Page 100 of How You See Me
“Thank you both.” He jots down our contact information and moves on, the paramedic following closely behind.
Before I can ask Josie how she’s feeling, she crawls into my lap. “Can we go?”
I wave my thanks to the others waiting nearby before cradling her in my arms. “Whatever you want tonight. It’s yours.”
“I just want to stay like this. With you.”
“Okay.”
The paramedic catches up to us, holding Josie's bag and a cracked and mangled camera. “You forgot your things.”
Josie’s emotion finally gets the best of her, and tears spill over.
I rush her back to the van the same way I came, and she falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. Gently,I clean the dirt off her skin with a wet rag and get her into clean clothes.
She looks peaceful tucked under the blanket, and I hope she feels the same when she wakes up.
“You’re safe now. And I swear to God, you’ll stay safe.”
She sleeps on, unaware of the dam breaking inside me.
Sinking to the floor, I pull my knees up and cup my hands over my mouth to stifle the sobs. I didn’t feel the emotion raging until it ripped through the numbness.
I couldn’t hold it back even if I wanted to.
Earlier today, I had hope again, laughter, and light. And in a blink, it was nearly stolen. I went from suffocating with worry over Ava to finally breathing again to seeing the woman I’m falling for unconscious from another man’s hands. I haven’t had time to process that rollercoaster in a healthy way, and it has nowhere to go but out.
Regret, anger, helplessness—it all crashes down on me until the world tilts sideways and darkness drags me under.
Chapter 22
Josie
Dawn hesitates outside the windows, casting faint strokes of violet and gray across the sky. A slow, relentless promise of morning. Of time moving forward whether I am ready or not.
Dragging both trembling hands over my face, I grimace at the tenderness there. Every inch of my right side burns and throbs. Traces of damp earth lingers in my hair—a reminder I could do without. I reach for the scrunchie on the counter and pull my hair up, adding a little distance from the night’s ghosts.
When I notice the two muddy boots beside the mattress, my heart plunges into my stomach.
Hayes is curled up and asleep on the floor, a fortress of strength crammed into the narrow space. It’s been a while since I needed someone as completely as I need him in this moment. I claim the sliver of floorspace beside him,tucking a pillow under his head and pulling the blanket over both of us.
I drape my arm and leg over his body and study his face in the muted light. Even in sleep, a frown etches deep between his brows. The tender skin under his eyes is puffy and his chest heaves with uneven breaths.
What did he endure to save me? It couldn’t have been easy, and I’m afraid those memories will add another layer of guilt and hurt to his already heavy load.
Feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat under my palm, my muscles begin to unlock, bit by bit. His breathing slowly evens out, almost like he senses I’m here and draws comfort from the closeness.
I hope I give him even a fraction of the peace he gives me.
Something special has been building between us, and I want to forget this ugly interruption and keep moving forward. Enjoy the thrill of exploration and the bliss we create.
With thoughts of our happy moments coiled around my heart, I drift back to sleep.
???
“Hi,” Hayes whispers when I wake.
I squint against the stabbing, white light pouring through the windows, and immediately squeeze them shut again. The new day feels too big, too loud.
