Creed’s brows furrow as he reads my lips, then his eyes widen a fraction as if in realization before softening. He carefully shifts his position to sit closer to me on the edge of the bed.
“Thisisreal, Collins. I promise you.” His fingers slowly graze over the material against my wrists. “These are on for your safety, Stardust.I’m so sorry, baby,” he explains. “I’m not supposed to take them off, but I can’t fucking stand to see you tied up and struggling like this.” The sound of velcro ripping breaks the silence of the room as cool air greets each of my wrists. “Just promise me you won’t try to get up, okay?”
My brain still feels foggy. I’m trying so hard to understand what he’s said and if any of this is actually happening, but I nod anyway.
Now unrestrained, I feel a little more at ease. I look at Creed and take him in.Reallylook him over. I have no idea what to believe anymore when it comes to reality and what my mind has conjured.
Though, I’m starting to believe what I’m seeing because Creed looks so tired with dark circles under his eyes, butGod,he’s still so beautiful. I’ve missed him. His protection. His familiarity.
I pull my hands into my lap, rubbing at my sore wrists. Creed’s eyes track the movement before traveling up to my face to meet my weary gaze. “How do I know this is real and not all in my mind?”
He thinks for a moment before an idea must spark behind his eyes because shifts to face me on the bedside but makes no other move to touch me. He holds out each hand to me, palms facing up.
My brows curve downward.
“Feel me,” he offers so quietly, I almost don’t hear it.
A tear falls.
“You’re cruel.”
“What do you mean?”
Another tear.
“Because none of this is real. How could I possibly touch you?”
He’s quiet for a moment, his expression contemplative. “Just try. What’s the worst that could happen, Stardust? I need you to know that you’re safe. You’refree. That I’ve got you and I am never letting you go again. But the power is all yours to prove that.” He dips his chin, nodding to his outstretched hands. “Trust in your senses, baby. What do you see?”
I suck in a breath, wincing at the pain in my ribs. In the background, I can tell I’m no longer inthatroom, and all I can see is Creed before me. “You.”
His eyes light up with my single, whispered word. “What can you hear?”
Closing my eyes, I listen. I can hear my own heart pounding in my ears, the hum of the machines around me, but more than anything I hear him. “You.”
When I open my eyes, he nods with the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips. He takes a shuddering breath and wiggles his fingers before me. “And what can you feel?”
I look down at my own hands where they rest in my lap. My arms are covered in bruises and various bandages. My fingertips are still tingling when I flex them, feeling the rough material of my hospital gown. Steeling myself, I lift my hands.
Creed sits stock still—I don’t think he’s even breathing—as I reach for him. I do my best to ignore the way my wounds pull tight as I outstretch my arms toward Creed, desperate to touch him, to make sure this isn’t all in my head.
I fucking hope this is real.
The moment I feel the rough calluses of his warm hands against mine, the same hands that have touched my face countless times before, a soundless sob rips from my chest and the dam breaks.
I grip his hands tighter, clinging to my lifeline as I manage to whisper, “You, Creed.”I breathe. “It’s you.”
He’s real.Thisis real. He’s here.
Creed is quick to shift until he’s sitting right next to me in this tiny hospital bed. Careful to avoid my injuries, I’m engulfed by his strong arms, and he pulls until I’m wrapped up safely in his embrace.
Finally, here, I release it all. All the tears, all the pain, all of the fear I felt while trapped within the clutches of Guy’s abuse. The hurt and helplessness I felt in having to endure listening to him hurt Riley day in and day out. For Riley to take hit after hit, his life slowly stolen from him, until?—
“Oh, God,”I gasp, unable to breathe.
Creed pulls back, leveling his gaze on me and brushing my hair away from my face before swiping at my never-ending tears. “What?” he asks frantically. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head in his grip. “It’s…he’s--Riley…h-he was–”
