Page 49 of Digging Deeper

“Shh.” Drix stops, leans back a little to pull my face up so his gorgeous eyes meet mine. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.” That soft, sweet voice aimed at me… it only makes me cry harder. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

I nod, still unable to form words. I know he hadn’t meant to hurt me, but some of the pain is still there.

As he wipes my falling tears away, he places a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I was being an idiot, but do you think… we can try this again?”

“You’re not going to freak out and tell me it’s a mistake again?”

“I promise I won’t.”

I start to lean in, then stop and whisper, “Please don’t break my heart, Hendrix.”It’s already so broken, hurting me will make me shatter.

He rubs my cheek with his thumb. “I’ll do everything I can not to.” I can tell he means it, and while it’s not exactly a promise not to hurt me, it’s one I can see he wants to keep.

I nod again before he presses his lips to mine, and I let his warmth fill me up instead of letting my fear tear me back down.

After a long and tender kiss, he pulls me out of my room, deposits me on the couch, then shuffles around in the kitchen for a few minutes. He lets the dogs in and out, but I feel so raw that I simply sit there and wait to see what he’s going to do. He walks into the living room with a plate in his free hand, passes it to me, sits, and says, “Eat something. That’s from Holds.”

I glance at the plate and nod. “Thanks.”

He hums and grabs the remote, flicking on the TV.

Once I finish eating and Drix puts my plate in the sink, he sits up against me, pulls me close, and wraps me in his arms. As he kisses my temple, he whispers, “Wanna watch a movie?”

I swallow down the emotions that spring up as his warmth embraces me, and I say, “I’d love to.”

He shoots me one of his megawatt smiles and pulls me closer until his arm is around my shoulders and my head is on his chest. It takes a few minutes, but I finally settle into his side and a little trickle of hope flutters through me because even though he hurt me last night, being in his arms still makes me feel safe. I feel cared for, and that isn’t something that happens often anymore.

19

Hendrix

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” I say as I maneuver carefully into Gavin’s room.

An unintelligible mumble comes from under the covers. His whole body is buried except for one hand hanging over the side of the bed.

“Come on. You can’t have this delicious breakfast I made you if you don’t come out.”

A hand grips the top of the comforter, then one eye with purplish-black smudges still underneath, blinks open at me. A stabbing pain cuts into my heart knowing I’m the cause of the exhaustion painting his face. “What are you doing?”

I lift the tray I’m carrying a little higher. “Breakfast in bed.” Suddenly he’s in motion, pushing the covers back to rush out of bed, so I quickly say, “No, I’ll bring it to you. Stay there.” Gav watches warily as I slide my cane along the ground with one hand while maintaining a firm grip on the breakfast tray I assembled for him with the other. “It may not be hot.” I bite my lip unconsciously, then notice and plunge ahead. “I wanted to bring you up a huge meal with all the favorites: oatmeal, bacon and eggs, pancakes, toast, maybe a fruit cup. I was a little worried something would slide off and make a mess, though.”

He reaches out and takes it from me, his eyes searching my face. So I don’t have to face his piercing stare, I pull the napkin from under his plate, and situate the plate with the eggs, bacon, and toast in the center. “Oh, I have this, too.” I pull the water bottle hanging in a plastic bag off of the handle of my cane and set it on the table by his bed. “Coffee’s made, but I have to go back for it.”

“I can get the coffee while I take the dogs out. Why don’t you sit down and wait for me here?”

“Nope. I already came in and got the dogs. They’ve been out, and I made sure they both did their business, all of it.” I wrinkle my nose down at the beasts at my ankles.

Gav sits silently, his tray balancing on his legs, and I shift nervously. When I can’t take it anymore, I flick my eyes up to him to see tears pooling in his. “Is this okay?”

He nods, a jerky movement. “Why?” he asks finally, so quietly I can barely hear him.

After shrugging my shoulders, I square them and lift my eyes to stare boldly into his. “I wanted you to know I’m a safe bet for you. Giving me a chance, I mean.” He remains mute, so I say, “Plus, you missed hanging with the guys yesterday so… anyway, I thought this would be a nice way to start the day.”

“It is… a nice way to start the day.”

I get lost in the emotions swirling in his eyes, but when Nana whines at my feet, I clear my throat and angle my chin toward Gavin’s breakfast. “Go ahead and eat. It’s not getting any warmer sitting there. I’ll go get your coffee.”

“I can—”

---