Page 103 of Into The Light
"Bear?" Soft, quiet, hesitant.
"Yeah?"
"I was so scared." She shudders, trying to burrow into me. "I fought him. Ireallyfought him as hard as I could.”
"I know. You fought the bastard off."
"Panzer saved me."
"Yup."
She's quiet again, but I hear a quiet sniffle. "I'm t-t-trying to be s-s-strong, Bear. I-I-I j-j-ust…"
I curl my arms right. "Don't gotta be strong, honey. I'm here. I've got you. Nobody and nothing is getting near you. You're safe." I tilt her face to mine, her wet eyes shimmering and wide. "Let it out. Let yourself be whatever you need to be."
For a second or two, she's frozen and silent. And then she sniffles. again. And then her frame shakes with a silent sob.
"Give it all to me," I whisper. "I can take it, honey. I can take it all."
She dissolves, then. Silent sobs become great, wracking, heaving ones, guttural and gut-wrenching. She screams once, drawing Panzer to investigate—he pokes his head into the bathroom and then slumps heavily to the floor just outside it, seeming content that I've got our girl taken care of but still determined to keep his eyes on her.
It's hard to know how long she weeps—it feels like a good half an hour or so. Eventually, the sobs subside into sniffles and shuddering breaths.
The water's gone cool again, and our fingers and toes are pruned.
"Can we get out?" she whispers.
"Gotcha. Let me get a towel."
I climb out and towel off as fast as possible, then wrap the towel around my waist; Noelle is crouched in the tub, arms around her knees, wet hair stringy around her bare shoulders. Her eyes follow me as I snag a fresh towel. She wobbles to her feet, bracing against the sides of the tub. I wrap her in the towel and sweep her off her feet.
"I can walk," she protests.
"Nope."
I carry her to the bed, sit on the edge with her on my lap, and use the towel to dry her body, then squeeze the worst of the water out of her hair the way she showed me.
I yank back the blankets, discard our damp towels, and bring her into my arms again under the covers.
Cheek on my chest, she burrows against me. "Maybe I'm not as okay as I thought," she whispers.
"That's okay. You don't have to be."
"Don't leave me, okay? Please?" The raw, terrified desperation in her voice shakes me to my core.
"Not a fucking chance in hell," I promise her. "I've got you. Always."
Her fingers touch my cheek, the bridge of her nose against my jawline. "Always?"
"Always."
Sixteen
NOELLE
The following days are hard.
Bear stays with me, never leaving my side for anything. I have to promise I’m okay long enough to use the bathroom alone.
