Page 83 of Death, Interrupted

I had put him in the same box as Joey before, and I was doing it again. Sly had proven to me many timesbefore that he was nothing like him, and yet, I kept waiting for him to turn into someone he wasn’t. My mind still jumped to old fears before reason could catch up. It wasn’t fair to him.

“I know,” I said quietly. “It’s just hard to turn that part of my brain off. Even when I know I’m safe with you.”

He nodded, his eyes softer now. “It’s going to take time,” he said. “You don’t just walk away from something like that and feel normal again. You’re allowed to be scared, even of me.”

“No, that’s just not right,” I interrupted him, but he shook his head at me.

“You’re allowed to question things. And you’re allowed to question me.”

“But I don’t want to keep questioning you because deep down I know you would never hurt me.” Tears stung my eyes as I said those words. I was still so vulnerable, and I knew it would take a long time for me not to feel this way about any man.

“You’ll heal,” he said simply. “And when you do, you’ll see that I’m still right here. Still the same man who loves you for who you are.”

I tried to force any bad thoughts away, not wanting to make this hard for either of us.

He seemed to sense that, because his hand moved to the side of my head again. “You don’t have to force it, Sumner. You don’t have to be strong right now.”

“I want to be,” I said, my voice tight. “I’m tired of feeling broken.”

“You’re not broken. You’re tired. You’ve been surviving for too long. That’s not the same thing.”

My throat tighten at his words. No one had ever said it like that before. Well, to be fair, I never had anyone in my life care about me enough to say something like that. I looked at him for a long time, admiring the calmness in his eyes.

“You really think things can get better?” I asked, because, stupidly, I still had doubt.

“I don’tthinkit, Iknowit. Maybe not overnight, but they will.” He gave a small shrug. “We’ll find a way, and I’ll be right there by your side.”

He brought comfort over me by saying the simplest things, and my brain still wouldn’t comprehend why he was this good to me when there were many other women who deserved his love and affection.

I shook my head to get rid of those stupid thoughts, then I smiled, amazed by him and his ability to make me feel better. “You always know what to say.”

He grinned at me. “That’s because I’ve been rehearsing in my head all night.”

I laughed softly. “You were supposed to get some sleep. You’ve had a rough night too.”

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged with one shoulder. “I keptthinking about you. And about moving away.”

That made me raise a brow, and my stomach twist. “Moving away?”

“You and me, I mean,” he added quickly. “I thought about moving away with you. Somewhere that doesn’t carry the shadow of your past. Somewhere you can start fresh.”

For a moment, I didn’t say anything. I had never even dared to think about moving away. The idea scared me, but it also filled me with something I hadn’t felt in years—hope.

“You would really leave with me?”

“What, you think I would just send you on your way? Are you kidding me? I told you you’re stuck with me. Wherever you go, I’ll go.”

I took a deep breath and leaned forward to rest my head against his shoulder. “You make everything sound so simple.”

“It’s not, and I won’t sugarcoat it, baby. But we’ll make it work. One step at a time.”

“Okay,” I whispered, closing my eyes. “One step at a time.”

Chapter 29

Sly

Sumner was released from the hospital two days later.