“You’ll become yourself again.” I gripped his arm again, pulling him back to me. “But even stronger. This will make you stronger. I can already see it in you. I believe in you. I believe in you so much, Phoenix.”
He closed his eyes, pulled out of my grasp and walked away, taking the heat, the emotion, but leaving a moment that I’d never forget.
“Enough of that.” He said.
“Okay.”
“Thank you. Let’s continue.” He took his place on the couch.
I nodded, swallowed the lump in my throat and slipped back behind my desk surprised that he wanted to keep going. Ironically, I was the one who’d become an emotional mess. But Phoenix didn’t give up once he’d set his mind to something.
“Okay.” I sipped my water, and took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s focus on triggers. Emotionally, what sets you off?”
“Anything. Everything.”
“Is there anything in particular? Something that you’ve noticed sets you off more than others?”
“You.”
My heart skipped in my chest.
“What exactly about me sets you off?”
“Your independence. Your fearlessness.”
“Some people might think independence and courage is a good trait in another human.”
“I said fearlessness. An entirely different animal.”
“I disagree.”
“Courage is the ability to face a fear head on and take action, despite the threat. Fearlessness is not acknowledging the threat in the first place. Very different.”
“And what don’t you like about my independence?”
“That I’m not part of it.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that it took away the implication of it. Ofus.
“Rose, let me secure your house, your property. Let me handle all of it.”
I dropped my head in my hands and groaned. “I don’t know what’s happening here, Phoenix. I don’t know what’s happening between us. I need to figure it out. But one thing I know I can handle is getting my house secured. I don’t need you to do all that. I can handle it.”
“Like I can handle my recovery by myself?”
Touché.
He slid his elbows onto his knees and leaned forward.
“Someone broke into your house. Someone videoed you without your approval. Andrew was stabbed to death after discovering the camera. I believe you are in danger, Rose. And if you don’t accept my help to ensure your safety, I will find someone else to do it.”
“It’s not your job to protect me, Phoenix.”
“I’ve made it my job.”
“It’s my job to keep you safe, to keep you happy. To keep you comfortable, content. Satisfied. It’s my job, as your man, to control it. It’s my job to keep you mine.”His words from the evening before echoed in my head.
A moment slid by while we stared at each other.
