Knox POV
I didn’t realise how much I missed this. The weight of her in my arms, the warmth of her pressed against my chest, the soft sound of her breathing as it slows, as she lets herself rest with me beside her. For weeks, I told myself I didn’t deserve this and that I wasn’t allowed to want it.
Because if I had just stayed, if I’d gone with her that evening, if I’d followed, if I’d turned up at her work without her approval, I would have known something was wrong within twenty goddamn minutes. And maybe then she wouldn’t have ended up broken and bleeding in that bathtub.
I’d been punishing myself since. Not by walking away. No, that would’ve been too easy. I stayed. I stayed and kept myself at arm’s length. I stayed and tried to make myself useful without making myself a burden. I st
