it without hesitation, my voice steady. No doubt. No embellishment. “You’ve been saving me all along, Haley. Every day, in ways you may not even realize.”
It was a simple, undeniable truth. Maybe she didn’t know it—and I’d been blind to it at first—but from that first night, she’d been silently piecing me together, helping to mend what I was sure was unfixable.
My jaw tightened as I swallowed the sharp ache. “I was treading in darkness. I waslost, Haley. And you were that single, stubborn flicker of hope that sliced through the shadows and pulled me back. I know I’m still a little fractured, and I still have work to do on myself…healing that I need to do. But now, I feel like Ican. Because ofyou. Because you’re my refuge. Because you make me want tobebetter. Because you charged through and broke down every wall, even when you didn’t have to.”
The first tears began to slip down her cheeks, and my thumb brushed a few away.
“I’ve never felt this way before. And, for the sake of transparency, when I realized the extent of how I felt, it scared the hell out of me. But the idea of never seeing this thing betweenus through scared me even more.” Her breath hitched, and I could see her bottom lip tremble slightly. “Can you do something for me?”
She held my stare and nodded. “Y-Yeah.”
“Say it.” Her brow furrowed with slight confusion at my request. “What you always say to me. Say it,” I repeated.
Another moment of hesitation passed before her expression shifted, understanding dawning on her as to what I meant. “Tell me…” She trailed off, and I nodded for her to continue. “Tell me something real,” she whispered.
Tears pricked my eyes. “I never knew I was capable of loving someone this much. And I’m sorry I was too hardheaded to admit it sooner, but I’m saying it now, Haley.I love you. I love you so fucking much ithurts. And I swear, I’ll spend every goddamn day of my life trying to show you how much I mean it, proving it to you over and over again, so youneverdoubt it, not for a single second. If you’ll let me, I’ll love you the way youdeserveto be loved.”
Haley’s breath hitched again as more tears fell, and she leaned forward, arms shaking slightly as she looped them around my neck. My arms gently wrapped around her, careful of her still sore body as I pulled her in.
“I love you, too, Blake,” she whispered between uneven breaths.
I closed my eyes as a warmth I’d never felt wrapped around me with those words. She loved me. Haley Callahanlovedme. I couldn’t fathom what I’d done to deserve her, and maybe I never would. But I knew there would never be a day I took this woman or the love and peace she gave me for granted. I was going to treat her like the goddamn treasure she was.
