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Not to him.
Not to that…bed.
I didn't want to do that anymore, I didn't want to feel him on top of me anymore. I just wanted to stay here, with them.
“Fuck, Evie. I wish I could hold you,” Jackson said, his jaw clenching, the chains clashing above as he tried to pull his hands free. And something inside me just…snapped. The plate slipped from my hands onto the mattress as I stumbled forward, closing the distance between us without thinking, without stopping, just wrapping my arms around his neck like I could disappear into him if I held on tight enough.
And then I just…fell apart.
“I’m sorry,” I cried.
“You’re okay,” he choked, his voice breaking as badly as mine, his breath uneven as it hit my hair. “It’s all gonna be okay. God, I’ve missed you so much.” I nestled deeper into his chest, attempting to burrow into his body so I didn’t have to leave him, embracing him so tight, I was sure it hurt him. “I thought about you every day,” he said, his voice cracking. “Every single day.” And those words only made me cry even harder.
“You have no idea how hard it’s been without you.” Sobs wracked my frame as I pulled back just enough to look at him, my hands sliding up to cup his face, feeling his dewy skin beneath my fingertips. “You have no idea what it’s like up there…”
“I know enough,” he said quickly, shaking his head, his eyes searching mine. “And you know it’s not your fault.”
“It is,” I insisted, tears spilling over faster now. “Because I should’ve waited for you that day. I should’ve stayed. I should’ve—”
“Hey, no.” Jackson shook his head firmly, cutting me off, and leaned into my hands. “No, don’t do that.”
“But…”
“Evie.” His tone sharpened, slicing through the spiral. The chains above him shifted with a soft clink as he tried to move closer. “None of this is your fault.”
I shook my head, tears spilling faster. “It is—”
“Evie.” His voice cut me off, firm despite everything. “Stop.”
I froze as his forehead pressed against mine. “None of this is on you,” he said, quieter now, but just as certain. “Not a single part of it.”
My lip trembled. “But I left—”
“You didn’t leave me,” he said, his voice tightening. “He took you. That’s not the same thing.” I shook my head weakly, but my hands didn’t leave his face.
“Evie, you aren’t to blame for any of this shit,” Christopher added quietly from beside us.
“But I should’ve—”
“I should’ve protected you,” Jackson shot back softly. “But I’m here now,” he said, quieter this time. “That’s what matters.” My chest ached at how much I wanted to believe that. At how easily he said it. I leaned into him again, pressing my face against his shoulder, holding onto him like he was the only real thing left.
“I didn’t want to leave you,” I whispered.
“I know,” he murmured. “Baby…look at me.”
The word hit me like a blow.
My breath hitched.
For a second, everything else faded. The basement, the chains, the fear—gone.
Just that word.
Baby.
My grip on his face tightened slightly, like I needed to make sure he was real. Like no time had passed between then and now, like we had been transported back in time to when we were happy, carefree, and in love. But we weren’t. We were two strangers to each other now. I knew nothing about the man with the tattoos whose face I held in my hands like I was afraid he would fade away if I let go.
What was I doing?
