Page 59 of Beneath the Indigo Sky

A smile pulls at my lips, as it always does when I think about Namid.

“Namid snuck in, slowly and quietly, and somehow…the emptiness faded away. While Namid’s love is completely different from Jordyn’s, he’s become the other half of my soul. I can’t lose him.”

Ken reaches over to pat my shoulder briefly. “You won’t.”

Chapter 19

Namid

Fear.

My entire body hurts, and I want to retreat back into the darkness. Worse than the pain is the fear. The room is filled with it. It’s so uncontrolled and intense that it takes me a moment to push it aside far enough to force my eyes open and attempt to figure out what’s going on.

Jayce. It’s Jayce’s fear, Ken’s too.

When I finally manage to blink away the blurriness that clouds my vision, my gaze lands on Jayce. He looks tired and ragged as he sits in a dining chair beside the bed. He’s leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. One of my hands is clasped between both of his, and his thumbs are slowly tracing across my skin. I focus on the sensation, the warmth of his touch, the roughness of his callused palms. It helps push the fear back a bit further.

I tighten my hand in his, gripping his fingers.

Jayce’s head snaps up, his eyes panicked and searching. He’s on his feet in an instant, leaning over me and cradling my jaw in his hands as he peppers soft kisses across my forehead and cheeks, and the relief that floods the room engulfs me.

“You’re okay. Jesus, Namid, I thought I lost you. You’re okay, love. It’s all okay now.”

I tilt my head back so that I can brush my lips across his. They’re wet and salty, and they tremble against my skin. As I shift against the pillows to reach a hand up to his face, sharp waves of pain shoot up my arm and across my chest. What in the actual fuck? I suck in a ragged breath as my gaze shifts down. My arm is in a cast, bandages cover half of my chest, and bruises litter my skin.

“Fuck.” A half-groaned, half-sighed curse is all I can manage as I suddenly remember how I ended up like this and why the room is filled with fear.

Jayce moves at my side, and his brilliant green eyes fill my world as his fingers gently trail across my cheek once more.

“I know, baby. I know. But it’s okay. It’s your wrist and a couple of ribs, but that’s all. You’re going to be just fine.”

His voice cracks as he speaks, and he feels frightened and desperate. He’s so worried about me. He loves me so much, and he’s so worried. I never thought I’d know what it was like to have someone care about me like this.

“I love you.”

It’s all I can think to say to try and calm him, to reassure him. Even if I could find more words, it’s all I really want to say. Nothing else matters.

He chokes out a strangled sob as his lips twitch into a small smile, and a rush of blue and gold and magenta love and relief and peace rush around us, forcing away the anger and fear that have radiated from him since I woke up.

“I love you too, beautiful.”

His lips catch mine in a slow, tender kiss that says we’ll get through this together, that we’ll always be together. His kiss lingers, soft skin playing against soft skin, until Ken starts to feel uncomfortable enough being in the same room that I can’t stifle a chuckle as I pull away from Jayce.

“Sorry, Ken.”

He stutters out a response. “It’s okay. You can keep going if you’re not finished.”

I snort out a laugh. “You’re already more uncomfortable than I’ve ever felt.”

“Stupid feeling everything,” he mumbles under his breath, even though he knows we’re both able to hear him.

Ken reaches out to rest a hand on my shin as Jayce settles back into his chair with my hand between his once again.

“As long as you’re happy, I’ll learn to live with watching you play kissy face.” He exhales a deep, shuddering breath. “We were scared, kid.”

“I know. I was too.” My admission quickly squashes the moment of humor, and even though the room is still filled with love and relief and gratitude, there’s concern as well, from all of us.

“I still can’t believe something like that happened here.” Ken’s voice, normally smooth and professional after the years he’s spent speaking quietly with those who’ve lost loved ones, is harsh and rough. “I know it’s a small conservative town, and I know a lot of folks have always been wary of the way you showed up here, Namid, but I grew up here, and I’ve always believed that in their hearts, these were good people. I really thought that even though it might take time for people to accept the two of you being together, eventually they’d see that you were happy and let you live your lives in peace.”

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