Page 327 of The Sinner: James

JAMES

She gets lostin my arms, her face stained with tears.

Finally thawed, her heart beats for me, stronger than ever. I hold her tight as if I've just found her.

And in a sense, it’s true because I’ve lost her so many times.

“I’m... so sorry…” she whimpers against my chest.

“Don’t be...” I say, stroking her hair.

My heart hurts.

She’s finally here.

The girl I fell in love with.

The girl who couldn’t breathe around me and wanted me to have her body and also teach her.

The girl I killed one summer night, claiming her body and making her mine… All the while hoping I’d find her again inside a beautiful woman. In my arms… Maybe, later.

And now, she’s here with me.

They both are.

Alive and well, needing me more than ever.

Stroking my chest, she rests her head against my shoulder and cries her heart out.

Broken.

She wraps her arms around me, her body melting into mine. She’s warm and soft.

So vulnerable.

“I’ll take care of her… Okay, baby?”

She nods against my chest.

I tilt her chin up. She looks at me with misty eyes.

“I need that girl more than you can imagine,” I say.

She gives me a soft smile, more tears glinting in her eyes as I run my fingers across her cheek.

“I’m not going to hurt her again. And I won’t let anyone else hurt her, either. No other man will touch you. And no other woman will touch me. It’s going to be you and me and the rest of this fucked up world. Okay?”

She nods again, her tears staining my shirt, her nails sinking into my back. I press her face against my chest, my heart thudding underneath.

I can’t believe I have her back.

She breaks away from me after a few moments, her hair a mess, two trails of dry tears crossing her face.

“I need to do something about this,” she says, pointing to her hair.

“You have everything you need in the bathroom,” I say.

She searches my eyes.

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