I feel myself being dragged back to the past and I’m desperately fighting to stay in the present.
My body becomes paralyzed as their screams become louder than the bullets that were flying around us.
Tears, hot and heavy, press at the back of my eyes as my jaw clenches.
I need to save them.
How do I fucking save them?
My heart stops beating as the air evaporates.
In the distance, the far off distance, I hear my name being spoken softly in an achingly familiar sweet voice. It reaches out to me. And I find myself fighting my way back to it, back to her.
I blink my eyes rapidly as I gasp for air. My whole body feels like it was under siege and now it has been set free.
I blink away the images of the past and swallow thickly.
“You’re here, Oak,” she says softly, coaxing, her hand gently holding onto mine as her other is pressed flat against my chest, over my heart. “You’re with me. I’m always with you.” The strings on my heart pull.
With a broken cry that sounds more like a tortured growl I gather her in my arms and crush her against me.
I feel her body against my own and it’s not enough. I want to feel her closer. Etch her in my skin so that she can soothe the parts of me that no one else can reach.
“It’s okay, Oak,” she soothes in a gentle tone that wreaks havoc upon my battered heart. “I got you. I’m not going anywhere.” Another broken growl slips pass my lips and I hold onto her tighter, if that’s possible. She places a chaste kiss on my sternum and then says to me, “Come with me.”
Little does she know I would follow her anywhere.
Loosening my hold on her she takes my hand and leads me through the opened door of my room.
Because Grace is the most thoughtful person I know she doesn’t take me to sit on the bed, where I wouldn’t be able to handle the comfort, but rather the deep seated plush chair that’s placed in the corner of my room.
She goes to put space between us but I don’t allow her to. I place my hands on her hips and bring her back to me. Needing her close, needing her more than I need air, I situate her on my lap and she fits perfectly.
Her fingers softly trace the lines of my face before she caresses my face in the palm of my hand. I lean into her touch and her eyes soften.
“I thought you would want some space.” Her voice is calm.
I tuck away a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “All I want is you.” My voice comes out gruff as I give her a piece of my heart and hope that she never gives it back.
Tipping her head up she places a tender kiss on my lips. “You’ll always have me, Oak.”
My heart twists as I look away from her. She has none of that. Taking my face in her hands she forces me to look in her eyes. “Talk to me, Oak. Tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours. Open up to me and let me fight alongside you.”
“Grace-”
She shakes her head adamantly. “You told me that you are the sword and I am the shield. That we fight our battles together.That doesn’t mean just my battles, Oak. That includes yours too.”
“I know that, Grace. I know.”
Her eyes beg me. “Then let’s fight this battle together.”
My eyes bleed into hers. My voice is pained as I ask, “And what if you decide this is a battle not worth fighting?”
“You are always worth fighting for, Oak. I’ve been fighting for you since the beginning and now that I have you I’ll stay fighting to keep you.”
Those words spoken from her lips with absolute conviction makes her more beautiful to me. I see her love shinning brightly for me in her eyes.
And she deserves to have that love shinning back at her.
