79. Cassandra Walker
(Present Day)
‘Ikilled it,’ my monster purred as Theo slowly recovered from the flashback. It licked and sucked the blood off its curved claws as we watched my wife blink up at us with a confused, but relieved expression on her tear-stained face.
“Hey…” I smiled at her, stroking sweaty strands of her short, dark hair out of her face. “Welcome back.”
“Holy fuck… I think that… I think that worked,” she breathed. She was staring at me like she’d never seen me before, and my heart warmed at how much the darkness in her eyes seemed to have receded.
“Yeah?” I asked gently, and she swallowed but nodded.
“Yeah. Your monster… it ate him.”
“Oh really?” I grinned. “It told me it killed him. I didn’t realize it turned this little exercise into an entire buffet.”
Theo let out a low laugh, though she winced slightly, as if she were in pain. She looked exhausted. So run down and tired. It was to be expected. Nothing wore you out more than fighting your own demons. I knew from experience.
‘I told you I would feast on his bones,’ my monster rumbled happily, and I chuckled before leaning in to pull Theo’s arm around my shoulders so I could help her stand.
“Let’s get you in bed. We’ll crash in the guest room, then head home in the morning.”
Theo nodded, and I could tell she was fading quickly.
Now that the demon in her head had been vanquished, she would finally be able to sleep without worrying that he would hurt her in her dreams.
I’d been worried my plan wouldn’t work. I wasn’t a trained professional by any means, but the idea of having her actively lean into a flashback with the intention of revisualizing the outcome was something I’d done many times in my own healing journey.
I was thrilled that it had worked, and even more thrilled that it sounded like my monster had lent a helping hand.
It could have backfired, and it wasn’t usually a good idea to do shit like this without talking to a mental health professional first, but I’d been desperate.
She’d literally been slipping through my fingers, and I was worried that if I didn’t do something, she would really hurt herself so badly that even I wouldn’t be able to save her.
But… it worked.
I knew we still had a long way to go.
Surviving something as horrible as what Theo had gone through was not something she’d ever be able to completely erase.
It would always be a part of her. But, she could still heal.
We could turn this open, bleeding lesion into a neat, silver scar.
It could become something that was a reminder of battles fought and won, instead of an infected wound.
The house was quiet now as I carefully led Theo up the stairs. She left bloody footsteps with each step, and I resolved to clean and bandage her injuries once I had her in the guest bedroom Naomi had slept in when we’d all been staying here.
I didn’t know how she was going to fight the next day, with her feet as ruined as they were, but it was something I planned on talking to her about once she’d had a chance to get some sleep.
Slowly, I managed to get her up two flights of stairs and onto the large antique queen in the cozy, yet outdated bedroom.
She was barely holding on to consciousness as I kissed her on the forehead and informed her I was going to find a first aid kit.
Happily, there was one under the sink in the upstairs bathroom, and by the time I made it back, Theo had curled up on her side and succumbed to her exhaustion.
Smiling at how peaceful she looked, I sat on the edge of the bed and tugged her bare feet into my lap, before getting to work.
Gently, I cleansed and disinfected the cuts on her feet, using the tweezers to pull out any bits of glass I could find. I would need her to let me know if she felt like I’d missed any when she woke up, in case there were tiny splinters I couldn’t see.
She twitched and moaned a few times, especially when I used the antiseptic to disinfect the wounds, but otherwise, she barely stirred.
Finally, I wrapped her feet in bandages and gently shook her until she roused.
“Mmm, Cass?” she croaked, and I smiled, kissing her softly on the cheek.
“Yeah, baby. It’s me. Can you sit up for a minute? I just want to get you tucked in.”
“Yeah.” Theo gave me a sleepy grin and shuffled up so I could pull the thick, cozy duvet over her prone form.
Quickly, I stripped out of my clothes and slipped into bed with her. I smiled to myself as she instinctively stretched out her arm so I could curl up in what we affectionately called ‘my nook.’
With my head on her shoulder and her hand lazily stroking lines up and down my naked back, I finally allowed myself to relax.
Burying my nose in the spot just under her jaw, I inhaled her scent and reveled in the fact that she was here next to me, safe and alive.
“Cass?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I think… I think I’m ready to tell you who it was now.”
My heart leaped in my chest, and my monster perked up from where it had curled up to sleep in its cage.
“Yeah? Are you sure?”
“Mhmm… but… it’s gonna piss you off. Maybe I’ll tell you in the morning, so you can at least get some sleep?”
I hated that idea.
I would rather spend a thousand sleepless nights hunting down the man that had hurt my wife than spend another second in the dark… but… I knew if she told me, I wouldn’t be able to force myself to stay here with her.
And right now, she didn’t need me to hunt down and murder her abuser.
She just needed me to hold her.
So that’s what I was going to do.
I’d already waited months to learn this particular truth. Morning was only a few hours away.
I could wait a few more hours, especially if it meant I got to spend those few hours holding the love of my life while she slept.