(Aaron)
Her body was trembling against mine. I could feel her heartbeat hammering in her chest, loud enough to echo into mine. She buried her face into the crook of my neck, and I just held her—tight, steady, like I could shield her from the past if I held her hard enough.
“I thought…” she whispered. “I thought we were going to die before you come, and you... you came."
I came too late.
My chest ached. I pulled her tighter, my fingers sliding into her hair, stroking it softly.
“I’m so sorry, Danielle,” I said, voice thick. “I should’ve—f**k—I should’ve seen it. I should’ve known.”
She didn’t respond at first, only clenched tighter, as if the apology itself made her unravel more.
“I didn’t protect her,” she said in a breathless, broken voice. “I let her go in. I let them touch her. I
