Chapter 42
I stood beneath the spray, watching as red flowed down my body.
It was like no matter how hard I scrubbed the blood kept coming.
My body trembled as tears leaked from my eyes.
I felt like a monster. The show I had put on for my father had him pretty convinced, but my actions had made me feel sick.
Shaking, I slid down the wall and clutched my knees to my chest, allowing the tears to fall more than they already were.
“ Hermosa .” I felt him before I heard him. Once again, he joined me in the shower fully clothed. Short, sharp sobs escaped me as he pulled me into his lap. “It’s okay, Bella, I’m right here.” I fisted his shirt and squeezed my eyes shut, releasing a wail.
“I killed him, Arturo, I?—”
“I know, I know. I’ve got you.” He stroked my wet hair out of my eyes and rubbed circles into my cheeks. “You don’t need to hide from me. I’m right here.”
“It won’t come off. I tried… but it—” My voice caught in my throat. I pulled back and stared down at my hands, seeing nothing but red.
“My love, there ain’t nothin’ there,” he whispered.
“You’re clean.” As I searched for the truth in his eyes I took in the droplets that clung to his eyelashes and cheeks.
Exhausted, I fell forward against his chest. He rocked me back and forth soothing my heart and breathing back to a healthy rhythm.
A while later, my eyes began to drift closed.
“Come on, let’s get you dried off and into bed. ”
After wrapping me in a towel, and doing the same for himself, he carried me back through to the bedroom. And there, cradled in his arms, was the safest I had felt all day.
“Are you staying?” I managed between hiccups.
“I wasn’t plannin’ on leavin’.” he soothed, placing me beneath the sheets. I released a shaky breath as the warmth from his chest sank into my back. “Try and get some sleep, I’ll be right here.”
Arturo Ramos was truly my lifeline.