Claire drags her shirt back over the marks. “It’s okay, really.”
I run my thumb along her cheek. “No. Nothing about this is okay. What he did to you? That’s not okay. You didn’t deserve this. No one does.”
Beth knocks on the door. “Hey, you all right in there?”
“Yeah.”
“I have an early morning; I’m going to get to bed.” She pauses. “Unless you want me to try to get someone to cover my flight.”
“No,” Claire blurts out. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get some sleep.”
“Okay…let me know if you change your mind.” Beth’s footsteps disappear down the hall and into her bedroom.
Claire tilts her head up at me, her eyes red and puffy. “I’m so tired.”
“Right, of course. I’ll go…” I attempt to back away.
She doesn’t release me. “Will you stay?”
“Of course.” I pull her into me once more. “But I’m going to have to run home and take a quick shower. I smell bad.”
“You could shower here.”
“I need clothes.”
“Can I go with you? We can stay there. I just really don’t want to be alone right now.”
I grip her face between my hands and press my lips to her forehead. “I’m here for as long as you want me.”
She slides on a pair of slippers and gathers her phone and keys.
Our hands magnetically find each other, and we leave her room behind. We quietly make our way down the hall and out the front door without drawing attention from her mother. A few seconds later, we’re in my place.
“Do you need anything? Water? Food?” I pause when we pass my kitchen.
“Nope.”
Given the circumstances, she seems to be handling this all pretty well. Although it’s clear Griffin's abuse is nothing new to her, so I guess it's not at all surprising she's not freaking out more. She's become numb to that kind of treatment.
I walk her into my room and pull back the comforter on my bed. “Here.”
Claire climbs in, leaving her slippers on the floor.
I cover her up and sit along the edge, smoothing a strand of her hair out of her face. “I’ll only be a minute, okay?”
She nods and pulls the blanket to her chest. Her eyes are already getting heavy. “K.”
I watch as her lids close.
How is it possible this angel is here with me now? After everything that’s happened, she still chose me.
I make quick work of grabbing a towel and taking a shower. I don’t want to waste another second where we aren’t breathing the same air. It’s stupid, feeling the way I do about her, so fucking intensely, so fucking quickly, but I can’t help how fucking right it is.
It was like I knew the moment I bumped into her that she would forever change my world. I guess it just didn’t dawn on me until recently what exactly that meant.
I walk out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist and go to my closet to rummage through a hamper with clean clothes that never got put away. I locate a pair of boxers and slip into them, letting the towel fall to the floor.
I do my best to stay quiet while I make my way to the recliner in the corner of the room.