Hold Me Close

11. Safety

CHLOE

The next morning there was a knock at the apartment door. I assumed it was Aubrey and she had forgotten her keys. But when I opened the door, instead of seeing a tall blonde there was a small brunette.

"Beca?"

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I missed you," she said wrapping her arms around me. I smiled and hugged her back.

"I missed you too." I spun us so I could close the door. We slipped and fell onto the bed, both of us laughing a tangle of limbs. I brushed the hair out of Beca's face. She had no makeup on. Her smile was wide and her eyes were bright. My thumb stroked her cheek.

"This is nice," she said after a while.

"It really is."

Beca snuggled into me like she wanted there to be no space between us. I could tell something was off. Beca was never this cuddly. I also knew not to push her. If she had planned to come to see me she would have called to plan it a little more. This was her looking for safety. This was her looking for comfort. We laid there on the bed we used to share. Her snuggled into me. Me stroking her hair. Till eventually, she fell asleep. I smiled. This is what I wanted. Her by my side. Happy. Safe. Calm. She smiled in her sleep. I continued to stroke her hair till I had to get up so I could do things. I scooped her up and tucked her in. She stirred a little clearly not happy that I was no longer there.

"Shhhh," I said gently. I kissed her forehead. She smiled and relaxed into the bed. I let out a breath of relief and started going about cleaning the apartment.

BECA

I woke up drenched in sweat Chloe sitting near me, concern in her eyes. I immediately threw myself onto her. She wrapped her arms around me. I was crying silently into her shoulder. She stroked my hair.

"Shhhh. You're okay. You're safe." she said softly. "It's okay."

I pulled my head from her shoulder I sniffed. Chloe wiped the tears from my eyes. "Sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"I'm still sorry."

She just hugged me again. With her, I felt safe. Like nothing could hurt me. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No," I said quickly.

"That's fine."

We sat like that for a while. "I don't want to go back to him."

"Then stay here. You don't have to go back."

"I do though..." I pushed myself away from her. Don't get too attached. If she gets hurt it's on you. Nobody else but you.

"Why? Why would you need to go back?"

"Because of my job. Because if I don't bad things will happen. If I don't I'll always be-"

"I swear to god if you say your nothing."

I bit my lip and looked away.

"You're not nothing. You are everything. You are amazing and talented and beautiful."

Did Chole just call me beautiful? No. That's not possible. Right?

CHLOE

Beca was only here for a short while. She was going to go back to Jesse. I hated that she felt she had to. She was scared. Of him. Of what he would do. I want to keep her safe. That's all I've ever wanted. I think its something Beca wants too, or else she wouldn't be here with me. We laid on the bed her head on my lap. I was studying for an exam and Beca was 'helping'. Really she was just laying here with me scrolling through her phone.

"I wish I didn't have to leave tomorrow," she said out of nowhere.

"I wish you didn't have to either."

"Can I come to visit more?" she asked sheepishly.

"Of course! You can come anytime. Just next time call ahead."

"Technically I did call ahead."

"No, you didn't silly."

"I called Aubrey."

She called Aubrey? I thought I was her best friend. "Why?"

"I didn't want you to freak out."

"Beca..."

"Are you mad at me?" she asked. I looked at her face. There were tears starting to form in her eyes. She was biting her lip.

"No. No Beca. I'm not mad at you. I just wish I could keep you safe."

"You do keep me safe Chloe. You're my savior."

Our eyes met. I couldn't read the emotion on Beca's face. I could see the gears turning in her head. The two sides battling back and forth till finally one side was victorious. She averted her gaze from mine and went back to looking through her phone.