“I’ll only help you upstairs.”
He takes my arm and leads me to the stairs, as Evan gestures to him that he’s keeping an eye on us. Once we reach my room, he lets go. I start to look for something in my drawers, and he stands there, watching me.
“What?” I ask.
Ryan looks at me for a few moments, then quickly scoops me up in his arms. He buries his head into my neck and inhales deeply.
“I’m sorry. I can’t stop thinking about what I did, what I said. I’ll never forgive myself, and you shouldn’t either, but I really hope that you will. Please, Christine – can you?”
I smile against his chest.
“I was so…”
“It’s okay, Ryan. It’s all okay.”
“Don’t do anything like that again,” he mumbles into my hair. “Don’t scare me like this again, because I don’t think I could bear it.”
“Ryan…”
“Shh… Don’t say anything. I just need to know that you’re here, in this house. And that I’m with you.”
I slowly pull away from his embrace and look into his beautiful, terrified eyes.
“I’m here, Ryan. We’re both here, together.”
