Page 13 of Lonely Heart

A nightmare. It was just a nightmare. Marco wasn’t going to let anyone hurt me.

Even though I was awake now and could see I wasn’t in any danger, my heart was still racing, my mind still stuck in that nightmare, running down the street, trying to get away.

I tried to hold them back, but I couldn’t. The tears spilled down my cheeks, and my body was wracked by violent sobs.

Marco pulled me into his arms, held me close, and stroked one of his hands up and down my back. He whispered words of comfort, doing his best to calm my erratic breathing and racing heart.

It took me some time, but in the warmth and safety of his embrace, I eventually relaxed enough to return to reality, and I stopped hyperventilating.

When I pulled my face back from his chest and looked up at him, I saw nothing but concern. He held my face in his hands and swiped at my tears with the pad of his thumbs. “Are you okay?”

Marco’s tone was so soft and gentle, like he was trying his best not to wake a sleeping baby because he spoke too loudly.

My face felt like it was on fire. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” he insisted.

“I had a nightmare and woke you up.”

“I don’t mind being woken up for you, Ivy. I’m glad you asked me to stay with you last night, so I could be here to see you through this. After what you went through, you’re allowed to not be functioning like normal. It’s going to take time.”

The tension in my body released at the sincerity in his tone and the understanding in his words. And while the tears had already been brushed away, the gentles strokes of his thumbs along my cheeks hadn’t faltered. It was so comforting, more than I would have anticipated if someone had ever told me MarcoKingston would be holding my face in his hands like this. “Thank you for not making me feel bad about this.”

He gave me a nod and released my face from his hands. It was almost pitiful how hard I had to work not to react to the loss of his tender touch. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shrugged, my eyes dropping to my lap. After taking two or three deep breaths, I laid my head back down on the pillow, and Marco didn’t hesitate to do the same beside me. I belatedly realized he hadn’t ever gotten himself underneath the covers last night, not even after I’d already fallen asleep.

“There’s not much to tell,” I started. “I was right back there on that dark side street out of view of anyone, and I was running to get away. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and all I wanted to do was stop to catch my breath, but I knew I couldn’t. I knew if I stopped, he’d catch up to me, and I’d suffer a worse fate than I already did.”

Marco covered my hand with his. “It was just a nightmare. You’re safe now. It’s probably going to take your mind some time to catch up and realize that.”

“But I’m not,” I argued.

“What?”

“I’m not safe. He’s still out there.”

His hand squeezed mine. “I’ll take you to the police station this morning. You can report everything, and hopefully they’ll be able to find this guy. As for you, whatever you need from here on out to feel safe, I’ll make sure you have it, okay?”

My throat grew painfully thick with my emotions. “I hope you know how grateful I am that you were here last night. I don’t think I’d be doing half as well as I am right now if it hadn’t been for you seeing me through. I think I’m going to owe you an amazing birthday present this year.”

He let out a soft chuckle. “The only gift I need a month from now is confirmation that you’re okay, that this guy was caught,and that you don’t have any lingering trauma from this whole ordeal. If all of that happens, it’ll be the best birthday of my life.”

My free hand pinched the side of my leg as I felt my chest tighten. It was as though time had slowed as I replayed those words in my head.

Marco thought it’d be the best birthday of his life if he could be assured I was okay. Maybe it had been something off the cuff for him to say, but it felt like a tremendous declaration.

I offered a small smile in return, and the two of us stayed like that—Marco holding my hand as we face each other in the bed—without either of us saying a word. I couldn’t say what was going through his mind at that moment, but I knew what was happening inside mine was a mess.

For the first time in my life, I was seeing Marco in a light I’d never seen him before now. We’d always been comfortable with one another, because we’d known each other for so long. Beyond the occasional hug or kiss on the cheek during a family celebration, there hadn’t ever been anything like this between us.

Nothing that felt nearly this intimate.

And while I knew this wasn’t intimacy in the traditional sense and that Marco didn’t have any romantic feelings for me—that he was merely being a supportive friend after such a traumatic incident—I had to admit, it felt nice to experience it. To know I had someone who felt like family but wasn’t technically family to be here for me like he was. To know Marco was willing to forget whatever plans he might have had last night and stay with me, so he could be sure I was okay.

Even if I didn’t have the romantic relationship I had been hoping for in my life, maybe I wasn’t as lonely as I had originally believed myself to be.

Following a long bout of comfortable silence, I said, “You have to work today. In fact, you’re probably already late.”

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