I saw it all in her eyes, and if I could have taken it all away for her, I would. Instead, I scooped her into my arms and carried her to her bed. She wrapped her arms around me, buried her face in my neck and sobbed. Her body shuddered with her cries, and I wondered what the fuck had happened to bring on this level of pain.
Placing her on the bed, I found one of her t-shirts and put it on her. I then sat on the bed with my head against the headboard, and pulled her into my arms. She curled into me, almost sitting in my lap, and continued to cry. Long, deep, agony-filled wails of hurt filled the room. I sensed this must be to do with her mother, because these were not cries from a fresh cut, but rather from a long-held pain.
Eventually, she lifted her head to look at me. “She’s gone.” She gulped a breath and continued, “I’d given up on her, but then Magan told me she had a photo of me and knew my address, and I thought maybe – just maybe – she’d been keeping track of me for a reason. I thought maybe this time really would be different.” A sob escaped her mouth, and I watched as her face crumpled with more tears. “None of it was true. She didn’t mean a word she said to me at the hospital, and now she’s gone. And I have to find a way to pick my pieces back up and put myself together again.”
Fuck.
Why do people hurt each other, over and fucking over?
I wiped her tears and then tried to kiss them away. Trouble was, there were a lifetime of tears flowing down Sophia’s cheeks, and no amount of effort from me could stop them. One person held the key to those tears, and she’d proven her lack of interest in stopping them.
“You’re not alone anymore, Sophia,” I said.
She didn’t reply straight away, but, eventually, she whispered, “Thank you.”
She placed her head against my body again, and stayed there for a long time as her tears slowly dried up. I would have held her there all night if she’d needed it. When she’d finished crying, she sat up and pulled her t-shirt off. “I need your skin tonight, Griff. Nothing else, just your skin next to mine. Can I have that?” Her words came out almost as if she was begging me.
I nodded and lifted my t-shirt over my head. “Whatever you need, sweetheart, you’ve got.” I stood so I could remove the rest of my clothes and then settled into the bed next to her.
She placed her head on my chest, and wrapped her arms and legs around me. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” she murmured.
I knew exactly what she meant because I had the same thought about her.
And I would make damn sure those tears were replaced with a smile.
* * *
The next morning, I woke to find her in the kitchen, cooking breakfast, a smile on her face. I moved into her and slid my arms around her waist. After I’d kissed her, I said, “It’s good to see a smile on your face, but I’m not convinced. You don’t need to put on a happy face around me, sweetheart.”
She was silent for a minute. “I’m not trying to fake it, but if I spend my days wallowing in my unhappiness, I’ll feel like shit. I’m working through my feelings but I’m not going to do that with constant tears. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, but when you’re feeling overwhelmed, you come to me. I’ll work through whatever shit you need to work through with you,” I said firmly.
She clasped her hands around my neck and pulled my face down towards her so she could kiss me. When she’d finished, she said, “I’m not used to having someone to count on like you, Griff. My natural reaction is to deal with stuff on my own, but I’ll try not to do that. I just need you to know it might take some time for me to get used to it, okay?”
As usual, her raw honesty hit me in the chest.
This is a woman I can trust.
The thought flashed through my mind, unexpectedly, but clear as day.
Fuck.
I’d never expected to believe in a woman again, but I found myself unable to discount this truth. Sophia was a woman I could put my faith in. It would take me time, and I would do it slowly, but I knew without an ounce of doubt that she was a woman I could build a life with.
“We’ve got all the time in the world, baby,” I finally said.
The smile she gave me in return was the kind of smile I would do anything to earn.
She pointed at me. “I’m going to finish making breakfast for you so you need to sit at the table and wait.”
I shook my head. “No, Sophia, you need to get your ass into the bedroom and get naked for me. Breakfast can wait,” I growled.
Her eyes widened, and I watched as heat flared in them. A moment later, she did as I’d said, and as I took in the sight of her discarding her t-shirt while she walked, I decided that lunch could also wait. Sophia would be busy for the rest of the fucking day.
* * *
My phone rang at six the next morning. It was the call I’d been waiting for, but hoping would never come.
“Danny,” I said, noting his name on my screen.
“Today’s the day, Michael. There will be a media conference and the case will be announced. Your name won’t be revealed yet, but it won’t take long before it’s out there.”