Chapter 41
I wake up wrong.
It's the only thought that forms before anything else catches up.
Warmth first.
Then weight.
An arm around my waist.
A steady presence behind me in bed that my body recognises before my mind does, and still reacts to like it's danger.
I jolt so hard I nearly twist free.
"Hey, hey," a voice murmurs immediately, low and rough with sleep. "Chloe. It's okay."
My eyes snap open.
A bedroom I don't recognise.
Dark, simple, unfamiliar.
Panic surges instantly.
"No, no, let me go" My voice breaks before I can stop it. "Let me go"
The arm around me tightens slightly, not restraining, just anchoring me so I don't fully spiral.
That somehow makes it worse.
"Mason," I gasp, trying to pull away.
"Yeah," he says quietly, still half-asleep, voice calm but instantly alerting. "It's me. You're okay."
Mason.
That lands slowly through the panic.
Too slowly.
My breathing is already too fast, chest tight, vision blurry at the edges.
I try to sit up, but his arm stays steady around me, not forcing me down, just keeping me from flailing.
"Chloe," he says again, softer now. "Look at me."
I do.
He's right there.
Beside me.
Hair messy, eyes heavy with sleep but focused on me immediately. Like I waking up wasn't his priority—making sure I'm okay is.
That doesn't stop my panic, but it shifts it slightly.
Just enough for me to notice the room properly.
A crib beside the bed.
A portable one.
Ava.
Asleep.
Tiny chest rising and falling, one arm tucked under her cheek.
Safe.
My breath catches.
"Ava" I whisper.
"She's fine," Mason says instantly. "Right there. Sleeping."
My eyes flick between her and him like I don't trust either of them yet.
Mason shifts slightly, still half-lying on his side, one arm still around me but looser now, giving me space if I need it.
"You're in my room," he says gently. "You fell asleep. I brought you here."
Memory comes in fragments.
The bathroom.
The noise.
Mason's voice.
My body starts shaking again, but less violently this time. More like it's catching up to everything it couldn't process earlier.
"I don't" My voice cracks. "I don't understand."
"I know," he says quietly.
No frustration. No impatience.
Just there.
I swallow hard.
"Ryan" I whisper before I can stop myself.
Mason's expression changes immediately.
Not soft.
Not unsure.
Certain.
"He's not going to bother you again," he says.
My stomach tightens.
"What does that mean?" I ask, barely audible.
A pause.
He studies me for a second like he's deciding how much I need to hear right now.
Then
"It means it's handled," he says simply. "It's over."
Over.
The word lands heavy.
But not wrong.
Not like before.
My breathing shakes as I look at him again properly.
He's still half-asleep, still clearly running on adrenaline and exhaustion, but his arm around me doesn't waver.
It's steady.
Grounding.
Safe in a way I didn't know I needed until right now.
My eyes sting before I can stop it.
And suddenly I'm crying.
Quiet at first.
Then harder.
Mason shifts instantly, fully awake now, pulling me closer without hesitation.
"Hey," he murmurs into my hair. "It's okay. You're okay."
I shake my head weakly against him.
"I thought I lost you," I whisper.
"You didn't," he says firmly. "I'm right here."
His hand stays steady at my back.
The crib beside us is silent.
Ava still asleep.
And for the first time since everything happened, my body starts to believe him.