Chapter 6
"Did you mean it?" Alex asked as she emerged from the bathroom an hour later.
"Mean what?" He said slowly turning from the stove where he was stirring a pan of soup.
He noticed that her skin was red from scrubbing. He winced.
"About catching me…" She put her hand on his arm. "I can't do this alone, and I don't' trust anyone but you." Fresh tears stung her eyes.
"Yes," he whispered as he wiped away a fallen tear.
She put her hand on his and held it to her cheek. She was shaking. "Bobby, I…we…"
"Alex, I'd never push you into anything you aren't ready for." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I know…" She began, but her bottom lip quivered. "I just feel…I feel dirty…" She wrapped her arms around herself.
"I know." He placed a comforting hand on her arm. He didn't pull her to him because he was afraid she'd pull away forever. "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."
He started to pull away when her hand came over his, "Thank you." Her voice was barely audible.
"I'd do anything for you." He turned back to the stove. "This is almost done."
"I'm not hungry," she said as she took a glass from the cabinet and poured a little vodka inside it.
"Just a little…for me." He didn't look at her.
"Okay." She moved closer and watched him stir. He was adding spices now. "What's in it?"
"Chicken, noodles, carrots…"
"Smells good." She gently touched her swollen lip.
He moved so that he could look at her lip. "The swellings gone down." He tilted her chin up into the light. "Does it hurt?"
"Just a little." She moved to the couch and tucked her legs under her. She watched as he searched her cabinets for bowls and spoons. He ladled soup into her bowl. He handed it to her. "I can't eat all that."
"Just eat what you can." He went back to the stove and grabbed his own bowl and spoon.
They ate in silence. When she finally sat her bowl on the coffee table, he nodded his approval at it being less than half full. "You should get some sleep," he said softly before spooning his last mouthful into his mouth.
"I don't think I can."
After he sat his bowl on the coffee table, she surprised him by laying her head in his lap. He began stroking her hair gently. "Just push all the bad thoughts away. You're here with me…and safe. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Ever, he added silently.
Twenty minutes later she was sound asleep. His eyes filled with tears as he heard her whimper, no doubt she was dreaming about the earlier events. "No one will ever hurt you again," he whispered. "No one."
He eased out from under her and gently picked her up. He cradled her against him as he carried her to her bed. After he'd tucked the covers around her, he kissed her forehead, "I love you, Alex."
He then returned to the living room where he made up the hide-a-bed sofa and stretched out. He'd just dozed off when something warm nestled into his side. He opened his eyes and saw her blonde head. "Everything okay?"
"It is now." She whispered into the darkness as she clung to him.