Page 43 of Follow Me
She sat on the floor in the middle of the room and set the box of tissues next to her, pulling a couple out. Then she patted the floor in front of her.
He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. “Babe,” he hoarsely said. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“That’s why we have to.”
He dropped his hands and stared at her, and she knew in this moment that Niall, Doug, and Doyle had been absolutely right, all three of them.
Kel hadn’t hit bottom yet, but he was about to.
Meanwhile, before this attempt, she’d been hanging around below the surface of their shared dark emotional sea, subconsciously holding her breath and waiting for him so they could ascend from the hole together. But they’d both floundered as he struggled to stay afloat for her, and she’d struggled to stay under for him, to hold him at the surface so he could breathe.
And they’d both nearly drowned.
Kel slowly sank to the floor in front of her. Before he could resist or protest, she climbed into his lap, facing him, her legs wrapped around him and holding him so he couldn’t get away.
She knew he wouldn’t try, either, terrified of hurting her.
This one time, it worked to her advantage.
“Please cry,” she softly begged. “Please, Kel.” Her own tears flowed. “I love you and I don’t want to lose you. I’m losing you every bit as much as you were losing me. Weneedto do this together.”
He stared into her eyes for a long moment before he closed his, buried his face against her shoulder, and sobbed. Despite her own tears, she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief to hear him finally—finallylet go like this.
“Hold on tome, Kel,” she said. “Please, Sir.Holdme.”
It took her some more gentle coaxing, but finally, she felt his arms tighten around her and it made her cry even harder, but this time in relief.
“I-I’m sorry,” he sobbed. “I don’t know how to be strong anymore. I don’t know what else to do to save you.”
“I know, Sir. You don’t have to be strong for me anymore. I got this now, I swear.”
“When does it stop hurting so much?” he moaned.
Mallory pressed her face against his neck and gently nipped him there. “I don’t know, Sir. I don’t think it ever completely stops. I think we need to let go and learn to be okay with that.”
* * * *
Kel didn’t know how long they sat there and cried together. He felt like a total, utter failure that he broke down, despite everything he logically knew. That it was healthy and good and natural.
He didn’t care.
He was supposed to beherstrength.
He was supposed to beherrock.
He’d promised to take care of her, and so far, he’d utterly failed in every way.
She pressed a tissue into his hand, and he blew his nose. While he did that, she stood, shoved down her leggings and stepped out of them, and climbed back into his lap.
“Mal—”
“Shh.” She kissed him. She kissed him in a desperate, needy way he hadn’t felt in too damn long.
In the way she used to kiss him.
When he tried to draw back, to talk, she fisted his hair and held him in place, squirming in his lap as she kissed him.
Well, ofcoursehis body responded. He hadn’t exactly felt like rubbing one out lately.
