Leaning close to her, I wrap my around her front and set my chin on her shoulder. Looks like I can’t keep my hands to myself anymore.
“They…know…about…me.” She pants.
Panic contorts Marie’s face. “No! They don’t know about you. They are just talking about Heath and you and how amazing you look together. Really. You don’t need to worry about them. They know nothing about what happened over the weekend?—”
The more Marie talks, the stiffer Rose gets.
I glare at Marie. “Stop talking!”
She opens her mouth to fight me, but one glance at Hope has her mouth sewed shut.
I mumble curses, knowing all that information will trigger Hope. She didn’t tell us for months because she didn’t want to be judged and now the whole school is gossiping about her. In the hallways earlier, she looked like she was going to have a panic attack if I didn’t arrive. Everyone was staring at her, pointing at her and talking shit about her. While I know how to shut up people, she doesn’t. All she knows is how to hide.
I cup her cheeks and force her to look at me. Her gaze aligns with me and it’s brimmed with big, fat tears that are ready to be spilled.
“Don’t cry.” I grit my teeth. “It’s okay.”
“Everyone knows,” she croaks out and reaches for my t-shirt.
“It doesn’t fucking matter.”
“But—” What comes out is a gasp that turns into panting. In seconds she’s fighting for breathing, putting a tear right through the centre of my heart. The entire world be damned. I hate it when she cries. “I…”
“Listen to me. I want you to breathe, Rose.”
She shakes her head but I tip back her head and make her look at me.
“Take a deep, long breath. Now.” I demand.
She yields under my authority and compels herself to do what I ask of her.
Closing her eyes, she takes a long, deep breath and slowly lets it out. I keep talking to her and she listens to me.
“You’re doing great, Rose.” I caress her jawline and her eyes open and stare at me. “Just five more times.”
She nods.
I move forward and press a tender kiss against her temple. “Good girl.”
She doesn’t react and it hurts.
I look to the side and find that Marie and Sebastian are no longer there, but standing a couple of feet away from us to give us privacy. I almost smile at their thoughtfulness.
Two minutes later, Hope looks up at me and she looks much better than before. My palms are still cupping her beautiful face that I like so much.
“Better?” I ask, wiping away all the traces of her tears.
She weakly nods. “I’m sorry?—”
I press my lips against her and sweetly kiss her. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Footsteps near us and we both look at our friends.
Marie shoots a smile to Hope. “We can eat at the diner.”
