"Goodnight, Reaves." She made her way up the first few stairs before turning back. "I wanted to kiss you, too. Not because I'm scared or grateful, but because I've wanted to ever since the first time I saw you at the gas station."
He moved so fast he startled a little laugh out of her. He followed her up until he stood on the step beneath her. He rested his hands on her waist. "I was trying to be considerate."
She laid her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "You could never be anything else. It's who you are."
His hand came up to cup the side of her neck, his fingers sliding into her hair. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. It started out slow and tentative, but soon she had her arms wrapped around his neck, his arms curled around her waist, holding her to him as they took it deeper.
It wasn't like a first kiss. There was no awkwardness, no learning each other. He already felt so familiar, so comforting. He felt like something she'd never really known before—like home.
When they finally pulled back, his eyes shone as he brushed his thumb over her cheek.
She held his gaze and nodded. A dozen questions and answers passed between them, but none of them needed words.
"See you in the morning, then."
"See you then."
Back in her room, she went straight to the window, getting there just in time to see him put his window down and wave. She waved back before getting into bed, piling the pillows against the headboard, and wrapping her arms around herself.
Reaves was going with her tomorrow. He said he'd be with her through whatever came after tomorrow.
A little ball of hope bubbled in her chest. It wasn't enough to chase away the cold dread, but it was there, warm and bright in the darkness.
She rested her chin on her knees. Sleep wouldn't be coming anytime soon. But for the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn't feel so alone.
Chapter Thirteen
In the doctor's waiting room on Wednesday morning, Reaves made a face when he realized he was perching on the edge of the plastic chair—sitting the way he'd noticed Alara so often did.
In her case, he'd assumed it meant she wasn't sure about staying, that she couldn't settle in. That wasn't the case for him. He'd meant what he'd told her—he wasn't going anywhere. He sure as hell wasn't about to leave this spot until she came back out through Henry's office door.
He felt as though he had more insight now. Maybe she was like him. She didn't perch because she expected to take off at any moment. It was because she was on edge, not knowing what was wrong with her.
He looked at the office door again. She'd been in there a while now.
He forced himself to sit back in the chair. She'd scared him last night, talking about what would happen if… No. Even now, he wouldn't let himself go near that thought. Of course whatever was wrong with her would be curable. It had to be.
He looked around the waiting room. It was busy this morning, and there were a few familiar faces. No one he knew well, but people he'd seen before. A young mom sitting in the corner with a boy of maybe three or four on her lap gave him a warm smile. Maybe he knew her from somewhere; he didn't remember. His own smile felt forced and mechanical.
She had her child here, at the doctor's office. It made him wonder when Zia had last seen a doctor. He was going to have totalk to Ollie, see if Alara's insurance through the company would cover Zia as well. If not, he'd pay for it himself. He had no idea how that worked, but there had to be a way.
He leaned back in the chair and made himself take slow, deep breaths. One thing at a time. And the first hurdle was finding out what was wrong with Alara.
It didn't look good. He wasn't stupid; her symptoms added up to any number of scary issues. Headaches, losing weight, being tired all the time…
He didn't want to think about it. He'd done a good job of refusing to let his mind go near worst-case scenarios for weeks now. He couldn't crumble just when they were about to find out the truth. He swallowed hard. No matter what the truth turned out to be, he'd be there with her every step of the way.
He jumped to his feet when Dr. Ambrose's door opened and Alara came out.
The relief of seeing her made him smile—but she didn't smile back. She only glanced at him before fixing her eyes on the main door and heading straight for it. He stood frozen for a second, his stomach dropping as she walked straight past him.
He hurried after her. Clara gave him a puzzled look, but he didn't stop.
He caught up with Alara outside, where she was standing, visibly shaking. He went straight to her and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest, and he clamped his hand around the back of her head.
He wanted to be patient, but he couldn't. "Alara, what did he say? What's going on?"
Her shoulders heaved as she took in a deep breath before looking up at him.
