Page 31 of Fall into Savagery

Worthless …

Useless …

I tried to pull myself together.

I really did.

I tried so hard.

But in the end, all I could do was cry.

Mikhail pulled me out of the water, making a huge mess on the bathroom floor. He grabbed a towel on his way out and wrapped it around my body. Then he climbed into bed with me in his arms and let me cry and cry and cry.

I just missed Damien so much.

So, so damn much.

My fists gripped Mikhail’s shirt, hoping I could tell him with my actions what I couldn’t say.

I missed him.

I missed him.

I missed him!

I missed him so much, I couldn’t stand the thought that I might not see him anymore.

Mikhail grabbed the back of my head.

“It’s going to be okay,kotyonok. I promise. I promise, baby. It’s going to be okay.”

Yet, I had this hole in my chest that said it wouldn’t, and I didn’t know which to listen to, the man I loved or my gut.

* * *

I fellasleep in Mikhail’s arms while crying.

Then, early the next day, he woke me up.

The sun was barely peeking through the clouds.

My eyes hurt, and so did my head.

I didn’t even know how long I had been asleep, but it looked like Mikhail didn’t sleep at all.

He had left the room to check on something—I wasn’t sure, and what was more, I didn’t have the energy to care.

I was in the room alone, and I hated it.

It seemed, right now, I was my own worst enemy.

When the doorknob turned and opened, I barely stopped myself from crying out in relief that I wasn’t alone anymore.

Mikhail stood there. Exhaustion seemed to weigh him down by his shoulders.

“Ready to go,kotyonok?” he asked, coming up to me.

I nodded. He shot me a small smile as he cupped my face, his thumb moving gently across the skin under my eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more time to sleep. You can rest when we’re up in the air, okay?”

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