Page 88 of Oblivion

I recoiled, only to find I hated not touching her. Gently setting my palm back on her lower back calmed that unease, and I slowly rubbed to coax her up for air.

“What’s going on, jailbait? Sit up and talk to me.”

The littlejailbaitjoke failed to make a positive impact. In fact, it made her cry harder. It broke my fortified heart to see her sobbing with open, raw despair. I didn’t get the feels easily, but something about Penny made it impossible to function as I normally did.

“There’s nothing you can do, Dante. Just go away.”

I was having none of it. While her voice told me to fuck off, she didn’t slap away my touch.

I sat on the bed and smoothed my fingers up and down her spine. “Talk to me, babe. Tell me what’s going on. I thought you’d be on top of the world now that you’ve got your hair done.”

Her shuddering inhale under my hand made my heart ache. A muffled reply came, but I didn’t catch it.

“What’s that?”

She arched up onto her elbows, but kept her face hidden behind her hands.

“I said it’s nothing you can help with.”

“Try me.”

Penny twisted her head my way, and fuck me, talk about a kick to the chest. The impact of her distressed gaze landed deep, as did her emotion-laden words.

“Unless you can undo the past or wipe memory blanks, then you can’t help.”

My lungs deflated and I set an elbow on my knee. “I’m no shrink, and trust me when I say I’ve got fucked up issues of my own, but what I’ve found is that telling someone, anyone, even if it’s just sharing the smallest part of what’s bothering you, can ease the burden immensely.”

I received a red-eyed, disbelieving look. My hand remained on her body as she rolled onto her back. She sniffed, and wiped at her eyes and nose with the long sleeve of her sweater.

“You won’t get it, Dante.”

“Won’t get what?”

“What’s going on in here.” She pointed to her head, and I scoffed bitterly.

“Babe, I’ve seen innocent people killed. Men, women, and kids. Maybe even killed innocent people myself. I’ve seen the heartache of war and played my part, but that doesn’t mean I understood it. Even to this day, there are things I can’t get my head around, or remember, for that matter. Sometimes memory blanks are our body’s way of protecting us.”

I shrugged and looked down into her pretty blue eyes brimming with internal torture.

“Whatever is going on in here…” I tapped her temple. “…isnothingthat can scare me. While you’re under my roof, I’m here to protect you in any way I can. And if that includes fighting the demons in your head, then bring them the fuck on. I’m trained for that shit. It’s what I do.”

“Fight stuff?” she asked thickly.

My snort created a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Yeah, fight stuff.”

Her smile faded and she began to worry her lower lip with her teeth.

I bent a leg onto the bed and settled into a comfortable position. “What’s on your mind?”

Penny toyed with her sleeves while I tried to find a place for my hand that didn’t involve touching too high or too low on her abdomen.

“That’s just the thing, there’s nothing in my mind where thereshouldbe something.”

I frowned. “How do you mean?”

Mouth working, she visibly searched for words. “Well, when I got taken, I don’t remember a single thing until I woke in the hotel room. I remember getting home with Vivi and going to bed, but…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Nothing from then. I should remember something like that, right?”

“I mean, yeah. Technically, you should. However, memory blanks are common after traumatic situations. Do you think you were drugged?”

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