Page 43 of Saved from Obsession

Pulling my hand back from the camera, I cup her cheek, brushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “I just want to make sure everything is all set for you. So you don’t have to worry.”

“I know.” She reaches up to stroke the back of my neck, her fingers massaging gently. “And I love that you’re doing it. But I don’t want you to leave too late and be tired driving home.”

Home. It feels less like it, knowing that Georgia won’t be there.

I brush my lips over hers and say, “You could still come with me. It wouldn’t have to be at my place. We have the extra apartment set aside for clients, and it hardly ever gets used. You could stay there.”

It’s not the first time I’ve brought up the suggestion, and I get the same response as before. She shakes her head, her brow wrinkling, and says, “I can’t. As much as I want to be near you, I have to stay here on my own for a while. I need to prove to myself that Icanbe alone.”

“And yeah, I’m scared.” Her teeth worry her lower lip. “But if I don’t even try… I don’t want to let those men make me into someone who’s afraid all the time.”

But I don’twanther to be scared. I want to protect her, and it’s killing me that she’s insisting on doing this. But I can’t say I don’t understand. “I get it,” I tell her softly. “I don’t like it, but I get it.”

Putting my arm around her shoulder, I guide Georgia back inside and through the kitchen to the living room. We sit on the couch and she turns so her legs are draped over mine. “I know you want to prove this to yourself,” I say, “but you need to promise me something.”

She snuggles closer to me. “What?”

“If you start to feel overwhelmed, or you’re having trouble sleeping, or eating, you call me. Any time. Don’t keep it from me, thinking it’s a sign of weakness. It’s not.” I hold her gaze, wanting to make sure she absorbs it. “Just because you need to ask for help doesn’t mean youcan’tdo something on your own. But you shouldn’thaveto, not if you have people who care about you and want to help.”

“I know, Leo.” Her voice is soft. “I will.”

“And if you have a nightmare….” This is one of the things I’m most worried about. She’s been doing better lately, but she still wakes up shaking and crying several times a week. And now I won’t be here to comfort her, which adds another layer to the growing pit in my gut.

“I’m not going to call you at three in the morning, Leo.” Georgia scrunches her face at me. “You need your sleep, too. And what if you’re working? I’m not going to interrupt you in the middle of a job.”

“Yes, call me, even then.” I scoop her up and settle her on my lap, then tip her chin up to look at me. “If I’m in the middle of a job, which I sincerely doubt will be the case, you can leave me a message and I’ll call you back as soon as I can. But Iwantyou to call me.”

“If you don’t,” I add. “I’m going to be thinking you’re having nightmares every night and not telling me. So, I’ll sleep even worse than if you just call me when youdohave them.”

Her lips twitch. “That sounds a little like emotional blackmail.”

“Is it working?”

She sighs, and her smile turns into a genuine one. “Yes. It is. But it goes the same for you. Okay?”

While I don’t love that Georgia saw me having one of my nightmares, and I feel terrible that she had to worry about getting hurt waking me up, there were some silver linings to the experience. After I shared the story about the mission with her, she had a different perspective that I’ve been giving a lot of thought to. A perspective that helps lift some of the guilt I’ve been carrying for years.

And having Georgia next to me, to hold her as I fell back to sleep—if I were on my own, I would have lain awake for hours instead. “Okay, sweetheart. I’ll call you, too.”

My phone buzzes from the coffee table where I left it, and a quick glance shows it’s Cole sending a message about my upcoming job. It’s an unwelcome reminder that I have to leave, even though my body and heart desperately want to stay.

Georgia glances over, then lets out a little sigh. “As much as I want to keep you here, I know you have to go.”

Sorrow tugs at her features—her eyes darken and her brows wing down into a V, little creases forming between them. She clutches at the front of my shirt, but I don’t think she even notices. “You’ll call me when you get there? So I know you got home alright?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” I smooth my thumb across the lines on her forehead. “And I’ll see you on Saturday. So, it won’t be that long.”

“I know.” She forces her mouth back into something approximating a smile. “And I’ll be busy until then. I’m going to look for a job, and see about setting up an Etsy store, and maybe joining a gym if I can find one that’s not too expensive.”

If Georgia came back to Sleepy Hollow with me, she could work out at Blade and Arrow’s gym for free, but I bite my tongue to keep from saying it. Maybe after a few weeks of living on her own, I can convince her to come back with me.

“That sounds like a good idea,” I say. “But make sure you’re being careful. Don’t take anything that requires you to work at night. In fact, let me know about any business that offers you a job so I can do a background check on all the employees.”

“And—” I’m on a roll now. “I want to make sure there aren’t any complaints filed against the company. You’d be surprised how many places have lawsuits filed against them and the company just pays off the accuser to keep them quiet.”

As I’m imagining Georgia driving to and from work, another thought strikes me. “Also, you should get your car checked. When’s the last time it was inspected? How are the brakes? Actually, nevermind, I’ll take the car to the shop when I’m here this weekend.”

“Leo…”

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