Seeing that he can still joke around gives me hope that he’s going to survive whatever happened.
“It was nice to meet you, Kara,” Asher says.
“You too.” I smile.
Asher walks back to the group of guys and a girl, who wraps her arms around his waist, as I lead Silas out of the bar.
We walk to my car in silence, then hop in. Once I start the engine, the radio plays a commercial, so I reach for my phone and play the song—our song—hoping it will make him smile.
When he hears the song start, he leans his head back on the headrest, turning to look at me. He reaches for my hand, holding me tight as we listen to Lee Brice talk about being one of them girls.
Without letting go of his hand, I use my left hand to put the car in drive and pull away from the curb.
The song ends, and as another one begins, I turn toward his house.
“Just drive,” he barely says, not even moving his head from the headrest.
I squeeze his hand tighter as my acknowledgment to his request and turn away from his house and toward some back roads that I like to drive on to just get away from it all.
We spend the next half hour just driving around, not saying a word and listening to whatever song happens to come on.
Though he still hasn’t said much, I can tell he’s calmed down a little by the way his jaw isn’t clenched so tight, so I figure it’s time to head back to his place and see if we can get him some food.
He doesn’t protest as I take the road leading to his home, and when we pull in the drive, he turns to me.
“Thank you,” he whispers before leaning up to kiss me.
“Anytime.”
I cut the engine, and we exit the car, then enter his house in silence. When he reaches for my hand and leads me toward his bedroom, I get the sense it isn’t because he wants to get sexy, but I follow him, knowing I’ll be there in any capacity that he needs me to be.
He takes his shoes off, so I remove mine. When he climbs on the bed, not removing any of his clothes, I do the same. As I lie down next to him, he guides me to lie on my back, then wraps his large frame around mine and places his head on my chest.
We lie like this for a while, him holding me tight while I rub his back and arm.
My heart instantly rips open wide when I feel my shirt getting wet from the tears he’s crying.
“I couldn’t save him,” he finally says as the dam breaks, and he can’t hold his emotions back anymore.
I just hold him, letting him know he’s safe with me and allowing him the space to cry all he needs. I’m trying to be strong for him while he shakes from the sobs he’s releasing and holds me so tight that I can barely breathe.
I still don’t know what happened tonight, but if this is his reality, I’m glad I can be here to help him through it.
20
Silas
I wakeup in Kara’s arms, more thankful than ever to have her in my life. Yesterday was hard, and having her by my side helped more than she’ll ever know. I’m still absolutely fucked up from the first tragic call I was on from months ago, but at least I know with her by my side, I’ll get over this much faster than I did last time.
She feels me stir and kisses the top of my head.
That’s when I realize we’re still in our clothes from last night and lying on top of my bed.
“Good morning,” she says.
I inhale, then move to my side of the bed and pillow so I can see her better. “Thank you for being here for me last night.”
She turns to face me. “I’m glad they called me. Are you feeling better?”
