Page 118 of Let Me In

“You’re not sleeping alone tonight, sweet girl.”

My breath loosens, the tight coil in my chest unwinding just a little more. It feels like being claimed and comforted all at once, like a tether tying me to something steady and real.

His hand finds mine beneath the blanket.

“Not anymore.”

And he doesn’t just sit beside me.

He climbs in.

Fully clothed.

No hesitation.

Just presence.

He pulls me into his chest.

Wraps me in his arms like the safest place in the world.

And when I finally let my eyes close…

It’s the first time in years I've fallen asleep without fear.

Because he’s here.

And he’s not leaving.

The room is quiet.

Dark, save for the faint red glow of the fire still flickering behind the cracked bedroom door.

Cal’s chest rises slow and deep beneath me, his heartbeat steady where my cheek rests against him.

It’s warm here.

Safe in a way I don’t think I’ve ever really known.

And I sleep.

Really sleep.

Until... I don’t.

It comes out of nowhere.

A jolt.

Like my body remembered something before my mind could.

I lurch forward in the bed, breath catching, heart racing.

The blanket slips down my arms.

My hands scramble through the sheets.

But I don’t fall.

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