Page 56 of The Scars of Us

“You don’t have to run from me, Warrior,” he called out after me.

Ryker’s words stopped me, only a few feet from the door. I felt him behind me as his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling my body against his. Pressing a soft kiss to my shoulder, he murmured, “Talk to me, baby.”

My mouth dried up, the words stuck in my throat. I blinked rapidly, willing back tears. Ryker slowly turned me to face him and pressed our foreheads together as he released a breath.

“I know you’ve been hurt before, experienced things that no one should ever have to. Just know that I’d never do that to you. Ever.I know you’re probably not ready to talk about it yet, but when you are, I’ll be here.”

And with those words, Ryker smashed a small hole in the barrier surrounding the broken pieces of my heart. My eyes watered as I looked away. “My demons are torturing me a lot lately. I’m having trouble dealing with them.”

“You know I’m here for you, Warrior. You don’t have to fight alone,” he said as he caressed my cheeks with his thumbs. My eyes closed from the blissful sensation, wishing I could just stay like that with him forever.

Opening my eyes, my gaze locked with Ryker’s. My voice cracked, sounding weak and small as I spoke, “You know how I told you that someone abused me when I was little?”

“Yes,” he growled angrily.

“Well, that person was institutionalized, but he’s being considered for release.” I sighed deeply and looked away as the reality overtook me. “Kamden and I went to protest it. The whole thing overwhelmed me.” My hands wrapped around my body, keeping the towel in place and the shiver coursing through my body at bay. “I… I hadn’t been that close to him in years, and I didn’t deal with it well.”

Ryker enveloped me in a hug. “Why didn’t you tell me? You shouldn’t have dealt with that by yourself.”

Laying my head against his chest, I confessed, “I didn’t want to bring you into it. You shouldn’t have to deal with my issues.”With my psychotic brother.

Ryker pulled back, gripping me softly by the shoulders and leaning down to look in my eyes. “Don’t start this shit again, Ky. If I didn’t want to deal with your issues, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” I choked.

“Hurt? Why would I get hurt?” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his forehead creased as his eyes ran over my face, looking for an answer.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “If my… he gets out, he’ll come after me. He’ll hurt you just for being with me.”

He laughed—actually laughed. “Baby, you don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” He paused before his eyes steeled, his voice deepening angrily. “And if he lays one finger, one fucking finger on you, he won’t be breathing for long.”

My eyes searched his, looking to see if he was joking—he wasn’t. This had to be the most serious I’d ever seen him. My heart swelled at his protectiveness, and my resolve to stay away from him crumbled.

Melting against him, I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek to his muscular chest. “I’m not good for you,” I whispered.

His body rumbled beneath me with a soft chuckle. “Oh, yeah? Why not?”

“I’m just not.” I’d already divulged too much, and I didn’t want to reveal anymore, afraid he’d leave if he learned the whole truth about me.That might be best for him.

Tilting my chin up, he stared deep in my eyes. “You are.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

Then, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, evaporating all my fears and doubts and replacing them with hope. He made me feel as if one day, I could be complete, not the fucked-up, fractured version of a person that I was.

The door opened, causing me to jerk away from Ryker and tightly grip my towel around me. An older man walked in, giving Ryker and me a suspicious look as we darted around him and exited.

A laugh burst from Ryker as soon as the door closed. My heart beat fast as adrenaline rushed through me from almost being caught. I couldn’t fight my own laughter when Ryker’s was so contagious.

Draping his arm over my shoulder, he led me toward the locker rooms. We both were still laughing as he said, “That was a close one.”

“Yeah, and whose fault is that? You’re such a bad influence,” I joked.

“Me?” His eyebrows rose incredulously as a playful grin tipped up his lips. “You’re the one who makes me crazy. I can’t control myself when it comes to you. Especially when I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

My stomach and chest bunched tightly from his words. I felt so terrible for avoiding him, especially when I considered how I just stopped talking to him with no explanation or reason. Who knows what was going through his mind that whole time; he probably thought he’d done something wrong, and it was really me and my madness.

“I’m sorry,” I looked up at him as we walked. “I was only trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me, Warrior. I just need you.”

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