She sighs. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
I squeeze her hand once. “You’ll never have to worry about that.”
Her feet slow, and I stop to look at her. She tips her head up to look at me, her eyes wide with gratitude. “Thank you, Ryder. You have no idea what that means to me.”
“I think I do.” I give her a half-grin and start walking again. “Let’s get you home.”
When we get back to the tower, Lily is completely exhausted and has a headache. Unfortunately, I remember that from my panic attacks as well.
“You should go rest,” I tell her.
She shakes her head, but I guide her to sit on her bed. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll go read at the kitchen table. You need to rest.” I look at her outfit. “Do you want to change?”
She looks down at her clothes and sighs. “I worked so hard on picking a cute outfit.”
“And it is. But probably not comfortable for resting.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
I go over to her dresser and start opening drawers. “Where are your?—”
“Not that one!” She squeals, and I slam it shut in alarm, looking at her.
She blows a breath through her bottom lip. “Those are my…undergarments.”
“Ah.” I raise a brow. “I do live with Gwen, you know. I’ve seen girls’ underwear before.”
Her eyes roll up to the ceiling. “Still weird.”
I huff a laugh, and she says, “Bottom drawer on the left.” I follow her instructions and find a set of cozy purple pajamas.
I hand them to her and gesture at the door. “I’ll go wait while you change. Just call for me if you need anything.”
“Ryder.” My name comes out of her mouth like a whisper.
I kneel in front of her, my eyes level with hers. “Yeah?”
“How did you know…”
“How to help you?”
Her eyes shine with tears, and she nods.
“Therapy,” I say simply. “I learned how to manage my own panic attacks with the help of my therapist.”
“So you’ve felt like this before, too.” She’s not asking; she’s stating it.
I swallow. “Yeah.”
She’s deep in thought, but her eyes are piercing into mine. “Maybe…maybe I should try therapy.”
I lift the side of my mouth in a grin, feeling proud of her for coming to that conclusion on her own. “I think that’s a great idea.”
She exhales, and I can sense her relief. “Thank you,” she says.
Anything for you,I think but don’t dare say. I just nod and leave the room, stepping into the stone hallway to wait for Lily to get dressed.
Fifteen seconds later, I hear the echo of the heavy door slam on the bottom floor, and feet rushing up the stairs.
