Page 160 of Cavern of Silence
She scrunches her face, puts her finger over her lips, then looks at Blaise.
Zoe steps forward. "I'll protect you. Let's go work on our song."
She jumps out of my arms and reaches for Zoe's hand. "Okay."
I go with Ryker and Sloane to Blaise's bedroom. She asks him a bunch of routine questions.
"I'm afraid I'm going to be a crippled old man after this," he quietly admits.
"I don't know about that. Let's take a look. Can you remove your shirt for me?"
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them, he clenches his jaw, and I see the shame in his eyes I've always felt regarding my back. With one hand, he reaches behind and pulls off his shirt.
I swallow down the bile that rushes to my throat. His chest is black and blue, and his back has the sameJandTmine has.
I lean into his ear. "That was pretty sexy."
His eyes are sad. "What?"
"Taking your shirt off like that."
His lips turn up. It's not a huge smile, but I'm going to take whatever I can get.
I kiss him and step a few feet away so Sloane can examine him.
"Your ribs are broken, but I'm also worried about your hands and would like to get X-rays to see the total extent of the damage. I can set it up tomorrow at my friend's office. Are you okay with that?"
He nods. "Sure."
She asks him more questions and finishes her exam then turns to both of us. "I don't want to overstep, but I'm a therapist. I'll be here giving the others therapy. You've both been through a lot. If either of you ever want to talk, pull me aside, okay?"
"Sure. Thank you," I tell her.
Ryker stays silent but politely smiles and nods.
"He needs you now but will need you more later."
She leaves the room, and I stand between his legs and put my arms around his neck. "I don't want either of us to shove everything that's happened into our cavern of silence."
"What do you mean?"
"You told me you keep things in and then you blow. I've kept secrets for years. We need to figure out how to own our pain and not let it own us."
He tugs me closer. "I'm fine, Julieta. You're here, safe. Nothing else matters."
"We want that to be the truth, but it's not. They held you captive and tortured you. There are repercussions."
"I'm fine."
"No, you aren't."
His face hardens. "It's in the past."
"No, it's not."
"Why are you doing this?" he growls.
"Because I know. They did the same thing to me. It doesn't just go away," I cry out.
