Page 56 of When We Breathe
Pausing, I tilt my head to listen, and sure enough, there’s more.
“Fuck.” I need to get to her, so I find Brooks to let him know I’m out for the rest of the day, then hurry to my truck.
I’ve just parked in her driveway when the sky opens up, dumping rain. Adam pulls in directly behind me.
“She’s not going to be okay with this storm,” he yells at me as we run up the stairs, taking them two at a time. We’re completely soaked when we get to the door, which isn’t locked when I turn the knob, and we step inside.
Lightning flashes around us, then thunderbooms, loud and hard, almost making the walls shake.
“Her bags are packed,” I say, pointing at them in the middle of the room.
“Alex!” Adam yells, but she doesn’t respond. “Fuck, where is she?”
I walk into the bedroom and glance around. My gut tells me to check the closet. When I open the door, my stomach falls.
Alex is in the corner, her knees pulled up to her chest, rocking back and forth and sobbing, hiding her face in her hands.
“Baby,” Adam says, his voice rough. He immediately moves into the closet and sits on the floor and pulls her into his lap.
“We’re here,” I croon to her, running my hand over her head and down her beautiful hair as I kneel in front of them. “Shh, we’re here, Shorty.”
Kissing her cheek, Adam whispers in her ear, but it’s as though she’s not here at all, not hearing us. She’s gone to that place in her head. I don’t know if it’s her safe place or if it’s hell.
And it fucking wrecks me.
Thunder crashes around us, and she jumps, cries out, then buries her face in Adam’s neck and holds on to him so tightly, I’m surprised he can breathe.
“It’s okay,” he says softly as I rub circles over her back. “Nothing’s going to hurt you. Do you hear me? Alex, I need you to listen to me.”
With the next boom of thunder, and her cry of terror, I pull the door closed behind me, and we sit in the dark together.
“God, we missed you,” I say, needing to sayanything.To make her hear my voice. “We’ve been really boring without you. I had oatmeal from a packet for breakfast today. It was pretty gross.”
She’s still crying, and we’re still touching her, soothing all of us.
“I saw that you packed your bags, Princess,” Adam says. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” she says, her voice so small, so fucking vulnerable, I just lean in and hold them both.
“That’s right,” I say, kissing her shoulder. “You’re coming home with us, aren’t you, baby?”
I feel her nod, and the muscles that have been in knots for days finally loosen. Adam exhales.
Thank fuck.
“That’s the best news I’ve ever heard in my life,” Adam tells her. “Were you going to surprise us, sweetheart?”
She nods again and sniffles. “Yeah.”
“Breathe, Shorty. Take a deep breath for me, okay?”
She does as I ask and lets out a shaky exhale. But thenthe hail starts pounding on the roof, and she tenses up again.
“Hey, we’re right here,” Adam tells her. I wish I could see them, but I can picture him cupping her cheek. “You’re not alone. You’ll never sit through another storm alone, Alex. I promise you that.”
“Breathe some more,” I say, and they both inhale deeply. “Good. Do you feel it, Shorty? When we breathe like this together, it’s home. It’s our safe place. Nothing can touch us. Nothing can hurt us.”
She lets out a shaky sob and moves from Adam to me, hugging me close.
