Page 142 of Depths of Destruction
"Yes," I assure her then brush my lips on hers. "Let me help you wash your back and get new bandages on. If we're going to make the flight, we need to get moving."
She places her hand on the side of my head. "Andre?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have done that in the bathroom. I just..." I take a deep breath. "You scared me."
"I... I want Emilia back. And I want to feel like myself again."
"I know, baby. But you can't rush it. We have to take all of this one step at a time. That includes healing."
"I feel broken." She sobs again, and I pull her back into me, cursing myself again for ripping her bandages off, because I can't even hold her tight.
"You aren't broken," I murmur to her. "Everything will get better. You'll see."
When her eyes are dry and her breaths become stable, I lead her into the bathroom and carefully help her shower. I make sure the water doesn't directly hit her back and clean her wounds. After I dry her off, I reapply the medical cream and bandages.
When I'm done, I spin her into me and kiss her. "Your back looks better than yesterday."
"It does?"
"Yes."
She scrunches her face.
"What is it?"
"I don't want to see it until it's fully healed and I know what the long-term scarring will be. Does that make me vain?"
"No. I'm sorry I tried to force you. You don't have to look until you're ready."
She reaches up and tugs my head to her lips. "Thank you for taking care of me."
I tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Don't thank me. I'm always going to take care of you, Naomi." I wipe the tears out from under her eyes and kiss her. "We need to go."
She nods, sniffles, and picks up the dress she chose from the closet.
"Let me help you." I gently pull the dress over her and step back. "I haven't seen you in a dress before. You look nice."
She tilts her head. "You're wearing shorts and a T-shirt."
"Yeah."
"No Rambo gear?"
I chuckle. "Not today." I take her hand. "Come on. Let's get to Bermuda."
25
Naomi
The flight isover eight hours. I spend most of the time lost in thought or sleeping on Andre's chest. Exhaustion is something I rarely experienced in the past. Since Andre and my abduction by the cartel, everything seems to wear me out.
While my previous night was full of nightmares, I don't have any on the plane. The few times I stir, Andre kisses my head, reassuring me he's here, and I fall back into a deep sleep.
"Baby, wake up." Andre gently strokes my face.
