"I don't want someone different!" The words burst from me with surprising force. "I want him. Just as he is."
Walker studied me, his gaze assessing. "Even the parts that make you uncomfortable? The parts that challenge your need for control?"
I swallowed hard, forced to confront truths I'd been avoiding. "Yes," I said finally. "Even those parts.Especiallythose parts."
"Why?"
"Because..." I struggled to articulate feelings I'd barely acknowledged to myself. "Because he makes me feel safe in a way no one ever has. Because he sees me—all of me, even the parts I try to hide. And because when I'm with him, I don't have to be strong all the time. Because I love him," I whispered.
Walker nodded slowly. "And what about when he tells you to do something you don't want to do? When he makes a decision you disagree with?"
"I..." I paused, remembering our argument. "I need to trust him more. To understand that sometimes he sees dangers I don't."
"And sometimes," Walker added gently, "you need to accept that his need to protect you isn't about control—it's about love."
The word hung in the air between us. Love. I knew what that felt like now. This ache in my chest, this desperate need to see him, to make things right.
"I do trust him," I said finally. "More than I've ever trusted anyone. I just... I got scared."
"Of what?"
"Of needing him too much," I admitted, the truth finally breaking free. "Of what happens if I let myself depend on someone and then they change their mind. I'm never good enough. I wasn't for my family, no matter how much I tried to twist myself into what they wanted."
Walker's expression softened. "Dion isn't everyone."
“Growing up, I was always told I was too needy. Comfort was something weak people needed. It was all about image.”
Walker was quiet for a moment, considering. Then he sighed. “I can’t tell you where he is. I cannot betray the trust of a man who saved my ass more times than I can count, but I will say that next month Abby is planning an open Little night at Salvation. I can persuade him he needs to be there to help with security. I can’t make him listen to what you want to say. All I can do is get you both in the building.”
My mind whirled. “You think I should be a Little?”
Walker shrugged. “Are you a Little?”
“Not in the same way as Abby,” I confessed.
“Then don’t pretend to be anything you’re not,” Walker said. “There’s already been too many misunderstandings between you. Dion deserves your honesty, even if that means he still walks away.”
I gazed at Walker. “You’re a good friend.”
His face softened. “Be brave, and be yourself,” he whispered. I reached up and kissed his cheek, then turned. Be myself. Good advice. I just needed to know what that looked like first.
The next morning, I sat in Dr. Anna Reeves' office, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. Abby had given me her therapist's number weeks ago, but I'd never imagined I'd actually use it.
"Tell me why you're here, Emily," Dr. Reeves said gently. She was younger than I'd expected, tiny, and I loved her shocking purple hair. Apparently, it had been blue last month.
"I reckon I've ruined the best relationship I've ever had," I blurted out, then unleashed a torrent of words about the warehouse fiasco, the argument that could win awards for drama, my kidnapping, Dion's vanishing act, and my constant tango between what I wanted and what I thought I should want.
Dr. Reeves listened like a Zen master, nodding occasionally and tossing out clarifying questions like confetti at a parade. When I finally ran out of steam, she paused, probably pondering if she should charge me double for the entertainment.
"So, specifically, what do you think you've ruined?" she inquired.
"His trust in me. That I don’t need him." When he was everything I needed.
"And how would you describe him?"
"He's someone who needs to be needed, who’s got a PhD in caring for others. Someone who..." I stopped, hunting for words like a cat chasing a laser pointer. "Someone who makes me feel treasured instead of a walking disaster."
"That sounds like a jackpot worth chasing," Dr. Reeves pointed out. "What's standing in your way?"
