His voice is low, steady, everything I need and never got when I was little and scared and alone. My fingers clutch his shirt like it’s the only solid thing in the world.
“You’re not there anymore,” he whispers into my hair. “And he doesn’t get to touch you again. Not now. Not ever.”
And for the first time in a very long time—I believe it.
My breathing is still uneven, but the worst has passed. I can feel the tears drying on my cheeks, sticky against the chill night air. Nathan’s heartbeat thuds steady under my ear, anchoring me. His palm rubs slow, calming circles between my shoulder blades. Not saying anything. Just… being there.
Exactly what I needed. Exactly who I needed.
But there’s a question lodged in my throat now, rough and aching.
“How… how did you know?” I whisper.
His arms tense around me. He pulls back just enough to look down at me, his eyes scanning mine like he’s bracing for something.
“Know what?” he says carefully, but I see it. The flicker. The guilt. The anger that still simmers under his skin.
“That he hit me.” My voice is barely above a breath. It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud. Not just remembered it, not just buried it—but named it.
Nathan exhales slowly, jaw clenched. “You think I couldn’t see it, even back then? The way you flinched when he walked into a room. How you went quiet when someone raised their voice.”
He looks away, out into the night. “I was a stupid kid. I didn’t know what to do. I thought if I just stayed close to you, protected you from everything else… it’d be enough.”
I blink, stunned by the emotion in his voice.
He turns back to me, gaze fierce. “It never sat right with me, Isabel. Not the bruises you didn’t explain. Not how you were suddenly shipped away with no goodbye. I should’ve done something then. I should’ve found you.”
I shake my head, overwhelmed. “You were just a boy, Nate.”
“And now I’m not.” His voice hardens. “I’m not leaving you again.”
The tears well up, hot and sudden. I bite down on my lip, trying to hold it together, but I can’t. Not with him. Not anymore.
“Take me away,” I breathe. My voice cracks. “Please. I can’t stay here. I can’t breathe in there. I?—”
He’s already nodding.
“Done.” One word, firm and final.
He presses his forehead to mine. “Pack a bag. Or don’t. I’ll take you with nothing. Just say the word.”
I do. “Now.”
And Nathan—God, Nathan doesn’t even blink.
He takes my hand like a soldier on a mission and leads me into the night.
Away from the house.
Away from our past.
Chapter 6
Nate
The moment her voice cracks—“Now.”—something snaps inside me.
I’ve been holding it together, keeping it calm, composed. But hearing the word? It shatters every last thread of restraint.
