Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
S he was beginning to believe that she did deserve normal. After running into Ian at the shopping center, she didn’t feel afraid of him for the first time since she’d married him. It was as if a switch to her fear had been turned off.
Sure, she understood that he could still harm her, but with Aaron and the rest of the gang at River Camps on her side, she was pretty sure she could handle anything he threw at her.
Beth set her fork down, feeling pleasantly full and a little surprised that she’d eaten every bite. The meal was rich with flavor, the kind of meal that warmed more than her stomach. She’d been happily surprised to find out shrimp and noodles had somehow been the perfect fit together.
She reached for her glass of water, brushing her fingers over the condensation. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Aaron glanced up from his plate. “For what?”
“For… this evening, shopping, dinner, the company. Letting me take over your house so easily, your life.” She gave him a wry smile. “For making me forget about everything else for a little while.”
His gaze lingered on her, steady and warm, in a way that made her chest tighten. “You don’t have to thank me, Beth. I like having you in my home. I like spending time with you. Making sure that you’re healing. That you’re safe.”
Her throat went dry, and for a moment she couldn’t find words. Just then, the waitress arrived and offered them the dessert menu.
Aaron ordered a large slice of chocolate cake with ice cream, and she decided to as well.
They chatted some more over their rich desserts, neither of them rushing to leave.
The restaurant crowd had thinned out, the low hum of conversation and the clink of silverware fading until only a few tables remained occupied.
When the server dropped off the check, Aaron slid his card in without even glancing her way.
Beth wanted to protest, but the quiet finality in his expression told her she’d lose that battle.
He stood first, offering her his hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She let him help her up, her palm tingling from the steady warmth of his grip.
Outside, the air carried the distant echo of waves. Neon from the restaurant’s sign buzzed above them, casting a glow that made the parking lot feel softer, almost safe.
The ride back to the house was quiet. Not tense, just filled with the kind of silence that comes when two people don’t need to fill every space with words.
She leaned her head against the window, watching the road blur past under the sweep of headlights, her body heavy with exhaustion but her mind strangely light.
Aaron’s presence wrapped around her like a shield, and for once, she didn’t feel the constant urge to glance over her shoulder.
“I pushed you too hard today,” he said as he parked next to her car.
“No.” She held in a yawn. “It was a perfect day.”
“I’ll grab these bags, you head inside,” he started but she stopped him.
“I’m not too tired to bring in my haul.” She laughed. “Here.” She handed him the two small bags containing the items he’d purchased that evening. “You carry your things, I’ll take mine.” She started to gather her many bags, but it was too many for one trip.
“I’ll grab the rest.” He laughed and easily grabbed the remaining bags. “You can still be independent by putting them all away yourself, now that your hand has fully healed.”
She looked down at her fingers and wiggled them while keeping a hold on her bags. Her cuts and bruises were almost completely gone.
In truth, just being around Aaron made her feel much better.
They carried her things up to her room, and she set everything down on the small sofa that sat opposite the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed as Aaron set the rest of the bags down.
He looked at her and she could tell he was unsure of what was going to happen next.
She was tired, but the fire inside her, the desire for him, was burning so bright it caused her weariness to fall aside.
“Come here,” she said with a smile.
“Beth.” Her name was a warning. “You’re tired.”
“So, we can just snuggle,” she suggested.
He laughed. “No, we can’t.” He moved closer to her, practically prowling across the room.
“If I get in that bed with you right now,” he said slowly, taking a step with each word, “I won’t just be able to snuggle.
” He stopped directly in front of her. “So, for tonight…” He leaned down and brushed a kiss over her lips and she melted.
“This will have to do.” He straightened. “Good night, Beth.”
He turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.
For a long moment, she just sat there, her heart thundering, her lips tingling where his had briefly touched.
He was right. She was so exhausted she doubted she had the energy for both her nightly ritual of checking the window and door locks and removing her makeup and putting on her face cream.
With a sigh, she pulled herself up, changed into a soft cotton nightshirt, glanced at the windows, and flipped the lock on her door before slipping beneath the covers.
The day caught up with her quickly. Surrounded by the steady quiet of Aaron’s house, she drifted into sleep.
But her peace didn’t last.
Her dreams almost instantly turned dark.
She was back in her old house, the house Ian had purchased right after their wedding, the place he still lived in today.
The shadows were stretching too long across the floor as she stood in the entryway.
Ian’s voice curled out of the darkness from somewhere in the house, his tone low and mocking.
“Did you really think you’d escaped me?”
The sound of bars slamming shut over every window, every door, was deafening.
She turned, but no matter where she looked, he was there. In the corners, behind the doors, waiting. His hands closed over her wrists, twisting, burning like they had before. She tried to scream, but her voice stuck, smothered by an invisible hand.
In the nightmare, she wasn’t free. She was still his.
Beth jolted awake with a gasp, the sheets tangled around her legs, her body damp with sweat. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she’d really escaped the dream.
Ian’s shadow still seemed to linger in the corners.
When she saw movement, she opened her mouth and screamed.
“Hey.” Aaron rushed to her side and held her. “It’s me,” he said several times until his words clicked in her brain.
She held onto him until the last of the fear from the bad dream disappeared.
