Page 89 of Dare To Fall

Strong arms wind around me, pulling me on top of a hard chest. “You’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

The words penetrate the memories I’m trapped in.

I’m not in the house in Michigan waiting for Elena to return. I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere with my stepbrother.

I cling tightly to him and bury my face into the side of his neck. “Th-thunder.”

A hand slips under the hem of my t-shirt and strokes up and down my spine. “Are you scared of the storm, Kitten?”

I nod helplessly, the old trauma of being abandoned clawing at my insides.

“It’s not going to hurt you.” His chest rumbles beneath me as he talks.

I make a sound of disagreement. “I ca-can’t. Pl-please don’t ma-make me go. I’ll be go-good.”

My voice comes out small and weak, childlike. I hate how it sounds. As if I’m about to cry. My throat aches, tears threatening to fall if he sends me away.

Eli’s lips gently brush my forehead. “Don’t worry, Kitten. You can stay as long as you like. I’ll keep you safe from the storm.”

A tiny part of me wants to argue and push him away. I should refuse his comfort and the safety of his arms. The stronger, more primal terror that’s driving me doesn’t care. He feels solid and secure—a haven in the dark. A warm body to thaw the chill that has invaded my limbs. I don’t want to be on my own. Not in a strange place.

The patter of the rain outside against the window is a continuous percussion against the glass, the wind shrieking through the trees.

Thunder booms, shaking the windowpanes, and Eli hugs me tighter when I give a little scream. “It’s okay, baby. I got you.”

“D-don’t le-let go,” I beg him.

“I won’t.”

We lay there for what feels like hours, with the tempest raging outside the cabin.

Eli whispers soft words against my hair, but I barely catch any of them, so caught up with the chaos in my head. There’s no thought of trying to sleep. No way to relax.

Eventually, the thunder lessens, the noise becoming nothing more than angry rumbles far off in the distance. The tension holding my body tense relaxes its grip, and piece by piece, I relax against Eli’s heat.

Neither of us move.

I’m too exhausted and drained, still feeling anxious. His bed is warm. He is warm, and he makes a comfortable pillow. Taking in a breath, I inhale his scent. His hands are still running over my back and down my sides under my t-shirt. There’s nothing sexual in it, no dark motive, and I don’t feel threatened. It’s comforting, soothing.

“Thanks,” I whisper against his throat. “I woke up, and the thunder was so loud, and I didn’t know where I was.”

“Shhh, it’s okay. Why are you scared of storms?”

“I don’t really know. I’ve always been frightened of them.”

“What did you do back home when you had one?”

“I’d find somewhere to hide under my bed or make a nest of blankets in my closet. Fear would paralyze me. If I had the door closed, it would muffle some of the sounds. As I got bigger, listening to music on my headphones helped. I know it’s a dumb thing to be frightened off.”

“Having fears isn’t dumb, Ari. Everyone is scared of something. It’s part of being human.”

A strange sense of unreality sweeps over me. Why does it feel easier to talk to him surrounded by darkness? Maybe because it reminds me of Sin. Confiding in him had been easier when I hadn’t been able to see him. When he’d been nothing but a raspy whisper in my ear.

“Why do you have drawings of me?” I blurt out.

Eli’s hand snakes up to tangle in my hair, his finger massaging my scalp slowly and rhythmically. “Everyone has an obsession. You’re mine.”

So far, that hasn’t been a good thing. I shiver at the thought, but it soon fades under his caressing touch.

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