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“I like all three of them,” she says, shrugging. “How could I not, when I see how much they care for you?”
I tentatively return her smile. “Yeah, I guess,” I say sheepishly.
Tammy wraps me in a hug. “We’re going to get through this,” she promises me. “One day at a time. You’re not alone, Skylar. Remember that.”
I lean into her embrace. “I’ll try,” I say softly.
16
RIVER
I don’t want to give Skylar space.
I want to look at her while she’s awake, hear her voice, see her smile, and inhale her scent.
I want to watch her relax on her bed and enjoy everything we’ve given her.
And I need to know that she’s okay.
The last time I held her was when she was unconscious, and it was almost impossible to let the paramedics rip her away from me.
It’s the second time I’ve seen her loaded into an ambulance.
I never want it to happen again.
The last time I touched her was when I pulled the hospital blanket over her shoulders and tucked her in.
There weren’t nearly enough blankets, so I brought her more and spent time watching over her while she slept.
Now, she’s awake, and her house is in view.
My hands shake with the need to be near her, and I crave a cigarette to take the edge off.
But I won’t smoke. She hated it, and I won’t start again now.
Waiting for Skylar is the hardest part of this, now.
Landon, once again, had the ridiculous idea of giving her space and waiting for her to come to us.
And once again, the asshole made sense.
We don’t know how traumatized Skylar is—we still don’t know the full extent of what happened in that shithole in Slatten.
Her captor is in custody, but we only know his side.
I drum my fingers on the steering wheel, lost in thought. My other hand shakes and I clench it into a fist.
Skylar’s back and my panic attacks aren’t as bad as they were when she was missing, but they’re still there.
I wonder what she would say if she knew about them.
Maybe she would say I’m a coward and decide she wants nothing to do with me.
I use her sweet scent to ground me and clear the chaos in my mind. If I have to spend the rest of my life hiding in the shadows just to protect her, I will.
Quit being dramatic, Cain, Vincent had spit at me the other day when I demanded to be the first one to watch over her house.
Well, fuck him.
