Page 29 of Bound by Affliction
11
Green
Sittingon the floor with a sobbing woman in my arms, I rock her back and forth, kissing the top of her head. She yells as she cries, some things I can make out while others are just words all together in a continuous line. All of it cuts me deep, but I’m relieved at the same time. It’s, at least, astart.
I hope I’m not a dick, but this is what she needs. Never having dealt with this before, it’s a guessing game. But my gut hasn’t let me down yet, and I hope this isn’t the time itdoes.
She filled in the blanks on some of the things no one knew, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near all out of her. There’s no way. Watching her breakdown in my arms though is rough. All I can do for her is to hold her and try to give her the comfort and safety shedeserves.
The fire she showed me just now though, tells me to keep at this. Keep poking the bear as one would say. Damn I missed that, the Leah she was before all of this shit. I want her back, and I’ll damn well gether.
* * *
Aphone ringsoff in the distance only to stop and start all over again. Leah’s body is curled around me, eyes puffy from crying, but calm, breathing even, asleep. The asshole on the other end of that phone breaks this spell and is going to get their asskicked.
Ever so slowly, I maneuver my body out from under Leah only to replace it with a pillow. She groans just as the phone rings again. Fuckinghell.
Finding the offender, I swipe it. “What?”
“Let me talk to Leah.” Bristyl’s angry voice comes across the line. Cooper must be in the doghouse from her tone.Fuck.
Looking over to the bed, Leah is wiping the sleep away from her swollen eyes. If it weren’t Bristyl, I’d be pissed as hell, but with the shit she went through right alongside Leah, I’mnot.
“It’sBristyl.”
Leah moves faster than she has these last few days and snatches the phone out of my hand. “Bristyl?”
“I’m okay. Well, not really but I’m working on it.” I hold in my snort or disagreement and she pays me nomind.
She starts walking around her place. I fucking hate listening to a one-sided conversation and when she starts going through parts of what happened, which surprises me, I listen attentively. With every detail repeated a knife goes into my heart, twisting and turning, shredding me from the inside out. If there were some way to erase it all from her head, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky. Rubbing my hand over my face, I lay back in the bed and look up at the ceiling. This entire thing is fucked up beyond reason. Not to mention, I’ve been here for a long damn time. I know I’m needed for runs back home, and they’re giving me this time. I don’t know how muchthough.
Where does that leave Leah? With me gone—exactly what she wants, which can’t happen, notnow.
A small hint of a giggle erupts and I take it in, letting it absorb. It’s been too damn long since I’ve heard it and here Leah is, giving it freely. When I hear, “Yeah, make him pay,” I silently chuckle to myself, and I thank Cooper for being a dick. If he wasn’t, then I wouldn’t get to hear my girl almostlaugh.
Leah is a little lighter once she hangs up the phone, her eyes darting over to me. “He didn’t tell her. Did you knowthat?”
“Yep.” And knowing her, she’ll get pissed; at least one can hope. Pissed is showing more emotion than staring at the damnwall.
“Yep?” Her hand goes to her hip and her foot jets out in that stance women take when they’re about to lay it out. The fire from our earlier conversation is back, and I’m loving that shit. “You should have told Bristyl! She’s my bestfriend!”
Moving to her, she shifts only a touch, her blazing gaze not letting this go in the least. “Not my place. You were myplace.”
“Me! I’myour place.What the hell does that evenmean?”
Gently, I reach the back of her neck and pull her to me, so close, but not touching. My dick gets hard and I have to will it down, but it doesn’twork.
“Leah, you wanna be pissed. Be pissed. But it’s done. Let Bristyl and her man hash itout.”
“I can’t think with you this close.” She takes a huge step back, putting a wide ocean between us. This can’t happen. I won’t allow it to. I’m not giving up the small inches of progress I’ve made withher.
“That’s thepoint.”
“Green, I …” She takes steps back, and disappointment floods me. If this were before the attack, I’d grab her, kiss her until she couldn’t remember her name or where she lived and take her to bed, and we wouldn’t be laying sleeping. Unfortunately, that option isn’t in the cards now. Those assholes took that away from us and I have to be the one to get it back. Get us to where we were before all this shit broke into a million pieces, shattering likeglass.
Instead of pushing, I give her an out. “Come on, let’s watchsomething.”
Her deep exhale doesn’t go missed as we do like we always do, sit andstare.
