“Nate.” I rub the back of my neck. “I’d love to be in here with you. If that’s what you want?”
Every doubt is wiped away at the look on her face and I walk toward her, keeping our gazes connected. “It’s been a long six months since you moved out of Tris’s—not being able to touch you.” I kneel in front of her and cup her face. “To talk to you withou
t feeling like there was this barrier between us.” Her eyelids flutter shut as I brush my thumb across the soft skin of her cheek. “But that changes. If you’re in this, I need you to be in one hundred percent. No more hiding from me, no locking me out. If you struggle, we struggle together. Got it?”
Her chest heaves as she takes in a breath, and when she opens up her eyes, I know she’s in with me before she says, “Got it.” Her hand reaches up, covering one of mine. “I’m all in, Nate. No pulling away anymore.” Her bottom lip wobbles as she leans toward me. “I promise.”
I take one look in her eyes before I close the distance, pressing my lips against hers. She melds against me and I know I’d fight through the worst of times to experience this moment with her, as long as I have her with me.
I finish packing up the SUV with Amelia’s wheelchair, lazily walking back through the house to where she’s bundled up under a fluffy blanket, binge-watching another one of her series. She hasn’t left that spot for the last two weeks, only moving when it’s time for her to do her therapy. She literally came home and became one with the sofa.
I stand in front of her with a grin on my face to which she cranes her head around me with an annoyed look on hers. “Do you mind?”
“Actually, no. No I don’t.” I grab the remote and turn off the TV. “We’re going out for a walk.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, my legs don’t work. Ergo, I can’t walk.” She points down at her legs.
I roll my eyes and move toward her, giving her a light peck on the lips. “Come on, you’ve hardly done anything since coming home from the hospital. Let’s get some fresh air.”
“I don’t want fresh air; I’m two episodes from the end of this series and you’re ruining my chi.” She tries to grab the remote from my hands but I hold my arm up in the air. “Nate,” she practically growls.
“We. Are. Going. Out.” I enunciate each word as I scoop her up, her pounding on my back in protest.
“You’re not being fair! You’re holding me hostage knowing I can’t get down and escape from you!” I ignore her as I walk through the house and into the garage. “Goddamit, Nate! Put me down, I don’t want to go out there, it’s too… peopley!”
My body vibrates with laughter as I open up the passenger door of my SUV and place her on the seat, leaning back and seeing the scowl on her face. But there’s also something else there too I can’t quite place. “You don’t even know where I’m taking you.”
“You just said for a walk,” she grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest. She slaps my hand away as I try to buckle her in. “I’m not a child.” She huffs, clicking her belt in, pushing her bottom lip out and acting the exact way Izzie would.
“Then stop pouting like one and give me one of your beautiful smiles.” Her lip twitches. “It’s just for an hour.” She looks out the windshield, chewing her bottom lip. “Lia?”
When her gaze meets mine, her shutters aren’t up and I can see the nerves flowing through her. “I’m going to be there.”
Rolling her eyes, she finally murmurs, “Fine.”
Shutting the door and walking around the other side of the car, I know she’s not happy with me, her “fine” meant she was tolerating this because she has to.
She’s silent on the way to the park, staring out the window until we reach the lot.
Normally this park is bustling with college kids but since everyone’s off for the Christmas break, it’s almost empty.
“Doesn’t look too ‘peopley’ to me,” I comment, climbing out and opening the trunk to set up her wheelchair.
I pull the lever and make sure it’s all steady before wheeling it over to the passenger side where Amelia is sitting with her gaze flitting around the lot. That is until she sees me. She crosses her arms over her chest and places a scowl on her face, but I’m not buying it.
I open the door and hand her her coat, trying not to smile at her scrunched-up nose. “You could at least seem like you want to be here.”
“Why would I do that?” she asks, raising a brow at me. “I made it clear I didn’t.”
I chuckle softly as she unclips her belt and puts her coat on. “We’re going to have a great time, I promise.”
Leaning into the car to lift her out, I hear her sigh before she grits out, “I hate this.”
I pull back to look at her. “You needed to get out of the house.”
“Not that,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck as I lift her out “This.” She waves at herself and then me. “It makes me feel like…” she trails off, her gaze bouncing around before settling back on me as she softly says, “I just want to be able to do it myself.”
I make a mental note to do some research later. I can’t imagine not being able to get out and about on my own never mind someone having to lift me in and out of the car all the time. “Is that why you didn’t want to come out?”