One side of my mouth twitches up at his relief. “Yeah.”
“Any chance you can open the door for me, then,alouette? I’m worried sick about you. We all are. And I’d really like to see for myself that you’re okay.”
As much as I want to, I can’t hide in here until the end of time. Sighing, I scrub my hands over my face, like that will hide the fact that I’ve been crying my eyes out. Pushing to my feet, I twist the handle to pop the lock. I open the door to come face-to-face with Remy.
Instead of his usual smile, Remy’s lips are tipped down and his eyes are pinched with worry. When he gets a good look at me, his face falls and his light blue eyes fill with sorrow.
Opening his arms, Remy rasps, “Oh, love, c’mere.”
I don’t know why I listen to him, but I do. I walk into his arms and collapse against his chest. Breathing in his nonexistent scent as I’m pressed against him, I instantly feel a little calmer and more grounded.
His strong forearms band around my back for a long moment, crushing me to him. He then drops his hands to myass and hoists me up into arms. I don’t have the energy to do anything other than gasp at the sudden movement.
Walking into the surprisingly spacious powder room, Remy kicks the door shut and slides down the wall, still holding me. When he’s sitting down, he rearranges me so I’m straddling him and my face is tucked into his neck.
“You can let it out, Lark,” he murmurs into my hair. “You’re safe in my arms. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I swear it.”
I release a pathetic whimper. I don’t want to keep letting the hurt out. I’m so damn tired of hurting all the time. I just want it to go away so I can finally feel okay.
“I’ve cried enough for a lifetime. I don’t wanna cry anymore,” I croak, giving Remy more honesty than he was probably hoping for.
“I understand. I know what it’s like to be so fucking done with crying and hurting that you’d give anything never to do it again.” He strokes a hand over my freshly braided hair to soothe me. “There anything I can do to help you feel better? Even a little?”
I open my mouth to tell him I’m fine, but that’s not what comes out. “Why do your dads hate me? What is it about me that makes parents hate me? Even my own parents can’t stand me,” I admit in a small voice.
He makes a wounded noise in his throat and hugs me to him tighter. “They don’t hate you. They’re just protective of Azrael and don’t trust outsiders easily. Not after what happened to my mom. Their reaction has nothing to do with you or how fucking awesome you are. It has everything to do with the internal wounds that never healed, even so many years later. As for your parents, they’re fucking idiots, and I’m happy to put them on my hit list if you want.”
A startled laugh bursts out of my chest. “You don’t even know them. How can you offer to kill people who could be upstanding citizens besides being cursed with a shitty daughter like me?”
I know my parents are bad people aside from everything they’ve done to me, and especially Wren, but Remy doesn’t know that.
Remy doesn’t laugh with me. “I don’t know many things in this life, but one thing I do know for certain is that you’re not a curse, and you didn’t deserve how your parents treated you. I don’t care how great they are. All I care is that they hurt my favorite person in the world when it was their job to love her unconditionally.”
I pull back to look at him in surprise. “I’m your favorite person? You haven’t known me very long, Remy.”
One corner of his mouth tilts up, but his eyes remain serious. “Sometimes, when you meet someone, you just know. And I’ve known you’re my favorite person from the moment I laid eyes on you. That means I’ll do anything for you,alouette. You just have to ask.”
“I don’t know what to do with that,” I admit, uncertainty trickling into my voice.
I like Remy. He’s goofy and fun and energetic. He loves riding the way I loved dirt biking. And he has a surprisingly sweet, caring, and empathetic side.
But I don’t really know him. I can see myself caring about him a lot in the future, but I need to spend more time with him before I get to that point.
He gives me a genuine smile as he brushes a strand of hair off my forehead. “You don’t have to do anything, love. I just want you to know it. I’m not expecting anything in return.” Not letting me dwell on it too long, Remy switches the subject. “So, you feel like going back out there?”
I shrug and look away. “I don’t know. I kinda never want to see your dads again.”
He snorts. “I’m in the same boat, and you don’t have to see them again if you really don’t want to. But I promise they’ll be much better behaved. And Hal got you a surprise for dessert. That’s why he left early.”
“Are you trying to bribe me with sweets?” I ask with a smile.
Remy grins. “Why? Is it working?”
“A little.” I also don’t want to let Hal down if he spent time and effort getting something for me. Sighing, I give in. “We can go. I don’t want to keep Hal waiting. But if your dads yell at me again, I’m leaving.”
My voice is surprisingly strong, when I’m doing everything in my power not to tack onif that’s okay.It’s not much of a boundary if I need permission from someone else for it.
He’s nodding before I even finish talking. “How about, if my dads or anyone else make you even a little uncomfortable, you tell me? And I’ll take you wherever you wanna go, okay?”
