Chapter 35
Sophia
The rest of the morning blurred.
After the coffee broke her open, Sophia drifted through the house like she was moving underwater, slow, heavy, every sound too sharp, every shadow too deep.
Grim stayed close, always within reach but never touching unless she reached first. He moved through her space like he’d memorized every creak in the floor, every corner that made her flinch, every breath she struggled to take.
By early afternoon, exhaustion dragged at her bones.
Her body felt too heavy to hold up. Her mind felt too loud to quiet. Her chest felt too tight to breathe.
Grim noticed. Of course he did.
“You need to lie down,” he said softly.
She didn’t argue. She didn’t have the strength.
He followed her to the bedroom, slow and careful steps, giving her space but never letting her drift too far. The room felt different now. Smaller. Dimmer. The air thicker. But Grim was there, and that made it bearable.
Sophia crawled into the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Her muscles trembled with the effort. Grim hesitated at the edge of the mattress, watching her with that quiet, steady intensity that made her feel both exposed and held.
“You want me here?” he asked.
She nodded before she could think. “Please.”
Grim exhaled a soft, shaky sound and lay beside her, leaving space between them at first. But when she shifted closer, he moved with her, his arm sliding around her waist, his chest pressing gently against her back.
Warm. Solid. Safe.
Sophia closed her eyes.
She didn’t mean to fall asleep.
But she did.
It started the same way it always did.
Silence.
Not peaceful silence, the kind that felt like the world holding its breath. The kind that lived in the concrete walls of that room. The kind that made her skin crawl.
Then came the footsteps.
Slow. Measured. Echoing.
Her breath hitched. Her heart pounded. Her hands curled into fists.
She tried to move, but her body wouldn’t listen. The air thickened, pressing against her chest, squeezing until she couldn’t breathe.
Then—
SLAM.
The cage door. The sound she would never forget. The sound that lived in her bones now.
Sophia jerked awake with a gasp, her whole body lurching forward like she’d been thrown. Her lungs seized, refusing to pull in air. Her vision blurred, the room spinning, the shadows too close.
Her hands flew to her chest. Her breath came in sharp, broken bursts. Her ribs felt like they were caving in.
She wasn’t there. She knew she wasn’t there. But her body didn’t believe it.
“Sophia.”
His voice cut through the panic, low, rough, steady.
A hand hovered near her shoulder, not touching, just close enough to feel.
“Sophia, look at me.”
She tried. Her eyes darted, unfocused, frantic.
Grim moved slowly, carefully, shifting to sit behind her. He didn’t touch her. He didn’t crowd her. He just stayed close, breathing slow and deep like he was trying to lend her his lungs.
“You’re here,” he murmured. “You’re home. You’re safe.”
Her knees wobbled. A sharp tremor ran through her. Her ribs tightened like someone had cinched a belt around her chest. Her vision blurred. Her fingers trembled violently.
Grim’s hand lifted — slow, deliberate — and rested over hers on her chest.
“Breathe with me,” he whispered.
She tried. Failed. Tried again.
Grim inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, his hand rising and falling with each breath. Sophia matched him, shaky at first, then steadier, her lungs finally loosening enough to pull in air.
Her body sagged backward, her shoulder brushing his chest.
Grim froze for half a second, then his arms came up around her, gentle but firm, holding her together while she shook apart.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured into her hair. “I’ve got you.”
She clung to his forearm, her breath still uneven, her heart still racing.
It took a long time for the tremors to stop.
She didn’t mean to fall asleep again.
But she did, curled against Grim’s chest, his arms wrapped around her, his breath warm against the back of her neck.
She didn’t know how long she slept before she felt it.
A jerk. A sharp inhale. A tremor running through Grim’s body.
Sophia blinked awake, disoriented, her mind still foggy. Grim’s arm tightened around her, too tight, too sudden, and his breath hitched like he was choking on something he couldn’t swallow.
“Maddox?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer.
His jaw clenched. His shoulders shook. His breath came in harsh, uneven bursts.
She recognized it instantly.
Not the nightmare — the panic.
The same kind that lived under her skin now.
“Maddox,” she said again, stronger this time.
His eyes snapped open, wild, unfocused, terrified.
Sophia didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. Didn’t let him drown in it.
She turned in his arms, cupping his face with trembling hands.
“Hey,” she whispered. “You’re here. You’re with me.”
His body reacted before he could stop it. His eyes locked on hers. His body went still — then sagged, like the tension had been holding him upright.
Sophia slid her hand down to his chest, mirroring what he’d done for her.
“Breathe with me,” she murmured.
Grim inhaled, shaky and uneven. Exhaled, rough and strained.
She matched him, slow and steady, grounding him the way he’d grounded her.
His hand came up, covering hers, holding it against his chest like he needed the contact to stay tethered.
“I’m here,” she whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Grim closed his eyes.
For a moment, they just breathed, two broken rhythms finding a shared one.
Sophia didn’t know who moved first.
Maybe it was her. Maybe it was him. Maybe it was both of them, pulled together by something neither of them had words for yet.
But she ended up in his arms, her head tucked under his chin, his arms wrapped around her, their legs tangled under the blanket like they were trying to take up as little space as possible in a world that had taken too much from them.
Grim’s breath warmed the top of her head. Sophia’s fingers curled into his shirt. Their hearts beat unevenly, but together.
The lamp stayed on. The shadows stayed back. The nightmares stayed quiet.
For the first time since she’d been taken, Sophia slept without falling.
And for the first time since he’d found her, Grim slept at all.