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This time, I envelop her hand with mine. “Close your eyes.”
Giving me a long look, in which I hold her gaze steady, she releases a deep breath and lets her eyes drift closed.
“Good. Now tell me what you feel.”
“What?” Her shoulders bunch, and she slides her hand from mine in order to steady herself on my forearm. I try not to relish the warmth of her palm too much as I move mine to cup her elbow.
“What do you feel, Doe? Really think about it.”
“Um…” She inhales then exhales slowly. “Well, I feel warm because of the sun.”
“Good. What else?”
“I feel like I want to go swimming even though I don’t know how. Because I can hear the waves and feel the water at my feet.”
I smile even though she can’t see it. “That’s good.”
“And I feel a little afraid.”
That one surprises me. After all she’s shown today, I didn’t think she was feeling fearful. “Why afraid?”
“Because I can’t see you.”
I feel like I forget how to breathe. A shiver runs down my spine. Mom’s words from earlier resonate in my head. Because I’ve seen the way she watches your every move; as if you step out of her sight, she’ll die.
“But you can feel me. I’m right here. Just feel me.” My heart pounds in my chest as I look down at her. At the tendrils of hair floating around her in the breeze and the deep pink coloring of her lips and the flush on her cheeks. A pain grips me as I look at the scars on her skin and actively picture someone putting them there. This entire time I’ve distanced myself from her as a detective. For the first time, I’m seeing the marks on her skin as her friend.
So lost in my own thoughts, I don’t notice she’s moved until she raises up on her tiptoes and presses her soft, cotton candy lips against my cheek. The place she touched burns, and as quickly as she pressed her lips there, she pulls away.
“I do feel you, Niko.”
Fuck. Fuck! What am I doing? Why am I doing this to the both of us? To her? I need to move us back to a safe place before someone gets hurt. That person more than likely being Doe.
Curtailing my panic, I smile and brush the back of my free hand against her cheek until she opens her eyes.
“I think it’s time we head back to my parents.”
