“I said, go.” Finally, I lifted my head to make eye contact and immediately regretted the decision.
Corey’s eyes held mine with concern and fear, for what could be weighing my heart so heavily. Even a fool like me knew he was here because he cared. I knew he wouldn’t just leave me alone anymore. What was worse was that now that he was here—I didn’t want him to leave me.
“I need to go visit my mother.” His confusion changed to realization.
His arms wrapped around my back holding me close. My hands tried to push away the comfort; enclosed in his warmth, scent and strength, was going to make me breakdown into tears. I wasn’t willing to be that little girl anymore. Not the one who cried over my mommy because she didn’t want me—the way I used to. I’m the tough woman now. Unbreakable, unbeatable, and can most definitely take of herself. That is me. At least, that was what I strived for but the safety Corey was offering was far too tempting.
My cheek fell against his shoulder as I pulled him closer. A few tears spilled onto his soft cotton T-shirt but he didn’t seem to mind. I had a sinking suspicion if I wanted to stay that way all day—we could. Fact was—I didn’t have all day. My mother was waiting for me and the longer I waited to get there; the longer she was going to spend yelling at me for making her wait.
“I should go.” I moved away, using the back of my sleeve to wipe away the fallen tears. Corey stood and held out his hand to me.
“Let me come with you.”
Yes—oh please—I can’t do this alone . Was my immediate reaction but that was not what came out. “No, that’d be— No—you don’t have to do that.” My words jumbled together at his request. I was torn between the want to take care of myself and the need to be taken care of.
“Please, Danielle.” His hand reached out, and brushed softly against my jaw line. Sending a shiver throughout my body, that had nothing to do with the chill September air.
“Why do you want to come with me? It’s over an hour drive; you wouldn’t be able to come in, so you’d be waiting in the car just to drive home again.”
His eye contact didn’t falter from mine; assuring me that every word crossing his lips was sincere. “Because I want to be there for you.”
“I can do this on my own.” The words were supposed to sound strong, not timid and afraid the way they did. “I know you can, I just don’t want you to.”
Worse Than I Feared
For reasons I couldn’t explain, I let him come with me. It was incredible that after being so dead set on doing this alone, I quickly caved—needing him there. Corey refused to let me drive and when we got into his jeep, he didn’t bombard me with questions. What I needed now was silence to process my thoughts and mentally prepare. When we were about twenty minutes from the prison I felt the nerves in my body going wild. My leg started shaking, fingers drummed against the center console and my poor habit of grinding my teeth came out. I nearly jumped out of my skin when something brushed against my hand. The warmth of Corey’s hand encompassed my trembling fingers, slowly raising them to his lips. After placing a kiss on them, he returned our hands to rest on the shifter without releasing me.
“It’s going to be okay, Dani.” My eyes closed, the sincerity of his actions flowed through my anxious body. Little things like this solidified my joy in having him right there with me. Doing this alone right now—I would have been a total wreck. While I still need to face her alone, knowing Corey would be just feet away, gave me the courage to follow through.
My fingers knotted together in my lap, as Corey found a spot in the visitor’s lot to wait. A deep breath escaped when I reached for the door handle. Before I could get out, I was twirled back around to see those consoling blue eyes. His compassion and strength reached out and surrounded me.
“Everything will be okay, Dani. No matter happens, I will be here.” I nodded but Corey wasn’t convinced. So after, a soft reassuring kiss, I dove headfirst into the waiting chaos.
As I went through the long line of security guards,