Page 80 of Forgiving Fate

Wiping the last tear that drifts down my face, I turn to look at Landon, only to find him already staring. His eyes are still full of pain, but I know that a weight must be lifted off his chest.

He searches my eyes and I can see he is debating on saying something, so I give him a reassuring nod. “What do you need?”

His shoulders relax and he bows his head and tries not to meet my gaze, in almost a whisper, “A hug?” He looks up at me like he just suggested something illegal.

This man is full of surprises. His mood changes on the dime, but that’s what living with trauma and grief is like. It’s a never-ending cycle day to day, second by second. And I may not be able to help him, but I can do this.

Flashing him a smile, I untangle my pinky from his and open my arms. “Bring it in Storm.”

His faces flashes in confusion, but it’s quickly gone and replaced by him bringing me into his arms and I feel his body visibly relax. And with that, the voices in my head fade into the background.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Landon

“I promise, I amnot bringing you here to off you. For fuck’s sake, Al.”

Allie turns her driver’s seat to face me and looks between me and my house. “Do you even live here? It’s dark as hell and it looks like no one has been here in months!”

Sighing, I relax back into the passenger seat. I knew getting her here was too easy.

After almost falling asleep in her arms after a hug that silenced every voice in my head, she offered me to stay over, but she had mentioned sleeping in the chair days in a row has destroyed her back. And I could tell the idea of her going back upstairs was going to trigger something in her mind, plus the heater being on its last leg during a snow storm resulted in me practically begging her to come stay with me at my place.

Part of me thinks that she just agreed because of the horror scene in her bedroom, but another part knows that she wants to keep an eye on me.

I have never said so much and nothing at all at the same time as I did tonight.

Tonight has been fucking hell. I had the worst nightmare of Allie dying to date, somehow ran two miles in the snow and broke into her house half asleep, half drunk, and ended up stabbed. I deserved it, and if I am being honest, it was fucking badass. She toppled me like a damn tiger and part of me is proud that if this situation was some random man instead of me, I now know she can hold her own. I never doubted her, but now tonight confirms it.

Glancing over at Allie, I see she is trying to find some way out of this situation and I have already caused her enough stress tonight, so I say, “Hey.” Bumping her arm lightly to gain her attention, she focuses on me and I continue, “You can just drop me off. Or we can turn around and I will sleep on the floor of the cabin.”

Allie shakes her head. “No. It’s fine. Can we go inside? It's freezing?”

Nodding, I hit the button on the garage and point to the open spot for her to drive park in.

We both get out of the car and I lead the way to the door that opens to the kitchen. I step aside to let Allie walk into the house and flip on the lights. I watch as she takes in the space and I really hope that she decides to stay here tonight. My shoulder is killing me and I don’t think I could take a night of sleeping on the floor. But I will. If that’s what she needs, I will.

Leaning against the kitchen counter, I fight every urge in my body that is telling me to reach down a few inches and grab the first bottle my hand lands on.

But I can’t. Not after I just bared my soul to this girl. I refuse to shove my…problemin her face after I just traumatized her.

I watch as she spins around and takes in her surroundings. She holds her injured hand close to her body and I try to see if I can catch any hint of fear or hesitation, but all I see is exhaustion.

Turning around, I reach in the cabinet next to the fridge and pull out a bottle of pain relief and set it on the counter. Allie walks up to the other side and nods towards the bottle.

I know I should give her a proper tour of the house, but I need to get some sleep and judging by the fact that she isn’t arguing about medicine, I take it she feels the same.

Careful not to move my shoulder too much, I get us both water and slide the glass and medicine over to Allie.

We stand in silence for a moment and I try not to let my mind run.

Good luck with that asshole. She almost ended you tonight.

Not wanting to give the voices in my head more ammo, I clear my throat and focus my attention on Allie. “I’ll give you a proper tour tomorrow, but the sun is about to come up and I am exhausted. So do you mind if we wait until we have a few hours of sleep under our belt and then I will try to be a proper host?”

Allie nods and I signal for her to follow me up the stairs.

As we make our way up the stairs, I point out the bathroom and stop at the last door on the right and push it open. “It isn’t much. I don’t have many guests, but the bed is comfortable, according to my brothers.” Walking in, I step out of the way to allow her to walk in.

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