Page 322 of Let Me In

Just because I need her to hear it in the stillness.

Not in the heat.

Not in the storm.

But here.

She melts into me—completely, wordlessly. Her limbs slacken with trust, molding to me like she was always meant to be held this way. My arms adjust, instinctive, drawing her even closer. Her cheek finds the curve of my chest, breath warming the fabric of my shirt, and I feel the last edge of tension leave her.

Breath evening out.

Fingers curling into my side.

And I hold her.

The whole weight of her.

The softness.

The tremble.

The truth.

My Emmy.

My brave, gentle girl.

Mine.

Not because you gave. Not because you bent. But because you trusted me to hold you through it.

And I will.

Always.

And as the morning unfurls around us, quiet and sure, I know this—

There’s nowhere I’d rather be.

Not in all the world.

Not in all my life.

Because this…

This is what it means to come home and stay.

She’s quiet for a while.

Curled against me, breath soft against my chest.

One leg slung over mine.

Her hand resting just above my heart, fingers tracing the line of an old scar like she doesn’t even know she’s doing it.

I keep my palm at the small of her back.

Thumb stroking slow circles.

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