Pick us back

chapter 12

pre warning this jumps between nova and Julian

The house was silent, but the air was charged with a tension that Julian couldn't shake. The digital hum of his servers usually acted as a lullaby, but tonight, it felt like a warning. He paced his room, his mind looping back to the sight of her in that hallway-the blood, the glass, and the way she'd looked at him when he handed her the necklace.

He slipped out of his room, moving like a shadow. He passed Marcus and Ezra's doors, the sound of their sleep a testament to the exhaustion of the hunt. But Julian? He was the architect. He was the one who kept watch.

He reached her door and stopped. His palm pressed against the wood, a thin barrier between him and the girl he'd spent three thousand days mourning. He didn't turn the handle. He knew she needed the peace, the distance. Instead, he let out a long, shaky exhale and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, guarding her threshold just like they used to do when they were kids.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, the screen's glow sharp in the dark hallway.

Julian: Are u awake..?

Inside the room, the phone on the nightstand vibrated softly, the light reflecting off the stacks of cash and the silver bee necklace.

Nova stirred, the deep, heavy sleep of exhaustion broken by the familiar buzz. She blinked at the ceiling, momentarily disoriented by the silence of the room-no screaming, no banging cabinets, no crashing glass. She reached out, her fingers brushing the cool metal of the bee before grabbing the phone.

Nova: Yeah. Everything is too quiet. I can't tell if I'm actually safe or just dreaming.

Julian stared at the words, his heart doing a slow, heavy roll in his chest. He looked at the closed door, wishing he could tell her that the quiet was earned.

Julian: You're safe. I'm sitting right outside your door. I'm not going anywhere, Nova. Go back to sleep

The soft glow of the hallway light spilled into the room, silhouetting Nova in the doorway. Julian looked up, his breath hitching in his throat. In the oversized shirt, with her red hair messy and her eyes tired but soft, she didn't look like the hardened artist from the shop or the victim from the house. She looked like the home he'd forgotten he had.

"God, you're so f*****g beautiful," he whispered, the words slipping out before he could filter them. He stayed grounded on the floor for a second, looking up at her with a mix of reverence and raw hunger. "Can I come in?" he asked gently, his voice barely a rumble. "I just... I don't want to be on the other side of this door tonight."

Nova stepped back, a silent invitation.

Julian stood up, his tall frame suddenly making the room feel smaller, more intimate. He closed the door behind him with a soft thud, the click of the latch sounding final. He didn't move toward the bed; he stayed by the wall, giving her space, though his eyes tracked every move she made.

"I used to do this, you know," he said, his voice low as he looked at the stacks of cash on her nightstand. "Back in LA. I'd sit outside your room whenever your dad had 'business' meetings. You never knew. I just wanted to be the first thing that stood in the way if the world tried to get to you."

He turned his gaze back to her, his expression softening. "I guess old habits die hard."

Nova sat on the edge of the mattress, pulling her knees to her chest. "You've been protecting me for a long time, Julian.

Julian crossed the room slowly, his movements deliberate. He sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, leaning his back against the mahogany frame so he was close, but not intruding. He reached out, his fingers hovering just an inch away from her ankle. "I'm sorry we lost you. I'm sorry it took us this long to get back

she whispers I don't blame you I never have never will there's a brief pause while they let the quietness settle over them

The room was bathed in the soft, low-voltage glow of the security monitors, casting long shadows against the walls. As Nova lay back and stretched, the tension that had held her body rigid for years finally seemed to dissolve into the plush mattress.

Julian's breath hitched. He watched the movement of her legs, the pale moonlight of her skin striking a sharp contrast against the dark bedding. To him, she wasn't just a woman; she was a miracle he'd spent a decade mourning. Seeing her this vulnerable-this peaceful-after the c*****e of the evening was almost more than he could handle.

He moved with the grace of a predator who had finally found his way home. He didn't climb onto the bed immediately; instead, he stayed on the edge, his weight dipping the mattress just enough to make her roll slightly toward him.

The air in the room felt thick, charged with the kind of intimacy that only comes after surviving a disaster together.

Julian moved like a shadow across the silk sheets, his movements cautious, as if he were afraid that a sudden noise might shatter the peace she'd finally found. He settled against the headboard, his shoulder inches from hers, the heat from his body radiating through the small gap between them.

"Do you want to sleep?" he whispered, his voice a low, soothing vibration in the quiet room.

nova reached out and laced her fingers with Julian's

The moment her fingers laced through his, Julian's entire body seemed to exhale. The tension he'd been carrying since he first tracked her signal to that Maryland shop finally snapped, replaced by a grounded, heavy warmth.

He adjusted himself, sinking deeper into the pillows but keeping his grip on her hand firm. He didn't want to be a ghost anymore; he wanted to be the weight that kept her anchored to the bed and away from the nightmares. She nods I wanna sleep.

her breathing becomes heavy falling into deep sleep , Julian watch's her his whole body relaxes and he falls asleep beside her holding her hand.