Page 25 of Walker

I pull the blanket up to his shoulders, as he sits there shaking. I know it’s not from the cold, but I just don’t know what else to do.

“Me and my mom lived in a really bad part of town when I was ten years old. People would literally get shot inside of their house because there were so many drive-bys. My mom was terrified of someone breaking into the apartment, so she slept in front of the door.”

He pauses, looking at his hands. “One night, I woke up to my mother screaming for me to hide. Her worst fear came true. They broke into our house in the middle of the night and held us captive for twenty hours.”

My stomach clenches, my heart screaming at me. I look at Walker who is pissed off. “They used me as leverage against my mother, she would agree to anything to keep me safe. But no matter what she did to keep me safe, they would do it anyway. I watched my mother being tortured for twenty hours and she watched me. That was what my nightmare was about, I was reliving it.”

“Darren, I’m so sorry,” I tell him, rubbing his back, just to do anything.

I want to hurt them; I want those people who hurt him like this to suffer beyond humanly possible.

“They are getting out of jail tomorrow. Tomorrow my mom and stepdad are on their way down here from Michigan to start over. She doesn’t know.”

I rest my forehead on his shoulder, then an idea hits me. “How about they stay in my house? It's empty right now.”

Darren smiles at me. “That would be great baby, they were going to stay in a hotel until they found a place.”

Walker is silent, watching Darren. I give him a confused look when he takes out his phone texting someone at three AM.

“Do you want to go back to sleep or lay watching TV for while?” I ask Darren.

He slides out of bed. “I’m going to take a shower to clear my head.” He walks across the room to the bathroom; I hear the water start and then the door shuts.

Walker watches the door shut; he sighs rubbing his face. “Don’t worry baby girl, I will fix this shit.” He taps me on the ass when I get off the bed.

“Give me a kiss so I can go take care of Darren.”

Walker smiles, showing his one dimple. “Yes, ma’am.” I may have demanded the kiss, but Walker is the one controlling the kiss.

I walk to the bathroom and throw my hair up in a bun and shut the door behind me. Darren is facing the shower, letting the water run down his back, his forehead against the shower wall.

I take off my clothes and open the shower door stepping inside with him. He looks at me as I walk to him. I wrap my arms around his middle holding him, my face against his chest.

I reach over and grab the bottle of body wash; I pour the soap in my hand. We don’t speak, sometimes your other senses are needed to break you out of the fog: touch, smell, sight.

I wash his thighs, calves, belly, back, his hair, and slowly I see the change in him as he comes back to his old self.

It makes me so sad that he has dealt with this all this time by himself, I just want to hold him forever and never let go.

Darren pushes me gently until my back is resting against the shower wall. “You’re so fucking beautiful, I don’t deserve you,” he whispers to me, his forehead against mine, “but I’m keeping you anyway.”

I smile, putting my hands on either side of his face. “I want you to keep me, both of you.”

He smiles at that and kisses me. I sigh. They feel like home every time they touch me. Darren picks me up off the floor and I wrap my legs around him, we kiss and kiss. He doesn’t touch me anywhere, both of us just in this moment locked in with each other.

“We better get you warmed back up,” he tells me, breaking the kiss once the water starts getting cold.

He walks with me out of the shower, sets me on the counter, and takes a towel drying me off so tenderly.

“Do you feel better?” I ask.

He nods. “Yeah, I do.” He takes my hair from my bun and brushes out my long blonde hair, his fingers running through the locks.

“Beautiful, all of you.” He gives me the sweetest, softest look. I kiss his cheek and hug him tight once more, before I hop down from the counter pulling him with me.

Walker sits up when he sees us come in. “Are you okay?” he asks.

Darren nods. “Yeah, thank you both. I know my shit isn’t what you signed on for.”

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