Page 82 of Zimyra

I pull off behind her and tail her to her apartment.

When we arrive, she parks in her designated space. I park in a space marked for visitors and follow her to her door, tailing her as close as I was to her on the road.

“Will you stop?”

“No.”

She sighs audibly as she ascends the stairs, stomping her way to her apartment.

She arrives, unlocks the door, and then turns to me and glares. She says, “I’m here. You can go now.”

“You’re going to shut the door in my face?”

“I’m telling you to go,” she says.

“I don’t want to go,” I say, stepping aside, making it clear that I’m not going anywhere.

As I close the door, I watch her take a step back. The fear I see in her eyes stabs me in the chest. The assault has done more to her than she leads on. Forget the barely noticeable bruise on her face that she’s hidden with makeup. It’s the bruise I can’t touch that I’m worried about.

“Zimyra, are you afraid of me now?”

“What do you want, Axel?” she asks, still backing away, putting space between us. “You don’t have to keep on bothering me like this.”

“I do when I ask you how you are and you lie to me.”

“Jeez. This again…”

I take a step forward.

She takes one backward.

I say, “I will never hurt you, Zimyra. You know that, don’t you?”

She doesn’t respond – just stands there with her arms crossed. Her guard is up.

I say, “The reason I’mbotheringyou is because when I look at you, when I look into your eyes, I don’t see you anymore. I see a woman who is scared. Who’s anxious. A woman living in fear, but trying her best to hide it from everyone else.”

Tears spill out of her eyes. They weaken me mentally and physically. But when she covers her face with her hands and all-out cries, I’m destroyed.

I take steps closer to her, wrap my hands around her dainty wrists, and move her hands from her face. I say, “Zimyra.”

She blinks, pushing tears out of her eyes. Her face is a mess. So is my heart.

I say, “I will never hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”

She nods. More tears fall as she buries her face against my chest and sobs, her body trembling as she releases everything she’s been hiding. Plentiful tears stain my shirt as she unravels. The strength of the strong woman I’ve come to know slips away as she unleashes her despair and crumbles in my arms. I wrap them around her tight so she knows I’m here – I’m her anchor. I’m her safe space.

“Breathe, Zimyra. It’s okay. You hear me?”

She nods against my chest.

“Can you talk to me?”

She takes a deep breath, sniffles, and says, “I haven’t been eating. Tonight was the first time I’ve eaten anything in days. And I haven’t been able to sleep. Um—I try—try to be strong and deal with it on my own, but it’s a lot. Every time I try to close my eyes to rest, I see his face. I don’t want to see his face.”

“Look at me.”

With her arms still around me, my arms still around her, she angles her head up to look into my eyes. I feel my entire being deteriorate as tears pour out of her eyes. I can’t say a word. Just let my actions do the talking. I pull her closer to my chest and hold her.

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