“Do you want anything to eat? Water?” I ask, guiding her toward the bedroom.
“No,” she whispers, beelining for my bed. She sits against the headboard, pulling her knees to her chest. “I’m sorry for making you leave work. I shouldn’t have done that.” She lifts her head,tears streaming down her beautiful, flushed cheeks, the sight gutting me completely. “I just didn’t know where else to go.”
I crawl across the mattress, taking her face between my hands. “You’re always my top priority, Wills. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, you need me? I’m yours.” She only cries harder, but offers me a subtle nod, dropping her head to her knees. I plant a kiss to her hair. “Can you tell me what happened, baby? Tell me how to fix it.”
“There is nothing to fix,” she murmurs. “I met up with a friend from Berkeley today, and she... She made me feel fucking awful about the way I left things there. The way I left him.”
I rub circles into her back. “You have nothing to feel guilty about, love. You did what was best for you, and you don’t owe her anything. You have no obligation to explain yourself to anyone, Willow.”
“It felt like I did. It felt like she deserved a reason.” She exhales a shuddered breath before burying her head against my shoulder. I swing her legs over my thigh, nestling them between my knees and cradling her head against my chest, wrapping her in me. “I didn’t want to tell her about... About what he did to me. I was afraid she wouldn’t believe me.”
“She may not have,” I whisper, pressing my lips into her hair again. “That’s not a reflection on you, though. Those who matter believe you, Willow. Those who matter support you.”
She sighs heavily, but nods. “I... I told her something else, though. I don’t know why.” Willow’s voice shakes with every word. “I didn’t want to, but she made me feel as if Ihadto. Now, I’m just... I feel as if I’ve been stolen from all over again. My truth. Another thing taken from me.”
“Were you friends with her for a while?” I ask softly.
“Yeah.” She sniffles. “For a couple of years. Ever since I met Parker.”
“You’re a trusting person.” I brush my thumb back and forth over her bare shoulder. “You look for the best in people, always. That’s a strength, not a weakness. It’s telling of the personsheis, not you, she manipulated your strength to gather that information from you.”
“I feel stupid,” she whispers.
“You’re not stupid, Willow,” I rasp, grasping her chin and tilting her head toward me. “You’re never stupid for leading with your heart. It is one of the qualities I adore most about you.”
She blinks, tears shimmering in her wide, ocean eyes, pert red nose scrunching when she sniffles, pouty lips glistening when her tongue drags over them.
The devastation on her face now could kill me. I swipe my thumb over her cheek, wiping the moisture away, astonished by her beauty, even when she’s washed in pain.
“How do I stop myself from getting hurt?” she asks.
“None of us are exempt from pain,” I murmur, smiling gently. “Choosing to remain yourself, to keep that beautiful heart on your sleeve, is a show of courage, Willow. If you do that, you’ll persevere those who harm you, every single time.”
“How did you get so wise?” she murmurs, dropping her head against my chest. “You’re like twenty.”
“Lived through a lot of shit. I have the soul of a very old man.” I snort, shrugging. “You’ll learn with each mistake and every heartache. You’ll know when to trust, when to show that heart on your sleeve, and you’ll recognize those who are undeserving of it. Until then, I’ll do my best to protect you too, okay?”
Her fingers flex over my ribcage, drawing me in closer as she nods against my body. I kiss the top of her head, running my fingers through her hair, hoping every touch is as soothing as I intend it to be. I’ve never craved companionship the way I do with Willow—it’s all new to me, driven by instinct. It wasn’t until knowing her that I began to understand how comforting thetouch of another person can be. It’s all I can do to try and give the same feeling back to her.
“Do you want to talk about it, love?” I ask gently. “What you said to her? What she said back?”
She’s quiet for a moment, body tensing in my arms, as if she’s contemplating her response. After a minute, she untangles herself from my body, and my soul goes cold at the absence. She sits up in my bed, wiping her eyes as she tucks her legs beneath her.
“Honestly, Wes...” She breathes heavily, voice trembling. “What she said wasn’t kind, and I... I cannot risk you having the same reaction right now.” Her tone cracks, and my heart breaks with it. “It’s... I’m...” She sighs, as if lost for words. “I still have a lot of things I need to make sense of, and it’s hard to explain, and?—”
“You don’t have to, Wills,” I cut her off. “I’m confident there is nothing you could do or think or say or feel that would cause me to make you feel the kind of pain you’re experiencing now, but I also know your trust is something I need to earn. Some wounds cut deep enough that no amount of bandaging is going to stop the bleed.” I sit up, matching her position, grasping her face and forcing her to face the conviction in my eyes. “I’m not just a bandage, but I know that’s something you need to be shown. I know it, because I need to see it too. You don’t owe me your truth right now, but I’m still going to hold you until you’re no longer bleeding out.”
I can’t blame Willow for holding onto secrets—to a past she weathered alone before she knew me. I’m doing the same to her. There is plenty I haven’t told her about, so much I struggle to say aloud. I’d never hold that against her, it would never stop me from soothing her wounds or being the safe place for her to land, because the truth is, no matter how dark Willow thinks her pastis—mine is darker. No matter how dark Willow thinks her past is, she’s still my light.
Her brows draw together, astonishment overtaking her beautiful face. She shakes her head, lips parting and closing several times, before she finally decides there’s nothing left to say, grabbing my jaw and drawing my mouth to hers.
She kisses me thoroughly, as if everything she doesn’t know how to say is communicated through the soft brush of her mouth over mine. I groan, savoring the taste of her tongue and heat of her breath. Kissing Willow is a soul-deep experience, an all-consuming sensation—gratitude and grace. Care and comfort. Longing and lust.
“I think you’re healing me, Weston,” she whispers against my lips, and I’m not sure a more beautiful sentence has ever been uttered.
“You’re healing me too, Wills.” I kiss her again. “Can I cook dinner for you?”
Willow pulls back, her eyes still tear-stained, but they sparkle playfully with her smile. “Really?”
