Page 69

“Shhh,” I placated, crawling closer to her. I managed to pry her hands off me and tucked her into my side as I held her close to my chest. “You’re okay, baby. You’re okay. You’re safe here.”

Her muscles began to relax, but her body began to tremble as she finally fully woke up.

“Lex?” she asked, her voice quavering.

“It’s me,” I muttered, reaching down and pulling the blankets she had kicked off over both of us. She was shivering in my hold, her entire body quaking, and whether it was from fear or the cold, I didn’t know. “Take some deep breaths for me, okay?”

I felt her nod against me, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. Her breath washed over my bare chest, sending goosebumps cascading over me. We hadn’t been this close… not since that night I kissed her. The night she didn’t remember. Nor the night that I didn’t remember.

We lay in each other's arms for nearly thirty minutes as she brought herself fully back to reality.

Moonlight seeped in through the curtains, blanketing the room and leaving dancing shadows as the tree in the front yard fluttered in the wind. The ceiling fan high above spun in slow, steady circles, its soft whooshing the only sound in the room outside our breathing.

Goldie’s body relaxed into mine. I had expected her to wiggle out of my hold, or even kick me out of her room. Instead, she burrowed in closer, cuddling into my side, her face hiding against my chest.

“You back with me?” I muttered softly, my arms still wrapped around her tightly.

She nodded against my chest. “Yeah,” she breathed. “Sorry.”

I leaned back, weaving my fingers through her hair. I pulled gently, urging her to look up at me. She listened, her dark eyes holding more sadness than I could take. “Don’t be sorry, okay? I’m glad I’m here for you.”

She smiled ever so slightly, just a small tilt of her lips, her eyes softening. “Thank you, Lex.”

I raised a curious brow. “Why?”

“For giving me a place that feels safe,” she explained. I felt her hands wrap around me, her fingers cold against my exposed back. She glanced down at my bare chest. “You’re not wearing a shirt.”

I smirked. “You would be correct about that. I didn’t have time to put one on.”

“Was it a bad one?” she asked.

I nodded, moving my hand from her hair to behind my head as I looked down at her. She propped herself on my chest, her chin resting on her hands on top of me. “Do you remember them?”

“Unfortunately,” she mumbled. “Everything before that place… gone. Everything since? Well, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I don’t think I can.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I wanted her to; I really believed that she needed to. But I wouldn’t push her—not tonight.

I was shocked when she took a steadying breath, her eyes getting a faraway look as she thought back. “There was no light,” she explained, and I practically held my breath, not wanting to stop her now that she was finally talking. “Silas had this small lantern, but that was it. It was always so dark… so cold. I never realized how claustrophobic the dark was until I was there.”

She rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling as she continued. I rolled onto my side right next to her, my head propped on my hand so I could still see her face. “We were alone the first couple of days. Those two days are fuzzy. I don’t remember a lot. I remember Silas giving me a tour. I remember finding out that my hair was cut. I think… I think I still knew things then. Or most things. I think my mind hadn’t fully gone just yet.”

“Really?” I blurted in shock. From the little I did know, she had been hit over the head. Hard. I had always assumed it was when she was first abducted.

She nodded. “I can’t explain it, but when I woke up after…” She swallowed hard, and I saw tears form in her eyes. “The first visit, I knew something was missing. My memories. Who I was. He took them with him.”

“Silas?”

She shook her head. “Whoever took us. He came twice a week, every week. The first day, he spent with us. The second, fixing things up in the bunker. Those two days… they were a nightmare.” She laughed to herself softly. “If it had just been Silas and me, it wouldn’t have been half bad.”

“What did you two talk about? You and Silas, I mean.” Those memories seemed easier for her, and it felt like a safer place to start—a place she could handle.

She smiled. “The world.” Her eyes flicked to me. “He didn’t even know what a week was, or a year. It was… nearly unbelievable. He had so many questions about the world outside. My God, you should have seen his face when I explained space and planets. I wasn’t sure he believed me, but I knew he wanted to believe me. I explained what I could. He ate it up, only wanting to know more.”

“He’s like that now,” I interrupted. “Jackie… she took him in. Do you remember her?” Goldie gave me an incredulous look and nodded, and I huffed a laugh. I couldn’t believe I actually missed those looks she used to throw at me, like I was the most annoying creature she had ever encountered. They made me smile. “Just checking. But he’s diving into schooling. He loves it.”

Her smile widened. “Is he doing okay?”

“As good as he can be,” I explained. I reached out, taking one of her short locks of hair and running it between my fingers. “He wants to talk to you. He misses you.”