Page 90 of Never Gonna Lie
“I’ve been better,” I huff out a laugh. “Not every day someone tries to kill you and then kidnaps you. I majorly pissed someone off.”
He leans down and places a soft kiss on my forehead, and I melt into him. “We have a lot to talk about once you’ve recovered a bit more,” he sighs against me.
Feeling the tears well again, I reply, “I know.”
We sit in silence for a while, James continuing to stroke my hair as I repeat over and over in my head;I’m safe, there’s no threat. I cry when I need to—which is a lot—and he holds me the entire time. Eventually, I fall asleep, still emotionally and physically burnt out.
When I wake later, I’m still safely cocooned in James’s arms. He’s snoring softly under me, and I snuggle in closer. I can’t have been asleep that long, as it's still light outside. I move my head slightly to look at him. His eyes open, and I give a shy smile.
“You okay, baby?” he asks, sitting himself up and wiping the sleep from his eyes. “Can I get you anything?”
“I could murder a coffee,” I reply, smiling gently. “I haven’t had any caffeine in… well, I don’t know how long, and my head is pounding.”
“Of course, pretty girl. I’ll get it for you now.” James goes to stand up, and I whimper, holding onto his arm tightly. “Okay, okay. You’re okay, Raven,” he says gently. “You’re safe, there’s no threat.”
The fact that he remembered my mantra fills me with more love than I know what to do with. Repeating the mantra and doing my box breathing exercises, I begin to calm down.
“I’ll get Leo to grab us some coffees. I’m just going to the door, I won’t go any further than that, alright?”
I nod my head, feeling completely stupid about my breakdown, but I remember that I need to be kind to myself. I’ve just been through a traumatic ordeal, and I’m allowed to feel like an emotional wreck. No one will think any less of me, especially James.
He comes back a minute later, sitting back on the bed and bundling me in his arms. We sit in silence again, waiting for Leo. I don’t have the energy to talk right now.
A nurse comes in, checking my vitals and asking if I want anything for the pain, but I refuse, waving her off. I’m sure she’s completely rushed off her feet and doesn’t need to be running around after me.
Leo comes in ten minutes later. He sets the coffee down with some snacks, but I feel too nauseous to eat, so I just stick with my coffee. James nods his head in thanks as I sip the nectar of the gods, starting to feel somewhat human again.
“Can I ask you something?” he asks, and I look up at him before placing my coffee on the table next to us. My shoulder and hips protest, the bruising well and truly forming, and I wish I’d asked for that pain relief now.
“Of course,” I reply. “You can ask me anything.”
“One thing I can’t work out… why did you run off? What happened?”
Reminders of that bitch in the bathroom come flooding back, and I tense. “I had an… altercation in the bathroom. It upset me, and I needed air.”
“An altercation? In the bathroom?”
I hum in response.
He tilts my head up to face him, his blue eyes boring into me. “Gonna need you to elaborate a bit on that, baby.”
I sigh. “I’ve bumped into this woman a couple of times, she kept saying weird shit—implying that she waswithyou, with you. She cornered me in the bathroom and showed me pictures of the two of you kissing, and I… lost it.”
“Pictures? What woman? What did she look like?” he demands, his brows pinched together.
“I don’t know—red hair, skinny, far too much makeup.”
He looks thoughtful for a moment. “Did she say what her name was?”
I shake my head. “No, just treated me like I was nothing but a hindrance to her.”
“So she showed you the pictures and you ran?” he asks.
“Yeah, not my finest hour,” I concede, a flush appearing at my stupidity.
James runs a thumb softly over my cheek. “Nothing happened with her, pretty girl.”
“But the pic—” He presses a finger to my lips to stop me.
