Page 131 of Never Alone
I started crying again. I hadn't planned to. The crying came up on its own.
Cole's good hand, the one I was holding, came up against the weight of my hands, and his thumb came across my cheek. The thumb caught a tear and stayed.
"You're okay."
"I'm okay, Cole."
"S'all that matters."
"Don't say that."
"It's true."
"Cole."
"You're okay. I'm fine."
"You're not fine."
"M'fine as long as you're?—"
He stopped. He had to stop. The breath caught.
"Don't talk. Just—don't talk."
"Yeah."
He kept his thumb on my cheek. He looked at me the way he was looking at me. I let him look.
After a minute, he said, slowly: "Thought you were the one who was gonna be hurt."
"I wasn't."
"Good."
"Cole. I thought I was going to lose you."
He almost smiled. The corner of his mouth.
"Tessa. Takes a lot more than that."
I didn't laugh. I had been about to, and I didn't.
He saw that I didn't. He let the almost-smile go. His thumb stayed.
"Where's Noah?"
"Sam's and Jamie's."
"Okay."
"Cole. When they took you in—I called Jamie from the ER. I told her what happened. I asked her to keep him tonight."
"Yeah."
"I didn't want him to see you. Like this. I was scared it would?—"
I had to stop.
