Chapter Twenty-Eight
Landon
“I promise, I am not bringing you here to off you. For fuck’s sake, Al.”
Allie turns her driver’s seat to face me and looks between me and my house. “Do you even live here? It’s dark as hell and it looks like no one has been here in months!”
Sighing, I relax back into the passenger seat. I knew getting her here was too easy.
After almost falling asleep in her arms after a hug that silenced every voice in my head, she offered me to stay over, but she had mentioned sleeping in the chair days in a row has destroyed her back. And I could tell the idea of her going back upstairs was going to trigger something in her mind, plus the heater being on its last leg during a snow storm resulted in me practically begging her to come stay with me at my place.
Part of me thinks that she just agreed because of the horror scene in her bedroom, but another part knows that she wants to keep an eye on me.
I have never said so much and nothing at all at the same time as I did tonight.
Tonight has been fucking hell. I had the worst nightmare of Allie dying to date, somehow ran two miles in the snow and broke into her house half asleep, half drunk, and ended up stabbed. I deserved it, and if I am being honest, it was fucking badass. She toppled me like a damn tiger and part of me is proud that if this situation was some random man instead of me, I now know she can hold her own. I never doubted her, but now tonight confirms it.
Glancing over at Allie, I see she is trying to find some way out of this situation and I have already caused her enough stress tonight, so I say, “Hey.” Bumping her arm lightly to gain her attention, she focuses on me and I continue, “You can just drop me off. Or we can turn around and I will sleep on the floor of the cabin.”
Allie shakes her head. “No. It’s fine. Can we go inside? It's freezing?”
Nodding, I hit the button on the garage and point to the open spot for her to drive park in.
We both get out of the car and I lead the way to the door that opens to the kitchen. I step aside to let Allie walk into the house and flip on the lights. I watch as she takes in the space and I really hope that she decides to stay here tonight. My shoulder is killing me and I don’t think I could take a night of sleeping on the floor. But I will. If that’s what she needs, I will.
Leaning against the kitchen counter, I fight every urge in my body that is telling me to reach down a few inches and grab the first bottle my hand lands on.
But I can’t. Not after I just bared my soul to this girl. I refuse to shove my… problem in her face after I just traumatized her.
I watch as she spins around and takes in her surroundings. She holds her injured hand close to her body and I try to see if I can catch any hint of fear or hesitation, but all I see is exhaustion.
Turning around, I reach in the cabinet next to the fridge and pull out a bottle of pain relief and set it on the counter. Allie walks up to the other side and nods towards the bottle.
I know I should give her a proper tour of the house, but I need to get some sleep and judging by the fact that she isn’t arguing about medicine, I take it she feels the same.
Careful not to move my shoulder too much, I get us both water and slide the glass and medicine over to Allie.
We stand in silence for a moment and I try not to let my mind run.
Good luck with that asshole. She almost ended you tonight.
Not wanting to give the voices in my head more ammo, I clear my throat and focus my attention on Allie. “I’ll give you a proper tour tomorrow, but the sun is about to come up and I am exhausted. So do you mind if we wait until we have a few hours of sleep under our belt and then I will try to be a proper host?”
Allie nods and I signal for her to follow me up the stairs.
As we make our way up the stairs, I point out the bathroom and stop at the last door on the right and push it open. “It isn’t much. I don’t have many guests, but the bed is comfortable, according to my brothers.” Walking in, I step out of the way to allow her to walk in.
She looks around at the room that is only filled with a bed, nightstand, and dresser. The best feature is the large bay window with a bench seat to sit and stare out at the dense forest.
Not sure what to do, I stand with my hands in my pockets and wait to see if she wants to run or if she is comfortable.
After a few moments, she faces me and shakes her head and gives me a tiny thumbs up.
My shoulders deflate, and I nod. “Alright, my room is right across the hall if you need anything. There is a lock on your door if you want to lock it, but the rest of the house has a full security system that arms the second we walked in, so you are safe. If you wake up and want to leave, just text me or come wake me up. I will warn you now, I have barely slept in the past three days, so I will probably be out for a while. You’re welcome to anything in the kitchen. I—”
“Lan. Go to bed. I’ll be fine.” Allie interrupts and I’m grateful.
“Okay. Goodnight Al.”
“Night, Lan.”
Not sure what I should do next, I tap her arm and walk out. And the second I see my bed, I fall face first into the mattress and fall asleep within seconds.
“NO! YOU’RE WRONG!”
Allie’s screams wake me out of a dead sleep and I’m on my feet running to her before I can even process what is happening.
I burst into Allie’s room and find her thrashing on the bed and as I get closer, I see tears streaming down her face.
“Al.” I say softly so I don’t scare her.
“GET AWAY!” Allie screams and I have to dodge her flying fist.
“Allie.” My voice is louder and I gently touch her arm, only to get kneed in the back by one of her thrashing legs.
Fuck. What does this girl have against my body tonight?
She continues to kick and scream and in one of her attempts, I notice blood coming from her bandage and I know there is no more playing around.
My hands go to the sides of her face and I swipe my thumbs against her cheek. “Allie girl. Wake up. You’re safe,” I say, inches from her face.
Her eyes fly open and her almost white eyes stare back at me. Tears stream from her face and I swipe them away. “Shh. It’s okay. You’re safe. I will not let anything hurt you. I promise.”
“Landon?” her voice cracks as she says my name, and it feels like I just got kicked in the chest by a horse.
I walk her through trying to slow her breathing, and as the last tear falls, I lean back and say, “What do you need?”
Her eyes search mine and I know she is about to tell me to get away, so I start to pull my hands away, but she stops me.
“Please don’t. I—I.”
“Anything Al. I mean it. What do you need?”
Tears fill her eyes and her lip quivers. “Hold me and don’t let go. I need to feel something other than his hands on me, and you’re the only person I trust right now to take the pain away.”
My hands freeze and her words replay in my mind on a loop.
Can I do this? Why me? Is she sure?
“Please Storm.”
Her words silence the doubt in my mind and I move to lie down next to her and pull her to my bare chest.
Allie buries her face in my neck and I wrap my arms tightly around her, ignoring the twinge of pain in my shoulder.
I lay there staring at the ceiling while this girl, who was once a stranger and has somehow become an anchor in my life, tries to silence the demons in her mind.
Her breathing slows, and I feel her drift off to sleep. Before I realize what I’m doing, I press my lips lightly to her head and say, “Sweet dreams, Allie girl.”
Allie presses her face further into my neck as if she is trying to block out everything and I tighten my arms around her.
Once again, I am reminded that pain is often invisible, and we truly never know how deep the scars are until come face to face with the demons threatening to destroy us in any way they can.