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“When you’re feeling up to it,” he continued, “We’ll show you around. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
Maddie tightened her hands around her again, and Saff cast a glance her way. But Maddie remained silent, her body still stiff where it sat.
“Yeah,” Saff finally muttered, looking back at him. “Sounds good.”
Erin gave him a look with a small smile, and he seemed to understand her silent words.
He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling at his wife, then looked at Maddie before saying, “Well, we should probably let you rest some more.”
Saff nodded, and Erin kissed Maddie’s shoulder before they walked out.
And then they were left in silence once again, Maddie rubbing light circles with her thumb against her hand.
She could see the raw emotion battling itself behind Maddie’s features, but still Saff didn’t know what to say.
So instead, she shifted away, pulling her body to the far side of the bed.
Maddie’s head lifted, a curious look on her face before Saff said, “Lay with me?”
She watched the way the muscle in Maddie’s jaw quivered before she slowly turned and carefully pulled her body up onto the bed.
Then she paused, her hand hovering in the air.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered, and something in the raw tone of her voice made Saff’s chest ache.
“It’s okay,” Saff replied, moving one arm around Maddie’s body and pulling her in close.
Maddie seemed to be wrestling with something in her mind before she finally relaxed, carefully setting her head down on her chest.
Saff trailed her hand up to Maddie’s neck, running gentle strokes along the skin, the same way Maddie had done to her all those times she’d needed it.
After a few seconds, tremors began quaking through Maddie’s body. And then the tremors morphed into soft sobs.
She pulled her in closer, their bodies melting into one.
“It’s okay,” Saff whispered, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head. “You’re okay.”
Chapter fifty-two
Maddie walked beside Saff’s wheelchair, one hand resting against the metal side, as Josh led them down a hallway and out through one of the doors.
“Yeah,” Josh continued his rambling as he bit a snapping crunch out of whatever he was eating. “And the weapons they have here are a lot better. Probably closer to what you had before.”
Saff hummed as Maddie felt the outside air breeze against her face. She inhaled a breath of the salty air.
She hadn’t left the medical ward at all during the days that Saff was still unconscious.
But after she'd awoken, her mother convinced her to leave for short periods each day to get outside and to visit the new building they were staying in.
It was different from the house they'd had before.
All of the families and people living there were grouped into apartment style buildings, each with their own room and common area to share.
It felt more cramped than she was used to, but she didn't mind.
She'd barely spent more than a handful of minutes there each day to shower and change before instantly returning to Saff.
Even if the doctor, and everyone else, said she’d heal and be okay, it was like her brain just couldn’t accept it.
