“But—”
“No buts.” I leaned closer to her. “No ifs, no maybes, just this. You come to me, and I’ll always be there, no matter what.”
Her gaze flicked between my eyes, searching for the truth behind my words. “Promise?”
“I promise.” I pressed my lips gently to hers, sealing it with a kiss. I’d move the earth for her if I could. I probably should have been scared of where my thoughts were going, but I couldn’t lose her. I’d only just got her, and I wasn’t sure what I would do if something happened to her. She was teetering on the edge of a cliff, but my hand would always be there to pull her back.
I stared at her face as she swiped the tears running down her cheeks. I’d swallow every ounce of her pain. I’d take it all away from her.
“What now?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.
“What do you want to do?”
“Sleep.”
I pulled my lips up into a smile. “Then, you sleep.” I moved my hand off her face and grasped her palm, then led her upstair
s. I’d blurred the lines last week, but now I was erasing them, and I couldn’t bring myself to regret it one bit.
Chapter Ten
ARIA
I wasn’t sure what would happen when we were back at school, not after the weekend we’d had. I’d fallen asleep in Cade’s arms and woken up on Saturday morning in the same position. He hadn’t asked me about my scars again. He hadn’t pried me for more information, and I was thankful for that because I wasn’t sure how much more I could tell him.
He’d asked me to come to him when I was struggling, but I wasn’t sure if I could. I didn’t need him to be the hero. I didn’t need him to come to my rescue, but the thought of him being there if I did need him had me at ease.
I may have still been keeping a secret, but someone else knew now, and they weren’t trying to lock me away in a mental hospital. They weren’t making me go and see a shrink or attend a group meeting. Cade promised to just…be there, which was more than anyone had ever promised me.
“I swear I could sleep for a week,” Hope groaned out from beside me. I hadn’t seen her much since we’d gone out to see her sister’s boyfriend’s band. She was spending more days out on the road than in school, and I had no doubt she was falling behind on her schoolwork because of it.
“Rough weekend?” I asked, wincing at the twinge in my ankle with each step I took. I’d rested it most of Saturday after Cade dropped me home, and not moved much at all yesterday apart from getting fresh ice from the refrigerator.
“You could say that.” She halted next to my locker and yawned big and loud. “Thank god we only have one class left today. As soon as I get home, I’m crashing.”
I opened up my locker and tried my hardest to ignore Jasmine, who was on the other side of me. Normally, her words would puncture me, but today, nothing could touch me. I was floating on a cloud no one could see.
“Aria? Did you hear me?”
“Huh?” I whipped my head around to face Hope and frowned at her. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you had track practice today?”
“Oh.” I closed my locker and stepped away from it. “I hurt my ankle on Friday, so I’m only going to watch.”
“That sounds like so much fun,” Hope said, her voice monotone. She hated any kind of sport. “I’m gonna head to class.” She yawned a final time. “Catch you in the morning?”
“Yep.” She twirled around and pushed through the crowd as I shouted, “Get some sleep, you look like a zombie!” She flicked her middle finger up at me, and I laughed as I headed to my last class of the day.
Class trailed by at a snail’s pace, but I was sure it was because I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I’d never tracked down the minutes until the day ended. I’d never looked forward to what would happen when the final bell rang, but today was different. I may not have been able to practice on the track today, but I could watch by the sidelines and wait…
Wait for everyone to leave.
Wait for Cade to pack everything away.
Wait for Cade to touch me.
Wait for Cade to kiss me.