Page 194 of Taming Seraphine
When I make a snoring sound, he gives my ass a gentle swat.
“Hey.” I poke him in the ribs, making him flinch.
“Fuck,” he growls.
I raise my head off his neck and frown. “Did I hurt your wound?”
His even features say he doesn’t want to make me feel bad, but I know he’s in pain. I trail my fingers toward his bandages, which probably need changing.
He grabs my hand. “You sacrificed everything to see Gabriel again. Now you finally have the chance.”
I swallow hard and squeeze my eyes shut. This isn’t like me. I’m not normally such a coward. Seeing Gabriel and Mom isn’t the same as hunting down a man I need to kill. I’ve held their memories on pedestals for so long, thought tirelessly about saving or avenging them, only for everything I endured to have been in vain.
How do I confront the reality that they were both alive and well, living their lives without me? How on earth do I tell them everything I’ve done, everything I’ve become? How do I face them, knowing they’d left me in that basement to rot?
Every day, Leroi brings up the subject of my family and every day, I brush him off. He insists Gabriel thought I was dead and had mourned me all those years. He’s becoming more and more persistent, which has to be a sign that he’s healing.
He rubs my back. “I won’t force you to face them if you’re not ready.”
I crack open an eye to meet his warm brown gaze and try to lose myself in the varying shades that make up his irises. Walnut in the center with cinnamon highlights and ebony striations that radiate from the pupil. There’s an outer ring of deep umber made up of tiny specs that seem to shift and change in the light.
“Seraphine?”
His hand rises to cup the side of my face, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone. The warmth of his touch is a reminder that I never have to face my demons alone.
“Alright,” I say.
“Alright... what?”
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Hours later, Leroi pulls up at Mom and Gabriel’s pristine two-story house. The sun hangs low in the sky, casting long shadows over the perfectly manicured lawn and the white picket fences border each property. My insides churn and I swallow back a bellyful of resentment at the thought of them living somewhere so idyllic when I was confined to that basement.
Gabriel still had to donate his liver. Twice.
Those bastards might have installed a chip under my skin, but they left my body pretty much intact. I really can’t say the same for Gabriel. While Leroi was sleeping, I read an article that explained why a person should never make a second donation. I shudder at the thought of Gabriel left with a liver that’s functioning at half than its full capacity.
Leroi reaches across the front seat and takes my hand and brings it to his lips. “Remember, I’m here for you.”
The anxiety roiling in my belly calms to a gentle flutter. I turn to give Leroi a shaky nod.
He exits first and walks around the car to open my door and help me out. My heart thuds soon as my feet touch the sidewalk. It’s part panic, part pain, part pressure not to lash out. It’s the reason I came unarmed. After what I did to Leroi, I no longer trust my reactions in the face of betrayal.
We walk up to the front door and Leroi rings the bell. Footsteps rush toward us, and the door swings open, revealing Gabriel.
He’s a few inches taller than I remember and willowier. His green eyes are tinged with yellow and shadowed by dark circles.
A knot forms in my stomach, and I shrink into Leroi’s side. The pleasant life I imagined for Gabriel is now marred by the reality of his health. That looks like jaundice.
“Sera.” Gabriel reaches for me with both hands.
Leroi steps forward to form a barrier between us. “Seraphine has been through a lot. Don’t touch her.”
Gabriel’s gaze bounces from Leroi’s to mine, his shoulders sagging. “Where have you been?”
“Let’s discuss this inside,” Leroi says.