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“Becca,” I soothed. “Look at me.”
She lifted her head slowly, and the look in her eyes stole the breath from my lungs. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Was she for real? What could she possibly think she had to apologize for?
“I didn’t want to lie. I didn’t want to keep you in the dark, but everything got so out of control, and I didn’t want you to know the truth.”
I brushed her hair from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. “You never have to be sorry with me. I get it. You did what you needed to do to survive. But don’t shut me out. I love you, Becca. I will fight for you and protect you and keep you safe, but you have to trust me.”
“My past. It’s complicated. I did something—”
“Shh.” I leaned closer, careful not to hurt her. “None of that matters right now. All that matters is that you’re here and you’re safe.”
Our mouths came together in a soft kiss, and Becca’s body relaxed, the tension seeping from her. I wanted her so much. Needed her to ease the pain I’d felt since standing on her doorstep last night and realizing she was gone.
“Don’t leave me again,” I whispered against her mouth, my lips tugging up when I felt her smile at my words.
“I love you, Evan. I love you so much it scares me.”
“Well then.” I pressed a kiss to her nose. “We can be scared together.”
Because what I felt for Becca terrified me. It was senior year. She would be going off to college next year. I wouldn’t blame her for wanting to get as far away from Credence as possible.
And then what?
I hadn’t allowed myself to think about the future—not with how my life worked—but finding her in that tunnel had shifted something in me. Didn’t people say you didn’t know what you had until you lost it?
Well, I’d almost lost Becca… and I didn’t ever want to feel that again.
* * *
“How is she?” Mr. Torrence asked as I came downstairs. He looked exhausted.
“She’s okay, I think. She fell asleep.”In my arms, I thought, but I didn’t add that bit. “Thank you for letting me see her.”
“I’d like to talk to you, Evan.” He motioned to a door along the hallway. “If you can spare me the time?”
“Sure.” I followed him into his office. It could only be that with the big desk, leather chair, and shelves filled with important looking books and files.
“Have a seat. Can I get you a drink?”
“No, sir.” I needed a shower to wash away the events of the night, and then I needed to sleep.
“Please, call me Geary. You earned it.” He smiled, taking the seat behind the desk. “I suppose you have questions?”
I did. I had a whole heap of them. But something about his demeanor told me he had something he wanted to say.
“A few, but I’m pretty sure you didn’t ask me in here to answer my questions.”
He let out a strained laugh, and I braced myself for whatever it was he wanted to tell me, but the phone on his desk blared, cutting through the tension in the room.
“Excuse me while I take this.” He answered the phone. “Mac, yes, yes, she’s okay. I think she’ll be fine.”Silence.“What? Are you sure? Yes, yes, okay. Thank you for calling me.”
Geary’s face had drained of color, his hand trembling as he hung up. “There’s been an incident,” he said, sadness lingering in his eyes. But for a second, he’d also sounded relieved.
“An incident?” My mind immediately went to Becca, but she was sound asleep upstairs. She was fine. She would be fine. But something had happened.
Something that would affect us all.
