Two Elders walked up to the noose and cut Grace down. Her body was lowered down to mine, and I held her close as her feet finally made contact with the ground.
I ripped off the noose like it was poison fabric and couldn’t get it off her delicate skin fast enough. The noose had left a red mark on her neck, but didn’t break the skin, and I was more grateful for that than anything in a long time.
She began kissing me all over my face.
“Are you hurt? How bad are you hurt?” she asked between kisses, not worried about herself, but me instead.
“I’m fine. Just fine.” I pulled back just enough that I could inspect her fully and to make sure she was truly okay, but she clearly was doing the same to me.
I then took the pearl necklace that she still gripped in her hand, and draped it around her neck, securing the clasp. She had earned the pearls, and I wanted her to wear them proudly.
Not wanting to be under the watchful eyes of the Elders any longer, and also not giving a fuck what they thought of my actions, I swooped Grace into my arms and charged out of the ballroom.
The trial was over, and I felt no need to inhale the same toxic air with these sick fucks any longer.
“Can you breathe all right?” I asked as she tightened her arms around my neck.
“I’m okay,” she said softly. “You lifted me up the entire time, and I could breathe… not well, but I could breathe.”
Yes, I’d lifted her up. I would always lift her up.
Something occurred to me this evening as I was beaten repeatedly. This woman I lifted up had been beaten down her entire life.
Far longer than ten minutes and nine seconds.
That would never happen again. Not while I still had my own breath to breathe.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she laid her head down on my shoulder.
I glanced down at her in surprise. Why would this woman thank me? I should be begging for forgiveness. I should be on my hands and knees pleading for her not to hate me after everything this poor woman has had to go through. “Why are you thanking me?”
Her eyes locked with mine. “You never let me go.”
18
Grace
I slept in a lot that week. Neither Montgomery nor I wanted to admit it, but these trials were taking their toll on us. His body had been beaten nearly black and blue in some areas, and regardless that he kept assuring me that he was fine, I knew his body was tired and needed time to recover.
One morning I found Montgomery in bed with me, just holding me. When I woke up with one of his arms curled around me, he just hushed me and told me to go back to sleep. He had his laptop on the other side of him, and he’d been typing away one-handed as I roused.
“You had a bad dream,” was all he said, combing back my hair from my face. “Shh, get some more rest.”
Yeah right, I’d thought. Being so close to him felt too good. There was no way I’d be able to fall back asleep. He went back to his rhythmic typing, obviously thinking I’d drop back off.
But I was awake now. And the feel of his warm, solid thigh against mine, and his strong arm around me… I swallowed hard and squeezed my eyes shut.
Other than the first voyeuristic night as the Elders watched on and the one time in the shower, we’d never… There was that magical morning after waking at the lake but we’d never—
Not in our own bed with no one watching, anyway.
I felt crazy even having the thoughts I was having. Yes, we’d gotten close and the way he was holding me was more tender than any man had ever—
But I was being silly. While Montgomery could be gentle and so sweet in moments like this, he’d never said anything to me besides how beautiful and strong I was. He admired me but was it anything more? Did I want it to be? Hadn’t we both agreed this was a short-term partnership and that yeah, we’d be all in while we were here together, but what about after?
Montgomery had never whispered word one to me about the future. And I had the horrible feeling he wasn’t making any promises beyond the next few weeks on purpose.
I was the one with the problem. I was the one letting her girlish mind go wild.
“Shh, go back to sleep,” Montgomery whispered, again brushing back some hair from my face with the softest touch. His blue-gray eyes were soft as he looked down at me. I locked eyes with him in one breath and with the next, I was slamming his laptop lid shut and wrapping my arms around his neck.