Dark Shadow (Book 1 in the Original DARKNESS Duology) ✔

Forty-Seven: The Only One

.დ.❧.

It took me a moment to gather my nerves. I suddenly felt so nervous and embarrassed all rolled into one. Nigel, that asshole, knew I was avoiding this moment! 

I pulled the blanket more securely around me, feeling quite self-conscious with how I looked. I mean, I'm sure almost everyone looked just as dirty and bloody but still... this was Ridge.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I took in a deep breath and slowly turned around. 

Slowly opening my eyes to Ridge's, I felt myself tremble. 

When I had returned to Carmel, I couldn't see the old Ridge in those green eyes of his. There was an emptiness in them. No connection between him and I.

Now... well, now those eyes were just as I remembered during the week we got to know one another. There was the light in his eyes that I missed seeing. The kindness of the man I fell in love with so hard and so quickly.

I took in the damage done to him. My brows furrowed at the claw marks on his chest, his shoulder, and then to his face. The claw marks had been cleaned up a little from the dried blood now gone, but left behind were the red cuts. The healing wouldn't kick in until later but they looked painful.

What made it worse was that I had done most of that to him. 

I glanced around, noticing that my family had disappeared just as quickly as Nigel had. A tiny part of me had hoped they wouldn't have left me alone with Ridge.

We stood in silence. I bit the inside of my cheek, looking anywhere but at Ridge. 

Swallowing, I forced myself to peek up at the alpha.

Ridge had his gaze lowered between us, his brows dipping. He took in a breath, slowly shaking his head and spoke so softly that I could hear the ache in his voice.

"I---I don't---don't know how to apologize for what my dad did to you."

The alpha shut his eyes, turning his head and clenched his jaw tightly. His nostrils flared and his chin trembled.

"Or what I did to you..."

I frowned, wanting so much to touch him. To wipe the tear that came down his face. I wanted to take away the agony he was feeling. 

He didn't know. Ridge wasn't... well, Ridge for the past month. I could not blame him for that.

"Ridge..." I waited for him to look up at me but he kept his face away. I sighed, adjusting my hold on the blanket and reached up my free hand to touch his cheek.

Ridge tensed, shutting his eyes tighter and I kept my hand against his cheek. My thumb caressed it as I tilted my head and told Ridge that he had nothing to be sorry for.

"You weren't the Ridge I knew," I pointed out. "That wasn't your fault. That was mine..." 

He immediately frowned at me and I weakly grinned, shrugging a shoulder that I was the reason Ridge had a head injury in the first place. Because of the fight we got into.

My brows furrowed. I looked down, dropping my hand from his face and held tightly to the blanket. I felt my nose tingle and my lip tremble as I relayed to him that I was so sorry for what I did to him. What I did to him back then and tonight. 

I shook my head, angry at myself for hurting him the way I did. 

"Gianna..."

My heart thumped so loud hearing him say my name again in that tender way only he knew how.