“Acacia,” I whisper, hoping she will wake up. She is cold now.
I add another log into the fireplace and turn back to her side and pull the blanket up a little higher up her neck. She stirs as I push her wild hair out of her temple, but she doesn’t open her eyes. I look at her carefully she is beautiful, but her beauty is so much more different than April. April… her beauty was innocent with something that shines brightly underneath. The image of April haunts me as I look at Acacia laying in front of me unconscious. Something blocks my air, and I can’t have that again. I can’t see one more person leave the world like this.
“Please, Acacia...wake up,” I whisper, closing my eyes. I want to see April’s smiling eyes instead of hearing her painful moans.
She stirs again, and this time she opens her eyes. I let out the breath I was holding, relieved.
“Ashton?” Her voice is raspy, and she coughs as she looks around her surroundings in panic, terrified.
“Shh, you’re safe,” I say, lifting my hands to somewhere she can see in the hope of giving her some relief, some security.
“What happened?”
“What do you remember?”
“I was in the alley. There was a guy…” she trails off on a sob, shaking and hugging the blanket tighter around herself.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now. I heard the voices and stopped him before something happened. I brought you to my house. You were unconscious for hours.”
“Thank you…” she whispers.
I frown.
Why would she thank me?
“For what?”
“For saving me and bringing me here, taking care of me,” she explains like I’m just a kid who doesn’t understand what she’s saying.
“No problem,” I shrug before adding, “I’m sorry I didn’t think of taking you to a hospital.”
“I hate hospitals. I’m glad you didn’t take me there,” she smiles. Her face brightens up a little with her smile. Her eyes are glassy with unshed tears tugging at something inside of me.
I stand up, feeling the need to be alone and away from her grateful eyes. “I’ll bring you hot cocoa,” I say and leave her without giving her a chance to answer.
Hope she likes hot cocoa!
CHAPTER EIGHT
ACACIA
Shaking, I pulled the blanket tighter around myself; I’m cold, but I can’t seem to get warm, so I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them. Tears start to form in the wells of my eyes, but before I can’t stop them, they fall. I wipe them with the blanket but more follow. I began to gulp big hiccups and sob.
“Acacia,” I watch Ashton put the cups on the side table and kneel in front of me. He smoothes my hair from my face, my cheeks were wet from the amount of tears I’ve cried.
“Hey, hey it’s okay, you’re safe now I promise.” Ashton talks to me softly, he kneads my arm in a gentle, massaging motion. He warms me at the same time as he soothes me.
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? It was a horrific experience, I’m just glad I chose that time to come to the bar and was there to stop him, otherwise, shit…I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
I look at the confused and sad look on his face. “Why were you coming to the bar?” I ask him curiously.
“I was coming to see you about this morning, to apologize.”
“Oh…” I’m not expecting this answer.
“Sorry for crossing the line about your parents and… well, about the way I acted when you opened your house to me,” he murmurs. I feel like apologizing isn’t something he is familiar to, but he manages to not fuck it up...for once.