“Tomorrow, then,” he says.
As he raises a shirt to put on me, I wince from the movement of lifting my arms.
“I’m sorry,” he says, and I say nothing in response before I lower my arms. He leads me to my bed, and when he lifts the covers, I climb in, then he pulls them up over me. “Do you want me to stay?” he asks, hovering over me.
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation. I want that. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to feel the protection of someone else. And I’m afraid that tonight, of all nights, I need it the most.
He walks silently around to the other side of the bed, dropping his towel before he climbs in beside me.
“Where are your beads?” I ask, noticing he isn’t wearing them and remembering them falling into the dirt after he choked Rylas.
He pulls me in so my head rests in the crook of his arm, and I wrap myself around him as much as I can without hurting my midsection.
“I don’t need them anymore” is all he says before he mumbles, “Go to sleep.”
And it isn’t long before my eyes, which feel so fucking heavy, close.
And all I can dream about is… her.
FORTY-FOUR
ARLO
Confidential — Personal Use Only
OBSERVATIONS:
Experienced unexpected emotional discomfort.
Felt unsettled and unsure how to process feelings…
She didn’t sleep soundly. Multiple times, she thrashed in my arms and woke up screaming. I calmed her down each time. Seeing her in pain was not something I had on my list of things to do.
When she finally wakes with no issue, she looks up at me with tired eyes. “It’s all true, isn’t it?” I nod just as a knock sounds at her front door.
She tenses, and I get out of bed and walk into the bathroom to slide my pants back on before I go to see who’s there. When I open the door, Sebastian is on the other side, his eyes red and puffy.
“I just found out. Does she know about Delaney?” He sniffles.
“Yes.”
He wipes his eyes and peers past me into the apartment. “Can I come in?” he asks, and I step to the side, knowing Cora will want to see him. And hoping she doesn’t tell him anything because if she does, I’m afraid of the consequences—for all of us.
The Forsaken has been my home for the last decade—a place where I have always felt safest. Where I could indulge in all my fucked-up ways. Even though I don’t want to lose that, with her, I don’t feel the need to cater to my darkness as I once did. It’s like she quiets those parts of me with her acceptance of them. I told her about the worst parts of myself, and she’s still here. Even though I’m currently at her place, I’m refusing to leave her side until I know she’s okay.
I hear them both crying as I walk into the kitchen. Grabbing whatever ingredients I can find, I start making breakfast. Cora didn’t eat last night, and now she needs food. She needs to rest and heal.
I listen to their hushed conversation as I mix pancake batter and then pour it onto the griddle. Sebastian can’t believe what’s happened, and all Cora does is cry. I find some strawberries, cut them up, and then plate them before setting them on the counter next to the maple syrup. When I turn the corner into the hall, I find her standing in her bedroom doorway, her eyes puffy as she wipes them.
“You cooked?” she asks, surprised.
“Yes. You need to eat before you do anything today.”
“I can’t eat.” She grimaces.
“I’ll feed you.” I wave toward the counter, and she shuffles over and takes a seat as Sebastian exits the bedroom. “Hungry?” I ask him. “I cooked enough for you both.”
“We need to arrange funeral stuff,” Sebastian announces as he plates up his food.
