Chapter 26
KAYLA
“Shh. I’ve got you, baby bird,” A’s soothing voice lulls me, yet I’m still unsure where I am or who I’m with.
It sounds like him. My A. But I don’t know what is real and what isn’t.
I can barely move my body, darkness still creeping in until hands against my face pull down whatever’s been covering my eyes.
“A?” I blink back, still hazy, hoping this isn’t some dream.
Did he really come for me? I try to pry my eyelids ajar, but they feel as heavy as lead. A whimper escapes me, and it’s like I hear myself, yet it sounds like someone else. Someone distant.
“It’s me… Fuck,” he groans with anguish bleeding through. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I failed you.”
It feels like I’m being lifted, carried, or held. I can’t be sure. I sag against him, feeling somehow lighter now that I know he’s come.
“I’m gonna take care of you. I won’t leave your side.”
I whimper, hands tingling as I grab on to something. Maybe his shirt or his hair. His arms tighten around me, like a heavy blanket keeping me warm.
“You can sleep now,” he says softly.
With a sigh, I melt further into him. Pressing my face into this man I barely know, I fall back into darkness, knowing he’ll find me and bring me back to the light.