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“The issues with your mom today… Does it have to do with your nervousness about returning to school? Are you feeling resentful that she keeps insisting we go back?”
I blow out a sigh. Chase hit the nail on the head. I wish I could deny it or outright lie, but that’s not who Chase and I are with one another. Not anymore.
That ended right before we were kidnapped.
I simply nod, not saying anything.
He tightens his arm around me, squeezing me against his side. The steady beating of his heart beneath my cheek calms my defenses.
“Look at me, angel.” I lift my head, meeting his loving, earnest eyes. “I’m sorry Jamie said those things to you, Kenz. I know it hurts.” His knuckles gently graze my cheek. “There is no timeline to recover from trauma. No acceptable behavior or steps that you need to follow. You will heal in the way that works foryouin the timeframe that you feel best. No rushing or forcing anything.”
As usual, his words ease the tension in my body. “I know you’re right. There are times I wish I could just be ‘over it’ and move on. Or forget about it for more than a few minutes.”
“I have the same struggles, angel. It haunts me, night and day. But I have you, and every time I see your beautiful smile, I have hope for the future. It may take time, and neither of us may be okay for a while, and that’s okay. I’m here for you, as long as it takes. One day, this will be a distant memory. Until then, one minute, one hour, and one day at a time.”
“Thank you, Chase. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
His smile is like the sun. “You’llneverhave to find out. I’ll always be here for you, Kenz.”
I think my heart just exploded inside my chest from his sweetness and the promise in his eyes.
64
MACKENZIE
I’m trembling like a leaf, my gaze roaming over the exterior of the familiar brick building. My eyes traced over the letters of the name.Emerson High School.
“Are you ready for this?” Chase gives my fingers a squeeze, his gaze boring into the side of my face so hard it drags my gaze from the red brick building. His eyes are filled with concern, yet there’s a quiet confidence brimming through it all, demonstrating his faith in me.
Expelling a nervous breath, I nod, forcing a smile onto my lips. “As I’ll ever be.” Grabbing the door handle, I start to push it open when Chase’s hand closes over my left arm.
“Allow me.”
Jumping from the vehicle, he hurries around to my door, pulling it open with a flourish and a slight bow. I giggle, shaking my head as my fingers close over the backpack strap between my feet. Taking the hand Chase offers, I step from the vehicle, hitching my backpack over my shoulders.
“Thanks for that. What a way to start the first day.”
Chase closes the door, and we fall into step with one another, our arms grazing as we walk. “Since I brought you to school in your new chariot, I figured it’s only fair to escort you from it properly.” His smile is bright, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. The remnants of his nightmare are visible in the purplish circles beneath his eyes.
My heart squeezes inside my chest. My guy had a horrific nightmare around three a.m. I heard his gasps, and pleas to stop and threw my covers off, barreling into his room as quietly and swiftly as I could. When I laid a hand on his arm, he swung. Luckily, I released him and jumped back, preventing him from connecting. When his eyes popped open and he realized it was me, he was appalled and so heartbroken he almost hit me that he started crying.
But I understood his trauma well. Crawling into bed beside him, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly, his head lying on my breasts. Rubbing his back, I whispered repeatedly that it was just a nightmare and Orpheus couldn’t harm him anymore.
But that was a lie. Orpheus continually haunts us in our dreams. Sometimes, the things he does to Chase and me in our nightmares are worse than what he did in real life.
I pull myself from my thoughts when I realize Chase has gone silent, whiskey eyes boring into me intently. Pushing last night’s events from my mind, I flash him my brightest smile. “Even though I dread returning, you have certainly brightened my morning and made it easier.” Reaching over, I squeeze his bicep. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He flashes me that lopsided grin that makes my heart beat like I’m careening downhill on roller skates and unable to stop. But knowing that when I crash, it will be into him, and Chase will stop my fall by wrapping his arms around me and keeping me—and my heart—safe.
“You don’t have to find out. I’m right here.”
Now I’m sitting in third-period English class, feeling like a stranger in a foreign land as students file into the room, either giving me strange looks or staring at me like I’m an alien. Chase has been walking me to every class, including this one, and just sprinted off to his. Just like the previous two classes where he came running down the hallway, slightly out of breath, making it to me as I stepped into the hallway, I knew he’d return to me after this one was over.
Chase is the only thing keeping me here. His smile and the way his entire face lights up whenever he lays eyes on me keeps me going.
Otherwise, I would have run out the door before the end of first period.
I blow out an irritated sigh, sick of the strange looks and stares. I scowl as I catch another one leaning over to their friend, their sparkling eyes locked on me as they whisper God only knows what in their ears. The two girls stare me down before their laughter fills my ears before they finally turn away.
