Page 109 of His to Save

“You mean that?” I blink up at him, wondering how it’s possible for him to be real.

“Yeah, I mean it.” He inhales deeply before adding, “I’ll support you in anything you want to do. But be patient with me, too, Pip. Knowing he’s still out there somewhere makes me want to never let you leave my side.”

The thought of Rand has my spine snapping straight as paranoia and fear go to war inside of me. A small part of me wants to burrow into Atlas’s side and never leave. After all, he is my safe space. But a larger part of me knows that if I ever want to truly be free from him, I have to be strong… brave.

I take a few deep breaths, counting down slowly from five in my head, before forcing my muscles to unclench. “I-I think a girls’ day sounds fun. I… I’ve never really done that before.”

I can tell Scarlet wants to comment on that, but Ellis intervenes before she can.

“Rude.” He looks me up and down. “We’ve had many a girls’ day, Nora.”

Just like that, the tension breaks and a laugh slips past my lips. “I’m not sure binge-watching girly shows with you counts, but…”

“It so does,” he insists.

But Scarlet’s not having it. “It absolutely does not. I’ll get your number from Atlas, and we can set something up.”

Atlas rolls his eyes and leans down to whisper in my ear. “You sure you don’t wanna ditch these two and just do us?”

“I’m sure.” I pop up onto my toes and press a quick kiss to his lips.

“If you’re really sure…”

“I am.”

CHAPTER 35

NORA

“How does it feel to be off your leash?” Scarlet asks.

I raise my brows and shoot her an unimpressed glare. “Really?”

She sighs. “Yeah, that was bitchy. Sorry. Sometimes my brain to mouth filter doesn't work.”

“Sometimes?”

She flicks on her blinker and shrugs. “Fine, most of the time.”

“Sooo, what exactly are we doing?” I speak slowly, trying my hardest to keep my voice neutral—to not let my fear bleed through. When we initially made our plans, I was excited. But in the two weeks that have passed since, my nerves have gotten the better of me, and now I’m an anxious mess.

I'm safe with Scarlet.Atlas wouldn't have agreed to this otherwise. But it's hard to get my brain on the same page, especially when this is my first outing without him at my side.

Maggie says this is a good first step to regaining my independence though, so I've just gotta power through it. Even if it makes my skin crawl.

“I'm guessing you don't like surprises, huh?” Scarlet glances at me and then back to the road.

“You could say that,” I reply, knowing she doesn't really mean anything by it. Scarlet's just...Scarlet. She's brash and outspoken and definitely doesn't think before she speaks. But in the grand scheme of things, she's harmless.A total b-word, but harmless.

“Okay, fine, I'll tell you.” She pauses, giving my brain ample time to come up with every possible worst-case scenario. “We're starting at the salon; I'm guessing it's been a long time since you've had a haircut. Then we're getting mani-pedis, followed by lunch. You don't have any food allergies, right?”

“Nope, none.”

“Great. I figured we could go to The Smoke Shack. It’s nothing fancy, but their ribs are to die for.”

“If you say so,” I murmur, drumming my fingertips against my thighs as I work through one of Maggie’s many exercises to keep me calm.

I screw my eyes shut and start counting.Inhale… one… exhale. Inhale… two… exhale.By the time I make it to ten, my heart rate is almost normal and my hands are steady, well steady-ish, anyway.

---