“I don’t want to sleep.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to wake up and find out this was the easy part.”
It’s honest. And I get it. I really do.
I shift slightly, just enough to look down at her. “Then don’t sleep,” I say.
Her brow furrows. “What?”
“Stay awake. Sit here. Drink more water. Talk. Don’t talk.”
I shrug one shoulder. “We’ve got time.”
Her eyes search mine, looking for something. Maybe the catch.
There isn’t one.
“You’re really not going anywhere, are you?” she asks.
“No.”
“Even after all this?”
“Especially after all this.”
That does it. That’s the moment.
I feel it. The last piece click into place.
Her hand slides up, fingers brushing my jaw. Light and careful.
“You’re not what I expected,” she says.
“Yeah?”
“Not even a little.”
I catch her wrist gently, press my lips to the inside of it. Right over the fading tremor. “Good.”
She smiles, small but real. And then she tucks herself back against me, closer this time. No space left between us.
Her breathing evens out completely. I keep my hand moving over her back, slow and consistent. Counting the rhythm without meaning to. Making sure she stays right here. With me.
Not back there… running and alone. But here, with me.
And for the first time since the call came in… everything feels quiet in the right way.
Because everything I need… is right here in my arms.
Chapter
Sixteen
SCARLETT
Imake the call in the morning… because I can’t avoid it anymore.