“I’m sorry,” she said against his bare shoulder, realizing that she’d cried all over his skin. Embarrassment washed over her, and her cheeks heated.
“Don’t be.” He gently stroked her hair. “It was bound to happen after seeing him today.”
She took a deep breath and leaned away from him. “He wins again.” She wiped her face dry with her palms.
“No, no he doesn’t.” He sat next to her and pulled her into his arms again. “Dreams are just our mind’s way of making sense of past trauma.” He squeezed her softly before leaning back to look into her eyes. “You stood up to him yesterday. You won.”
“He’ll never stop.” She closed her eyes. “Never.”
Aaron’s thumb brushed her damp cheek, his voice steady but firm. “Then we don’t stop either. He doesn’t get to live in your head forever, Beth. Not while I’m here.”
Her throat tightened at his certainty. She wanted to believe him so badly, but the echo of Ian’s laughter from her dreams still clung to her bones.
“I don’t feel safe,” she whispered, the admission slipping out before she could swallow it back. “Anywhere. I know I should, but…”
Aaron didn’t hesitate. He tugged back the blanket and climbed onto the mattress beside her. The bed dipped under his weight, solid and grounding. He stretched out next to her, then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, until her cheek rested against his chest.
“Then I’ll make sure this place is a fortress,” he promised her. “You don’t have to be strong right now,” he murmured into her hair. “Let me do it for both of us.”
The warmth of him pressed in around her, steady as a wall. His heartbeat thudded beneath her ear, slow and calm, lulling her own into a matching rhythm. She clutched at his shirt, afraid if she let go he’d disappear, like everything else good in her life had.
But he didn’t. He just held her.
“Sleep, Beth,” he whispered, lips brushing the crown of her head. “I’ve got you. Nothing’s getting past me tonight.”
Her eyes stung again, but this time it wasn’t from fear. Slowly, her body unwound against his, exhaustion tugging her back under.
The shadows in the corners of the room still lingered, but with Aaron’s arms locked around her, she knew they couldn’t touch her.
For the first time in years, Beth fell asleep not running from the dark but letting herself rest inside the safety of someone else’s light.
The next morning, she woke to the smell of bacon and a pan dropping downstairs, followed by Nutmeg barking. It was probably the first time she’d heard the dog make a noise.
Sitting up, she stretched and glanced around the room. Her bags of new items were still stacked on the sofa.
After a quick shower, she put her new items away and pulled on some new shorts and a shirt she’d purchased before heading downstairs.
“Sorry, did we wake you?” Aaron said as he sat at the table with the dog at his feet. “Nutmeg hates pans.” He rolled his eyes.
She laughed. “That’s okay. Zoey sent me the files this morning, and I’m dying to dig into them. I just needed some energy.” She walked over and took a slice of bacon from his plate.
“Here.” He started to get up, but she put a hand on his shoulder.
“I can dish up for myself.” She scooped some eggs and bacon onto a plate, then poured herself a cup of coffee before sitting across from him.
“Have you ever thought of getting Nutmeg a friend?” she asked as the dog let out a loud snore.
“Many times,” he said between sips of coffee. “I’ve taken her down to the shelter, but she never found the right friend.”
“You… let her make the decision?”
He nodded. “She’ll have to deal with it more than me. I mean, while I’m away at work, she’ll be stuck here with whoever I bring home.”
She’d never thought of it like that before. “That’s… actually really sweet. Most people would just pick the dog they wanted.”
Aaron gave a half-shrug, though the corner of his mouth curved up. “Nutmeg’s my partner. We’ve been through a lot together. So she gets a say in who we bring into the house.”
Beth looked down at the brown dog, still snoring like she’d run a marathon in her sleep, and felt her lips tug into a smile. “What did she say about me moving in?”
“She fell for you that first time you came over. Remember scratching her belly under the tree during our picnic?”
She nodded. “She was snoring the entire time.”
He smiled. “That’s her love language.”
“You spoil her,” she said with a chuckle. “No wonder she adores you.”
“She tolerates me,” he said dryly, but his eyes crinkled as he reached down to scratch Nutmeg’s ears. The dog’s tail thumped lazily against the floor in betrayal of his claim.
Beth laughed softly, the sound startling her with how natural it felt. No edge of fear, no guilt. Just… laughter. She chewed a bite of bacon, savoring it, then sipped her coffee. The bitter warmth somehow steadied her.
Across the table, Aaron was watching her again. Not in a way that made her skin crawl, like Ian’s constant surveillance had. This was different. His gaze was steady, patient, like he was memorizing her simply because he wanted to.
She met his eyes, her heart giving a strange, light thump. “Thank you,” she said again, quieter this time.
He tilted his head. “For the bacon?”
She rolled her eyes, though her lips curved. “For everything. Last night. This morning. For reminding me that I don’t have to fight every battle alone.”
Aaron set his coffee down, his expression softening into something that made her breath catch. “You never will again, Beth. Not if I can help it.”
Something in her chest loosened, a tightness she hadn’t even realized she was carrying. She nodded, unable to find more words, and instead took another sip of coffee to hide the sting in her eyes.
Nutmeg snorted loudly in her sleep, as if punctuating the moment.
Beth laughed again, the sound bubbling out before she could stop it.