Page 10 of Healing Love

He takes a deep breath, encouraging me to do the same. I do. We breathe together while he cradles my face. Elliot doesn’t have to say anything. I know he understands. This man has had many sleepless nights.

“What happened, sunshine?” he murmurs. I lift my eyebrows at his pet name for me, surprised at how easily it rolled off his tongue. Has he been thinking of me as his sunshine? I want more than anything for that to be true, but that’s crazy. We don’t really know each other.

Even as I think that I know it's not true. Elliot and I have connected on another level, a deeper level than I've ever shared with anyone. I don't know his favorite color, but I know he probably thinks things like favorite colors are silly and a waste of words.

“Brielle, are you hurt? Did your mom do something?” I blink up at Elliot, still not sure why he showed up here in the first place. Was he here to see me? To ask me something? To check up on me? “Talk to me, honey. I never thought I’d be the one begging for conversation, but you have to give me something.”

Honey. Another pet name. I’m on the verge of tears, so damn exhausted, and not just from last night. It’s been an exhausting six years since my dad left. Even before then, it’s not like I could please anyone.

“I’m not hurt,” I tell him before he jumps in his truck and hunts down my mother.

“Good. That’s good,” he soothes. “Come on, let’s sit. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong. Let me in, Brielle. Just a little.”

I appreciate the irony of our flipped positions. Yesterday, I was asking him the same thing. I nod, knowing I need to talk to someone. After what happened between my mother and me, I’m done. I can’t go back and support her lifestyle. But what does that even look like?

"Start at the beginning," Elliot murmurs, drawing my attention back to him. He sits on the couch, pulling me down with him, and then he wraps an arm around my waist and tucks me into his side. The world doesn't seem quite as scary and overwhelming when I'm all wrapped up in Elliot. "I dropped you off last night, your mother was clearly intoxicated. What happened when you went inside?"

I take a deep breath and let it all out, ready to pour out my soul to the only man who has ever asked.

“My mom was in a terrible mood,” I start. “And yes, very drunk. She started drinking back when… Well, anyway. I won’t bore you with all those details,” I mumble. When I get flustered, my thoughts scatter in a million directions.

“Hey. I want all of the details eventually,” Elliot says. “But for now, just one step at a time, right?”

I nod, falling right into those forest-green eyes. "It's been just us for a few years now. The drinking has gotten worse, and at some point, it turned into pills. I didn't know for sure if she was using drugs until I met her dealer last night."

Every muscle in Elliot’s body stiffens, and a low, beastly growl rumbles up from his chest. He doesn’t say anything, however, so I take that as my cue to go on.

“They were, um… Oh, god, how do I even say it?” I shut my eyes, which makes me feel a little less vulnerable. “I woke up to the sounds of them, uh, having sex,” I whisper. “I didn’t even know he was in the house or that my mom was seeing anyone. I tried ignoring it by going down to the basement to watch a movie on the big screen, and it worked for a little bit. Then, halfway through the movie, he was just… there. Right next to me.”

“What the fuck?” Elliot roars. I put my hand on his chest to calm him down. He rests his hand over mine, squeezing it and silently thanking me. “Did he… did he touch you? God help me if he laid a finger on you–”

"No," I'm quick to say. "He scared the shit out of me, but he didn't touch me. He never introduced himself, he just said that my mom has been a loyal client of his for a while now. He usually sells Vicodin for ten dollars a pill, but he'd be willing to give me the same discount as my mom."

I shiver as I remember our conversation. It took a second for his meaning to sink in, but once I understood what my mom was giving him instead of money, I knew I had to get out of there.

“Jesus Christ,” Elliot curses. “I’m so sorry, sunshine. So goddamn sorry I wasn’t there.”

A second later, his arms are around me, pulling me into his lap. I don’t realize I’m crying until he wipes my tears away with his thumb. I sniffle, feeling pathetic and so damn tired. Elliot holds me through it all, tucking my head under his chin as he strokes his fingers up and down my spine.

“I’m here,” he repeats softly, infusing his strength into me with each word.

“Your leg!” I exclaim, suddenly remembering that I’m on his lap.

“I’m fine, woman,” he grunts, getting me settled back into his arms. “Let me hold you.”

I smile against the side of his neck, loving that even when he’s sweet, he’s still a little grumpy. We stay wrapped up like that for long moments. I soak up his leather and spice scent and nuzzle into his beard, loving everything about being folded up in his embrace.

“You can’t stay here, and you can’t go back home. You know that, right?” Elliot asks after a bit.

“Sounds like the start of a bad country song,” I joke.

Elliot doesn’t even flinch. “I’m serious. Stay with me.”

“Uh, what? Me? You? No. I mean, what?” That’s insane. But what other choices do I have right now?

“It’s the best option,” he says confidently, nodding to himself.

“Have you forgotten about my car that won’t start? I was miraculously able to find an Uber driver to pick me up and take me here last night, but in a town this size, I can’t exactly count on being driven to work every day.”