Page 18 of Claiming Becca

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes that’s the only way to let it out. No one is going to think any less of you.”

I grab a tissue from the box next to her bed and snort. “I love you. You know that?”

“I love you too,” she replies, and I believe her.

I give her one more hug and stand. “I’ll get Julian to come back in before he has a fit.” I give her a small wave before leaving. Walking outside, I almost run into Julian since he was standing at her door.

“Thanks for giving me a minute with her,” I tell him. I begin to walk away, but he stops me and hugs me. I stand there in shock for a second before returning his embrace.

“Connor will be okay, Bec. I know it,” he says against the top of my head before pulling back. He stares down at me. “Don’t give up on him.”

“Never,” I declare. He gives me a nod and then turns to go back into Bailey’s room. Taking a deep breath, I return to the waiting room. Everyone is standing around. Bass comes up to me and gives me a tight hug.

“I’m taking Caroline home. She needs to rest,” he tells me.

“Of course,” I reply.

“You need to get some rest, too,” he chides. I start shaking my head.

Liv comes to stand beside me. “You’re going to come stay at my place,” she tells me, leaving no room for argument. “I’ll make you something to eat and make sure you get some sleep. Then we’ll return when visiting hours begin tomorrow, so you can sit with Connor.”

I look between her and Bass, then nod. “Okay. I don’t want to be home alone, so thank you, Liv.” Everyone says their goodbyes, and we leave to go home and rest. God knows we all need it after the past couple of days.

CHAPTER NINE

BECCA

FLIPPING ONto my side, I punch the pillow as I suck in a deep breath. Liv put me in her guest bedroom, but I can’t sleep. I’ve barely slept the past two days; you’d think I would have fallen asleep by now. But every time I close my eyes, I see Connor getting shot. My throat constricts. Sighing, I climb out of bed and walk to the window.

Liv has a cute cottage-looking house. The guest bedroom looks out over the garden in her backyard. The only flower I recognize are the purple hydrangeas, but there is a variety. It’s apparent she loves flowers; they’re planted everywhere. It’s very inviting.

“No!” Liv cries out. My head whips to the shared wall. Rushing out of my bedroom and to hers, I open her door. She’s rocking back and forth on the bed.

“It was just a dream,” she whispers to herself over and over.

“Liv?” I call out to her. Her head pops up from where it rests in her hands. “Are you okay?”

She wipes at her face and takes a deep breath. “I had a bad dream,” she murmurs. Walking to her bed, I sit down and reach my hand to comfort her, but she scoots back. “Please, don’t. I just need a minute.”

I move back to give her space. I’m still getting to know Liv, but she’s always seemed so put together. Seeing her like this breaks my heart. She brings her hands to the bed, spreads out her fingers, takes deep breaths, and exhales slowly. After a few seconds, she raises her head and looks at me, taking a shaky breath.

“I have bad dreams sometimes,” she tells me. “They feel so real it takes me a little while to realize it was just a dream.” I want to ask questions, but now is not the time.

“Do you have tea? I can make you some.” Standing, I walk to her bedroom door.

“Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you,” she mumbles. Walking to her kitchen, I open the cabinets until I find everything I need. Steeping the tea, I make us both a cup. As I finish, Liv walks into the kitchen with a purple silk robe. I sit her cup before her as she climbs on a chair at her kitchen island.

“You’re probably wondering what that was about, huh?” she whispers. I blow on my cup and study her for a minute. She won’t look at me. She keeps her eyes focused on her cup.

“Liv,” I say her name to get her attention. She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. Walking around the island and sitting beside her, I slowly put my hand out to see if she moves away again. She doesn’t this time, so I place my hand on her forearm.

“You don’t have to tell me about your dream unless you want to,” I tell her. She visibly relaxes. Leaning toward her, I hug her, and she surprises me when she hugs me back, hard. We sit like that for a long time before she finally pulls back and wipes at her face.

“I’m sorry. I should be taking care of you. Not the other way around,” she says.

I tilt my head at her. “You are taking care of me. You let me stay at your house. You’ve made sure I’ve eaten over the past two days. You’ve been amazing. It’s okay to need other people and not just take care of them.” She takes a sip of her tea.

Setting it down, she runs her finger along the cup’s rim. “I learned a long time ago not to need anyone, but then Ansley came along and turned my world upside down” she explains.

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