CARMEN
His arms stayed tight around me, steady, constant, like an anchor while I drifted through everything I’d buried for so long.
When the words turned into sobs, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
When the sobs turned into anger—He didn’t flinch.
“Just let it out, Darlin’. I’m here,” he murmured as his thick, rough fingers combed through my hair.
I sniffed, shaking my head.
“I don’t—I don’t do that—”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “You do. You just haven’t let yourself.”
I huffed out a weak, disbelieving breath.
“Tim, I’m not just gonna—what? Scream in the woods like a crazy person?”
He simply shrugged with a ghost smirk on his handsome face.
“Yeah,” he said.
I stared at him. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
Something in his expression—calm, certain—
