I searched his face—the guilt, the fear, the way he was still holding on like I might disappear.
And for the first time, I didn’t see the boy she tried to keep.
I saw the man who came back for me.
And didn’t let go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Lennox
Iwasnearlydoneworking the conditioner through Naomi’s hair, having had to unravel her braids to wash it properly, when there was a knock at the bathroom door.
“Fresh clothes for her are just outside,” Gabrielle said.“How is everything in there?”
“We’re doing okay,” I replied.“Thank you.”
“You’ll stay here tonight.Raina and Marco are going to stay at Jagger’s, so you and Mabel can have the basement suite.We’ve already put fresh sheets on the beds.”
Her tone conveyed zero room for argument, and frankly, I was too tired to argue with her anyway.Hopefully Mabel wouldn’t be too affected by the sudden shift in plans.“Thank you.”I snapped my fingers and rushed back to the door.“Gabrielle.Can you ask Tom to swing by my place on his way home and close my front door, please?We left it open.”
“Will do.”
I returned to Naomi, who was no longer shivering as she sat in the tub, her arms wrapped around her shins and her knees to her chest.She hadn’t responded, hadn’t said a damn word after I told her I loved her.
Not that I was expecting her to wax poetic back to me.But I was beginning to fear I’d spooked her.
“Are you ready to get out?”I asked her.
She nodded.“Yeah.”
I shut off the water and grabbed two big, white, terry cloth bath sheets from the cupboard.One for her hair and one for her body.She was able to stand up on her own and drape them around herself as I opened the door and retrieved the fresh clothes.The sweat-soaked ones were in the sink.Would she ever want to wear them again?I hoped so.She was so cute in the linen overalls.
“Here,” I said, helping her step out onto the bathmat.“Looks like your cousins grabbed you some cozy, blue fleece overalls and a white T-shirt.”
Her smirk only claimed half of her mouth.I helped her towel off, then, just like I did when Mabel was little, I held out her underwear for her so she could step into them.
It was oddly intimate, and yet I welcomed the opportunity to take care of her.She was in this predicament because of me.Would have nightmares of being locked and cooked alive, because of me.At this point, there wasn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for this woman.
Once she was dressed, I found a brush in one of the drawers and slid it through her wet, silky tresses.“I can try to do two braids,” I offered.“I got pretty good at them when Mabel was little.”I scratched the back of my neck.“Or at least, IthoughtI was okay at them.She’ll tell you otherwise.”
She shook her head and quickly fixed her hair into two plaits.
Then she faced me, and my gut plummeted to my feet.The look in her eyes told a story of trauma and terror.But I also feared it held something else.The end.Of us.
“I heard what you said,” she whispered.
I swallowed.
“I’m not there yet.I’m close.But … today was a lot.”
I nodded.“I know.You don’t have to say it back.”
“I will.Soon.Just—”
“Let you process things for a bit.”
“Yeah.”
