Chapter 73 LIKE HOME
Jaxon's POV
I was drowning in my own nightmare when her voice somehow managed to pull me out of it. I don’t know how, but my dreams had been filled with nothing but dead bodies.
When I opened my eyes and saw her right in front of me, I didn’t think twice before pulling her into a hug.
Her body immediately tensed up.
But I needed someone—something—to hold on to as panic began to crawl through my chest. My breathing became more shallow than I could control.
The panic was setting in fast, and I didn’t want her to see me like that.
So I held her tighter.
Even when she tried to pull away, I refused to let go. I just held on and kept whispering words I barely even understood myself.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” I murmured.
I didn’t even know why I was apologizing.
But the words kept coming out anyway.
“Jaxon, this is—” she started to say, but I cut her off.
“I will never let anyone harm you.”
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Suddenly it felt like if I let her go, she would disappear… just like everyone else.
I was overwhelmed.
Ever since she mentioned April 22nd, 2005, I hadn’t been able to get a hold of my own emotions. I still couldn’t believe she was that little girl.
“I'm sorry I didn’t protect you before,” I whispered, the memory flashing painfully through my mind. “But I promise to protect you now.”
The image of that little girl surfaced again—the one who had sacrificed so much for me, yet I never even had the chance to thank her.
My arms tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer against me. My heart pounded loudly in my ears like a relentless drum.
Then I felt it.
Her body slowly relaxing against mine.
Her hand gently began tapping my back in comfort.
And somehow…
It worked.
My breathing slowly began to steady, and the trembling in my hands started to fade, even though they were still wrapped firmly around her.
Her scent filled my lungs, and I realized I loved every bit of it.
Especially the faint smell of marshmallow lingering in her hair.
It made me bury my face into the crook of her neck, craving the warmth and comfort that came with being this close to her.
She smelled like…
Home.
Nancy’s POV
I felt him relax a little.
His breathing slowly began to normalize, and the pounding of his heart against my chest finally started to quiet down. Even the trembling in his body began to fade.
I wanted to pull away, but his grip around my waist was still tight.
And when he buried his face into the crook of my neck, his warm breath brushing against my skin, a shiver ran down my spine.
Then he leaned even closer.
His lips brushed lightly against my skin.
A sudden electric shock shot through my entire body.
I immediately pulled away from him.
His eyes met mine instantly.
The tension that followed was something I couldn’t even begin to explain. The room suddenly felt warmer, the air heavier, as our eyes locked onto each other.
Neither of us looked away.
Not at first.
Until he suddenly broke the gaze, blinking and looking aside as if he had just become aware of what had happened.
He quickly removed his hands from my waist, almost too fast.
Only then did I realize something that made my face heat up.
I had been sitting on his lap the entire time.
I quickly pushed myself to my feet.
“I… I… um… came to call you for lunch,” I said nervously, avoiding his searching gaze as the tension between us still lingered in the air.
“Oh,” he replied quietly.
His eyes briefly met mine before he ran a hand through his hair.
“Troy wanted me to make sure you had something to eat, so I came to let you know,” I continued quickly. “But you were asleep. I was going to leave, but you seemed kind of distressed… so I had to wake you up.”
The words rushed out in one breath as I tried to mask the tension still trembling in my voice.
He buried his face in his palms for a moment before nodding slowly.
Then he looked up at me again.
“Give me a few minutes,” he said calmly. “I’ll join you soon.”
I immediately nodded.
Without another word, I quietly let myself out of the room.
The moment I closed the door to the study, I released a deep breath, only then realizing I had been holding it the entire time.
I made my way to the dining area, sat down, and grabbed my fork as I tried to calm my racing heart.
It wasn’t long before Jaxon joined me.
We both sat at the dining table.
I tried my best not to pay attention to his presence, but it was impossible.
My eyes kept drifting back to him as I slowly dug into my plate of pan-seared salmon with mashed potatoes.
While I tried to focus on my food and ignore the strange tension lingering in the room, he seemed completely lost in his own thoughts.
He just sat there.
Staring at the food in front of him without taking a single bite.
His expression looked distant.
Empty.
Like his mind was somewhere far away.
I couldn’t help but worry.
For a moment, I completely forgot about the tension between us as my questioning gaze followed his every movement.
Troy’s POV
I came back only to find Nancy sitting in the living room with her phone in her hand.
The moment she saw me enter, she rushed toward me almost immediately.
She was wearing one of Jaxon’s T-shirts and joggers, both of which nearly swallowed her whole frame.
I couldn’t help chuckling in amusement. I tried to hide it, but it was already too late.
She had already caught me laughing.
“Well, at least one of us is finding the situation funny,” she said with a small smile before handing her phone over to me.
“The battery died, and I might need your help charging it,” she added.
I took the phone from her.
My eyes immediately drifted toward the dining table, where a covered plate of food still sat untouched.
My questioning gaze returned to Nancy.
She simply shrugged her shoulders.
Walking over to the table, I lifted the cloche and revealed the plate of food beneath it.
Completely untouched.
I didn’t need anyone to tell me it belonged to Jaxon.
“He wouldn’t even take a bite,” Nancy said as she came to stand beside me. “Even after staring at the food for a long time.”
I nodded quietly.
Then I reached down and handed her one of the shopping bags I had brought back with me.
“I figured you might need something to wear,” I said casually. “So I stopped by the mall and grabbed you a few things.”
She peeked inside the bag.
The moment she saw the hoodie inside, she slowly pulled it out and gave me a look that clearly said really? Is this the best thing you could find?
“What?” I raised my hands defensively. “The doctor said you should dress warm, okay? And besides, I had no idea what else to buy.”
“Fair enough,” she replied, giving me a side glance.
“So how about you just go change while I go find Jaxon? We have less than two hours before we leave.”
She sighed softly before giving me a small smile.
“Thanks, Troy. At least I won’t be traveling naked.”
With that, she turned and headed toward Jaxon’s room.
Meanwhile, I made my way toward the study.
Time to go find Jaxon.