Since he was the first person to start taking care of her again after five years of being the primary caregiver to her family, she’d fought him on it often. She may have been only fourteen years old, but she already thought she no longer needed anyone to take care of her.
She’d been wrong.
Everybody needed someone to take care of them sometimes.
If she had to take care of herself right now, then she could. Maybe she’d be a little slower and more awkward at it, but she could tend to her own needs. But having Micah there meant she didn't have to worry about it and could just focus on recovering.
Which might prove to be harder than she thought.
Definitely harder than she wanted it to be.
Ava had bounced back well after her ordeal, although Teresa knew her friend was still struggling more than she wantedpeople to know, because she’d forged a bond with Nathaniel and that bond strengthened her.
She didn't have a bond like that. She would have to navigate her path alone.
Only as the kitchen door swung open and Micah carried through a tray with some water and fruit, she realized she wasn't quite alone. The man who had almost destroyed her over a decade ago might wind up being her salvation.
If she could find a way to let go of her anger and resentment toward him. And that was something she wasn't sure she could do.
May2nd
11:02 P.M.
Restless,Micah prowled the apartment like a caged tiger.
He needed to be doing something, and while he knew he was doing the most important thing he could be doing right now, it didn't mean that he didn't want to do more.
More like find where the woman who headed the trafficking ring had squirreled herself away and storm in, take her into custody or kill her, preferably kill her, then kill every other person involved. If he thought it would make her happy, he would bring Teresa their heads on stakes as a gift, an offering, a plea for forgiveness.
Although he’d set up the air mattress in the living room, he had no intention of sleeping there tonight. It was too far away from Teresa.
Sleeping in her bed was obviously out. There was no way she was close enough to forgiving him that she would even entertainthat thought. Sleeping on the floor of her room would also be out. That would still be too close as far as she was concerned.
So, he intended to spend the night sleeping on the floor outside her room. Snatching up his pillow and a blanket, he padded quietly down the hall, stopping at her door and pressing his ear to it. When he didn't hear any sounds coming from within, he assumed she’d gone to sleep, so he sat down and got himself settled.
Not ready to sleep yet, since he’d already taken a quick shower after they’d both eaten and Teresa had retired to her room, there was nothing else to do, so he unlocked his cell phone and brought up Nathaniel’s name. Teresa’s friends knew that she had been discharged from the hospital and she was home now, with him staying by her side for the foreseeable future.
For the moment, he couldn’t allow himself to focus on the fact that his team would be called in. They were supposed to be on a break, but that didn't mean things couldn’t change, and their unit might be sent out somewhere. If that happened, he would have to make a choice between Teresa and his job. Since refusing to follow orders was an offense that would get him court-martialed, possibly thrown out of the SEALs, maybe even sent to prison, he would have to go.
Was there any chance he could convince her to move with him?
Maybe if Ava came too?
It wouldn't have to be permanent, just until this situation was brought under control.
Hey, dude, you up?
Almost immediately,the three dots began to bounce, and he sat there, head resting back against the wall, blanket tossed haphazardly over his legs, pillow lying on the floor beside him, phone in hand, feeling lost.
He needed someone who could give him step-by-step instructions on how to fix the mistake that he’d made. Too bad such a person didn't exist.
Realistically, the only one who could tell him what she needed him to do to earn back his trust was Teresa herself, but he could hardly expect her to hold his hand and walk him through this process when he was the one who had put them in this position to begin with.
Yeah,Ava and I are up
How’s Teresa?
Micah wishedhe had an answer to that question.
