Page 96 of Nightmare

He rights his pants, turning on his side to face me, pulling the blankets up to our heads, pressing closer to me so his mouth is an inch from mine.

The room falls into comfortable silence as we share breath, his arm falling across my middle. His hand curls around my waist, and he pulls my body flush against his.

“What now?” I ask, my voice hoarse.

He presses his nose to mine, rubbing against me, “Now we don’t worry about you getting kidnapped every time you leave your house.”

I swallow, pressing my eyes closed, “My mom never texted me, did she?” I dare to ask, knowing the answer already.

He sighs through his nose, “Mac traced the number to a burner cell, which he found in Brody’s hotel room.”

I nod, somehow disappointed even though I was surprised she would reach out to me in the first place.

His hand reaches up, threading in my hair, “But that doesn’t mean she never will.”

I laugh bitterly, “She won’t.”

“Olivia,” He starts, but I cut him off with a shake of my head. He doesn’t say another word, knowing not to push me. He knows what it feels like to lose your parents, he knows the pain I feel deep in that little pocket inside of me, and he knows that it isn’t something talking will fix.

Empty thoughts and promises won’t make either of us feel better, my parents won’t come back, and neither will his.

One day, maybe, it won’t hurt for either of us anymore.

“What about the… hotel room?” I ask, opening my eyes again to look at him.

“It’s taken care of.” He says, matter-of-factly, making my eyebrows pull down in confusion. “Jax and Mac cleaned it up.”

“How?” I ask, unsure if I want the answer or not.

His hands tighten in my hair a little, and he blinks a few times before answering me, “It’s what they’re good at. No one will ever know what happened today besides the five of us.”

I shake my head a little, “But, how?”

He clears his throat, his hands snaking back down my body, his fingertips caressing the skin underneath my t-shirt. “Everything is cleaned up, they got rid of him a couple hours ago, and any trace of him being in New York will disappear. Mac is probably still working.”

I shake my head a little again, confused, so he continues. “It’s what we do – what we did, at least. I did my part, and they did theirs. It’s all taken care of, we’re safe, I promise.”

I take a breath, deciding to trust him, since it’s his fate we’re talking about. My stomach churns in my gut regardless, nervousness swirling around like undercooked chicken. Taking another breath, I rub my nose along his, “Thank you.”

He presses forward, his hands pulling me into him at the same time, and he kisses me. His lips are light on mine, and I let out a breath through my nose as I sink into the kiss, feeling completely consumed by this man. My chest fills, my heart swelling with adoration and gratitude for him.

I don’t know what I did to deserve someone as perfect for me as Travis Monroe, but I’ll be thanking whatever God shows up in my afterlife for him.

He pulls back after a few heartbeats, his gaze staying on my lips, “You should get some sleep, pretty girl.”

“Trav.” I say, pulling his attention back to my eyes, and he nods in answer. “Do you ever… think about her?”

I’m walking on uneven ground bringing this up now, but I need to know. I need to know how he feels, I need to know he got his closure, that this isn’t going to come back and haunt us down the road.

He blinks, then turns to fall onto his back so he’s facing the ceiling. I follow, not giving him the space to ignore this conversation, swinging my leg over him to keep him trapped in my embrace.

“We need to talk about this eventually.” I say quietly.

He clears his throat, “It was a long time ago, Liv.”

I nod, understanding where he’s coming from, but it also wasn’ttoo long ago that he should still be avoiding it. “Do you visit her?”

He turns to look at me, “Visit her?!”

---