Adorable

Chapter 23 | Broken

It's not my fault. It's not my fault. It's not my fault. Sophie said it with him, and gathered her emotions. Happiness, and relief at his being conscious, and peace, and love. So much love. For her parents, for her friends, for her human family... and for him. So much love for him that Sophie didn't even realize she felt. Sophie watched as the emotions pulsated out from her, fixing the cracks and gluing Keefe back together.

Sophie?

Keefe. You're better now. But you're not ready to wake up. Just rest. Sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. I love you.

Sophie pulled out of his mind, nodded once to the questions around her, and fell fast asleep.

*****

Sophie was woken by a slight pressure on her hand. She stirred awake, stretching out her other arm and yawning. Then she realized her hand was still entwined with Keefe's. She turned towards him and locked her eyes on his. He was finally awake!

"Keefe!" Sophie let go of his hand and hugged his neck tightly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back, tight like he'd never let go. Sophie nestled her face into his warm neck and whispered. "I missed you."

"I saw you every second." His voice was so nice to hear, whole and perfect, that Sophie barely heard the words. "I never looked away. Your face was the only thing that kept me together. Thank you for saving me."

"Thank you for trusting me."

"So you're not mad?"

Sophie pulled back a little, shocked. "I never want to hear you say that again. You need to quit blaming yourself this instant."

"Look who's back to being bossy." He smirked, and Sophie nearly melted. This was a real smirk, not one hiding his real feelings.

"Keefe. Your guilt broke your mind. I'm allowed to tell you to not blame yourself."

"You're allowed to tell me whatever you want to tell me." He whispered, his intense stare locking on her eyes.

Sophie could barely breathe. "There's only one thing I want to tell you right now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She stared a moment longer. "I lo-" Keefe didn't let her finish the word. He put one hand on her waist and cradled her face in the other, tangling his fingers in her hair. Then he pressed his lips to hers.

Sophie kissed him back immediately, only then realizing how much she'd missed having him hold her like this. He seemed to falter at her kiss, but then moved his hand behind her head and pulled her in even closer. Sophie didn't know how long the kiss lasted, but she never wanted it to end. All wrapped up in Keefe's arms, she felt as safe as she'd ever been. She touched his face gently, accidentally brushing one of his cuts with her fingers. She pulled back.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm fine. Better than fine." Keefe pulled her closer so that she was tucked under his arm and clenching his hand as Elwin came in and set a tray of elixirs in front of him. They talked for a minute, but Sophie only paid attention when Keefe's voice grew strained. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

When Elwin gave him the elixirs, Sophie saw Keefe's reluctance to let go of her. So she asked Elwin to unscrew the tops, and tipped the vials one by one into his mouth.

Sophie didn't want to ruin the moment, but she had to make sure he was okay. "So..." she said slowly. "How much do you remember?"

"Actually, not a lot. I remember feeling extra bad that day- I'd had a nightmare-"

"Ro told me about those." she interrupted. Why didn't you tell me? You seemed so normal."

"Yeah, I guess I got a little too good at pretending I was fine. But I didn't want to upset you over some stupid bad dreams."

"Those weren't just bad dreams, Keefe. I looked at Ro's memories. You were... seriously messed up. And how could you even look at me when you were watching me either die or kiss Fitz every night?" When Ro had told Sophie about his nightmares, she nearly broke herself. Or screamed. Right now, she was thinking of screaming.

"It was... hard sometimes." Keefe admitted reluctantly. "But seeing you was the only thing that convinced me it wasn't real. That morning, when I looked too awful to go to school, I just kept getting worse. Until my mom walked in, and... you know the rest."

"Not really. I can guess that she wanted me, but..."

Keefe cut her off. "Can we not talk about it right now? I'm not quite ready."

She softened. Of course he wouldn't want to talk about it. He had been basically tortured by his mom, and then his mind had broken. "Okay. Sorry. Whenever you're ready."

Keefe smiled weakly at her. "Thanks."

She let him hold her, comfortably wrapped up in each others' arms. It wasn't a bit awkward. Sophie felt his heart beating beside her and his breath on her head, and she knew he was safe. She was safe too. After several minutes, they kissed again. And it was perfect.