Page 159 of Desecrated Saints
She turns to look back at Clearview.
“Sev?”
The old nickname doesn’t wound me. It slips out from time to time, and it’s a welcome reminder. While Jude has walked free, he’s infinitely stronger for the pieces of Seven that he took into his heart forever. I can’t erase my past and, in all honesty, I don’t want to. I’m alive because of it.
“Yeah, princess?”
“What if she comes back?” Her voice lowers. “Eight?”
Trapping her against my chest, my lips meet her ear. “I will always love Patient Eight. Seven loves her too. But Brooklyn West is my future. Jude’s future. We’ll face it together with our family at our side.”
She bites her lip, still uncertain.
“You love me. Real or not real?”
It’s a silly coping strategy, something Doctor Richards taught us both in therapy. Our memories get tangled and confused, blurred by trauma. The past we shared and the pain we endured are important. It led us here, to freedom and salvation. We have to remember that. It all meant something.
“Real,” I murmur back. “Always real.”
Brooklyn looks up at me, hope shining in her grey eyes.
“Yeah, me too. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
The End
