Left Behind

IX

The human was surprised by the request, but in the end, she gladly accepted. Chloe gave Mary plenty of time to climb onto her palm by herself, avoiding touching her leg and hurting her.

When the borrower managed to lay on the girl's open palm, Chloe was still looking at her full of concern. "Let's go to the living room, okay?" she asked in a whisper, and Mary nodded, not looking directly into her eyes.

The human got up slowly and just as slowly she reached the living room, sitting on the usual armchair. She put her hand to her chest, and placed the borrower on it, who immediately curled up, clutching her shirt.

"I... I was so s-scared," Mary sobbed after a while, shaking terribly.

"It's all over, I'm here, you don't have to be afraid anymore," the human whispered, covering her with her hand and holding her close to herself.

"I thought I was going to die, if it weren't for the grappling hook I w-would be..." Mary interrupted the confused thoughts she was formulating and buried her face in the fabric beneath her.

Chloe felt her heart tighten at the thought of losing the borrower forever. They had just met, she couldn't leave so soon, and above all the idea of ​​not having been there, not having saved her somehow, made her feel guilty.

"It didn't happen, you are here with me," she reassured her immediately, while she felt the little body shake under her hand. Mary kept sobbing, and Chloe slowly caressed her hair, letting her cry and calm down on her own.

She couldn't believe how dangerous it had been for the little girl, in that moment the human realized, even more, how fragile Mary was. Chloe had to protect her, she needed to be sure she would never go through any kind of pain ever again.

She felt her eyes burn, she couldn't lose Mary.

Chloe lowered her head slowly and left a small kiss on the little girl's head. Mary immediately stopped sobbing, the gesture surprised her, but it was pleasant.

Mary could feel tiny butterflies in her stomach, and she hid her red face while she slowly calmed her heartbeat. The borrower started to relax, surrounded by warmth and the perfume of the human.

"I'm sorry" Chloe let out a whisper, and the borrower immediately placed a hand on her finger. "I shouldn't have left the window unlocked," she said with suck guilt in her tone that Mary shook her head.

"Don't blame yourself ... I put myself in danger, not you," she said firmly, looking at the human form below. She was surprised by noticing a tear running down the human's face.

Chloe quickly wiped it away, looking away and taking a deep breath. "Let's not talk about it now, try to rest," the brunette said, not wanting to stress the borrower and hoping that she would soon feel better.

The borrower looked down and rested her cheek on the human's chest. And there was the sound she had wanted to hear for a long time.

The sound she wanted to hear every night so she could fall asleep, without having nightmares. Mary focused on the sound and suddenly spoke.

"Can you ... caress my hair again?" she asked in an almost embarrassed whisper, but the human didn't comment, she simply began to run her fingertip over the borrower's head, who immediately felt safe. She felt good, she felt happy, reassured.

"Chloe," she whispered, and the human's eyes widened at hearing her say her name. Chloe wasn't sure if it was the first time she'd done it, but hearing it say from a voice as small as hers made her miss a heartbeat.

"Thank you, for saving me that time... for taking care of me, and for staying close to me," Mary whispered, bringing the human back to the verge of tears.