Page 16 of Adored
“I have you, Baby,” he said, squeezing his hand. “They didn’t suffer. I’ll get you through this, and we’ll get past it together.”
Poe closed his eyes, and two tears slipped down his cheeks, only to be kissed away by the man who loved him.
“How do I come in here and not think about it?” he asked. “I used to love being in here when I came home.”
Gamble knew how hard that was going to be. He also knew there was no easy answer and that it took everyone different amounts of time to heal.
He of all people knew that.
To that day, he still felt the same every time he saw a bathtub. He pictured his baby daughter, floating lifelessly in it. It took three months for him to not want to throw up seeing one and to use one.
“You don’t,” he admitted. “It’s always going to be there. What did you tell me?” he asked, and then shared. “I have the power to let it break me, or I can overcome it. You can do the same. When we worked through my pain, you kept reminding me that my child didn’t suffer. That she went peacefully.”
He was right.
“It was fast,” Gamble said. “Your mother never realized what happened, and your father didn’t either. They wenttogether, and they weren’t tortured. They were shot in the head, and the lights just went out, Poe.”
He took a deep breath.
“Please keep reminding me of that,” he whispered. “So I can survive this.”
He lifted his chin so that he was staring into his eyes.
“Hemmingway didn’t suffer either. They broke his neck, and the lights went out for him too. You know what these animals can be like. They tortured Rufus for fun. That your family didn’t suffer is a blessing. They are at peace.”
He slowly nodded.
“You are right,” he admitted.
Poe took a deep breath to steady himself, and once he did, he stared into Gamble’s eyes.
“I can do this. I’m okay,” he said, steadier than he’d been.
Gamble held his hand.
“No, Poe. We got this,” he said. “You and I can overcome this, and I’m going to be alongside of you for the whole thing.”
Oh, and for that, he was grateful. There was no way he wanted to do this alone.
“Thank you.”
As he looked around, something else hurt.
“They killed all of the animals,” he said. “I love having animals around, and now that the staff is fully handled, and I have new people, I’d like to get more. I’d like to see more happiness here.”
Gamble walked beside him, listening to what his man wanted. If horses were his happiness, then they could do that. Poe deserved it.
“Sounds good to me. I love me some horses, apparently. I’ll take a herd of Diablos any day of the week, and that’s the truth.”
Poe actually laughed.
How could he not?
“Yeah, said no sane person ever. How he listens to you…I have no clue. Even Hemmingway struggled with him. I remember…,” he began, and stopped.
It was clear a memory came back, and it hurt.
Gamble knew how important it was that the man kept getting the good memories in so that he could push back the bad ones.
