Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Wren
I never noticed the slight crack in the wall until now, its jagged line splinters upward, like a frozen lightning strike. It’s all I can focus on, as if the fracture in the wall mirrors the one inside me, the one I try so hard to keep together. Brandy keeps checking on me, I know that much, but her words are distant, muffled by the storm in my head.
She was here.
That thought won’t let go. It circles over and over, tightening its grip until I can hardly breathe. My safe haven—this apartment, my space—isn’t safe anymore. She took it from me, like she’s taken so many other things. What gives her the right?
My skin crawls. The blankets that were soft this morning are now rough and suffocating. The four walls around me seem darker, closing in with every breath. I can’t shake it—everything is unraveling and pulling me under.
I grip the blanket tighter, but it’s not enough.
The door creaks open, and the familiar sound of careful footsteps moves across the floor. His presence is always steady, grounding, like he knows when I’m on the edge of falling apart.
“Wren,” he whispers, his voice muffled by the fog in my mind.
I can’t answer. My throat is tight, and my chest is caving in. I want to respond, but the words are stuck.
He steps closer, his movements slow and cautious. He doesn’t rush, doesn’t push. Theo’s always known when to give me space, when to simply be there. I feel his presence before I see him fully—he’s standing just a few feet away now, waiting for me to let him in.
“I’m here,” he says, his voice a gentle anchor pulling me back to the surface.
Theo kneels beside the bed, his eyes searching mine, waiting. He doesn’t touch me yet, but his hand hovers near mine, an offering of support without pressure.
I want to take it, but I’m frozen, caught in this spiral of panic and dread.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers, and those words break something inside me.
The tears I’ve been holding back finally spill over, and a sob rips through me, raw and jagged.
Theo doesn’t hesitate. He wraps his hand around mine, solid and warm, and pulls me into him. He brings his arms around me, holding me close as I bury my face in his chest. The steady beat of his heart grounds me when everything else seems like it’s slipping away.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs against my ear. “You’re safe.”
“She... she was here,” I manage to choke out.
“I know,” Theo says, tightening his arms around me. “But she’s gone now.”
I shake my head, my body trembling as the tears fall faster. “She wasn’t supposed to come back. What if she comes back?”
Theo pulls back just enough to cup my face in his hands, his eyes locking onto mine with fierce intensity. “She didn’t break you,” he says firmly. “You’re still here. You’re still Wren.”
I blink up at him, struggling to catch my breath, the weight of his words starting to break through the haze.
I’m still here. I’m still me.
Theo gently wipes away the tears on my cheek, and I lean into his hand, letting his warmth pull me out of the darkness.
“You’re safe,” he whispers again, his forehead resting gently against mine. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
I nod, even though the fear still lingers. But with Theo beside me, the room doesn’t seem as small. The walls aren’t closing in as tightly as they were before. I focus on the steady rise and fall of his shoulders, letting it calm the storm inside me.
For the first time in what feels like hours, I exhale, the weight in my chest lifting just enough to let me breathe again.
“Do you remember when you went to the hospital in eleventh grade?” He watches me for a moment, trying to summon the memory.
“I was having those stabbing pains in my side. It was you and my dad?—”
“You were high out of your mind,” he laughs.
“I was,” I chuckle. “I was so thrilled we had TV.”
“When I arrived, you two had been waiting for hours—” He cackles, “You looked at me and said, ‘Theo, at least we have TV.’”
My lips curl into a smile, drying my tears instantly. “And when we left?—”
“It was raining, and you said, ‘Wow, the street is so sparkly.’”
“It was!” I exclaim, meeting his wide smile with one of my own.
“Your dad and I were crying. Oh, man.” He palms his eyes and snorts. “That was gold.”
Last year was a defining moment for my family. After years of infidelity on my mother’s behalf, Dad took the plunge and did what was best for him. For far too long, he allowed her to walk over him, digging her heel in his nape and smothering him in the ground beneath her. To this day, he stands by his choice to have stayed with her, and it was because he feared what would happen to us if he left. We’re grown now, and it was due time he put himself first.
He has his moments, though. The first couple of months were rough, and he relapsed a handful of times. I was the one he called if he needed to cry and vent. If he was high on the job, I was who rescued him. I was the one who provided him with never-ending support. It was always me—the curse of the older child.
My body begins to sway as exhaustion sweeps over me. I sink farther into Theo’s embrace, and my eyes flutter closed. “What are you thinking about?”
He traces the lines on my palm with his thumb, something he does when I’m not well or if my mind starts to race. “You don’t feel safe anymore.”
I shake my head. “She’s going to come back. I should have left when she found out my address.” I release a deep sigh as my heart gets heavier.
“Stay with me.”
I laugh without thinking. “That’s funny.”
He shifts so our eyes meet. “I mean it. Stay with me, Wren. Just until you know she won’t return.” His gorgeous irises seem to sparkle in the dark. “Stay with me, Wren.”
Tears fill the corners of my eyes, and when I look at him again, they free themselves.
“I want you to.”
I sniffle as my cheeks grow damp; Theo reaches toward me and catches the droplets with his finger.
“I don’t want to burden you,” I choke out.
“Wren,” he whispers. “You can never burden me. You’re my best friend, and I’ll do anything for you. Don’t you know that by now?”
“What about your videos?”
I’m embarrassed to ask, but it needs to be considered. The last thing either of us wants is me walking in on him in the middle of something. My mind can’t handle any more scarring images.
“I can do solo videos.” He shrugs as if it’s not a problem.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t, but I will because I want you to stay with me.”
“Theo—”
“Don’t Theo me.” His tone drops. “I want this. And honestly, it’s been far too quiet. You’ll remedy that.”
“Are you saying I’m loud?” I chuckle through my tears.
“Something like that.” He offers me a wide grin.
He and I both know I won’t feel safe anywhere else. It doesn’t have to be forever, maybe a month or so. This is a smart move, so why am I struggling to say the words out loud?
“Okay, I’ll stay with you.”
His expression lights up as he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close again. I breathe him in and sigh in contentment. He’s always smelled the same: prosecco and rich vanilla. I’ll never tire of his scent; it wraps me in a warm embrace and comforts me.
“You won’t regret it,” he murmurs against my cheek while stroking my hair. “I’ll keep you safe.”
With those rumbling words, a fluttering sensation takes flight in my stomach, growing in intensity as he squeezes me, and I worry my crush has resurfaced.