Page 210 of Before We Were

As I step out of the truck, guilt twists in my stomach as I remember his plans for the night.

"Shit—didn't you have a date with Kat tonight?"

Nick grins, the tension easing from his shoulders. "Worked in my favor. Got myself a second date."

Before I can shut the door, he calls out, "Nate, what you did tonight—for Nora—already makes you a better man than your father ever was."

The house is dead silent when I push open the front door. My knuckles throb with every heartbeat, the blood dried and cracked across them, but I barely notice. I take the stairs two at a time, the creak of wood under my feet the only sound in the darkness. Nora's room is at the end of the hall, a soft glow spilling out from beneath her door. I stop there, my hand resting on the doorknob, hesitating. I shouldn't go in. I should leave her alone, let her sleep in peace.

But I can't. I need to see her.

To remind myself why tonight had to happen.

The door opens with a quiet creak, and the sight of her steals my breath. She's curled on the bed, her laptop casting a faint blue glow across her face. Her lashes rest against her cheeks, her breathing slow and steady. The tension in my chest loosens, just a fraction.

She's safe.

I step inside, careful not to wake her. The laptop screen blinks off as I close it, leaving the room bathed in the warm light of her bedside lamp. I grab the blanket folded at the foot of the bed, draping it over her and tucking it gently around her shoulders. Bones, her stuffed toy, is on the nightstand, his lopsided eyes staring back at me. I set him beside her, exactly where he belongs.

The mattress dips slightly as I sit on the edge of the bed. For a long moment, I just watch her. She's so soft, so serene, and it feels like I'm looking at something I'll never deserve. My gaze drops to my hands—bloodied, bruised, and calloused. Her world and mine couldn't be more different.

But God help me, I'd burn for her.

I'd set this whole world on fire if it meant keeping her safe. I'd destroy myself to save her.

Is that healthy? Probably not, but I don't care.

I reach out, my fingers brushing back a strand of hair from her face. The touch is featherlight, yet it makes my chest ache. She stirs slightly, her face turning toward my hand, and my throat tightens. She's an angel, pure and whole, and I'm the devil clawing at the edges of her light. I lean down, pressing my lips to her forehead, letting the warmth of her skin seep into me.

"He won’t hurt you ever again." I whisper, my voice barely audible. "I promise."

I pull back, my eyes tracing every line of her face. She's too good for me, and it's not just her beauty—it's everything else. The way she always adds two sugars to her coffee, even though she hates the bitterness, because tea feels like giving up.

She smells like lavender, not because she loves it, but because she'd read somewhere that it made people feel happy and calm.

She has this quiet need to brighten the world, always saying hello to anyone who smiles at her first, like she can't let kindness go unanswered.

She laughs too hard at stupid movies and cries at ones she's seen a hundred times.

And she spent hours making those beaded bracelets for strangers, just to make their day a little brighter. I never understood how someone so effortlessly extraordinary could look in the mirror and not see what everyone else did.

That's been the theme all along, hasn't it? From the moment she walked into my life, everything shifted. I knew it was too late to turn back.

She isn't just someone I love—she is it.

The endgame.

The one I've been searching for in this lifetime, and probably every one before and after.

She became a part of me in ways I'll never fully understand, but I don't need to.

Some things aren't meant to be questioned.

Some things just are.

And she's always been my answer to most things.

CHAPTER60

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