CHAPTER 22 ALEX
The hot water cascades over my back, doing little to soothe my anger. I can’t believe she said all that , I fume. She said I’m not good enough. That nothing about me is worthy to present to her family.
The logical side of me fights with anger, attempting to present a rational side to this hurt. She didn’t say it, she was just relaying what her family would think.
Yeah, and she didn’t stick up for me at all , I argue back against the logic. She lied. She chose her own comfort over who I am as a person.
Not who you are. Who her parents would assume you are.
I growl as my inner monologue rages on, back and forth between hurt, anger, betrayal, and forgiveness.
Finally, a single thought bursts through, just as the hot water runs out. Am I really willing to let the best thing in my life walk out my door because of my own bruised ego?
Of course, the hurt part of me howls out. Let her walk.
But in my heart, I already know the answer. Of course not. She’s mine, no matter what anyone else says or thinks . I’m not going to let her go. Not now, not ever.
I don’t even know how long I was in the bathroom, but it looks like Mina fell asleep on my couch. I stand in the doorway, watching her sleep, knowing we need to continue our conversation but dreading waking her up. She looks so peaceful.
At least, she did. My brow furrows as she begins to whimper and tremble in her sleep, her cries becoming louder and more frantic. Suddenly, she starts awake, looking around in a daze. Our eyes meet, and I can see her relax slightly.
It takes everything in me not to rush over to her, to comfort her after what was clearly a nightmare. Instead, I opt for a clinical approach.
“Good. You’re awake. We need to talk.”
“Yeah, I must have dozed off,” she murmurs, still orienting herself to the land of the waking, clearly trying to shake off the lingering shadows of the nightmare.
I move across the room and sit on the couch and notice for the first time how swollen and tear-stained her face is. She’s been crying , I realize. Any resolve I had to keep this simple flies out the door. I reach over and gather her into my arms, peppering small kisses across her head and face.
“There, there now, princess. No more tears.”
I feel her stiffen slightly against me, then melt into my arms.
“I couldn’t help it,” she sniffles. “I thought I had fucked up beyond fixing.”
“You did fuck up,” I say, still holding her close. “My feelings were quite hurt. But thankfully, my feelings for you are stronger than my ego. I can move past feeling hurt and upset. I wouldn’t be able to move past losing you.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice muffled against my chest. “I never meant to hurt you, but I knew I had to tell you.”
“I know. And we’ll talk about that some more in a bit. But first, we need to address the man who attacked you.”
She stiffens in my arms again, pushing away from me to sit upright. “Why do we have to talk about him?”
“The police came by earlier. He’s the main suspect in a series of murders locally in the last few weeks, and it seems like he was trying to make you his next victim. If the cops are right, they’ve finally got their guy.”
Mina stares at me, mouth agape.
“I know, babe. It’s terrifying to think about what could have been. But you are safe now.”
“Now I’m extra glad they caught him,” she sighs, leaning back into my arms.
“You might not be so glad when time comes for the court date.”
“Court date?”
“Yeah. The police said you’ll probably have to testify. At least that way, they can get him on the attempted abduction and the assault. They are pretty confident they can nail him on the serial killings as well though, because the last victim was the driver who was supposed to pick you up. He had her car and her phone.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
Of course, there will be a full investigation, and they didn’t give me too many details, but seems to me like you got hella lucky.”
“It wasn’t luck, it was the fact that I remembered stuff from my self-defense class, plus the rideshare app confirmed that something was terribly wrong. And it also definitely helps that you were able to swoop in and save the day.”
“Yeah, I know. It was a whole bunch of things that went right and wound up likely saving your life. I just wanted to give you a heads up, so it doesn’t blindside you later.” I press another kiss to her head and add, “kinda like you were doing for me earlier.”
“Well, what I was trying to do.”
“I know baby. I’m sorry I got so heated. I don’t like that you lied to your family about me, but I understand why you did it in the heat of the moment.”
“I didn’t like doing it, I regretted it as soon as I did,” she admits, snuggling closer. “I love you just the way you are.”
Every nerve ending in my body jumps as though I’ve been touched with a cattle prod. Did she really just say that?
“Sorry, I missed that. Come again?”
“I said I regretted it right away,” she says.
“And then?”
“And then I said… Oh shit,” she giggles, realizing what had happened.
“Do you mean it?”
“Mean what?”
She’s teasing me now, the little minx. “Do you love me just the way I am?”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” She looks up at me. “Is that a problem?”
“Nope, not even a tiny problem. Because truth is, I love you too, just the way you are.”
Part of me can’t believe I just said that to her, especially since it feels like we’re moving so damn fast. The other part is quietly rejoicing. Even though I haven’t known her for long, I feel like my soul has known her forever. Saying it out loud was only a matter of finding the right timing, and that time is now.