Halfway There | COMPLETE ✔ + Sequel

HWT Sequel - 08

Bella cried in Will's arms until she fell asleep. And he was too kind to move, maybe even worried that if she woke up it would only make it worse. He held her even after her quick shallow breaths turn into evenly timed deep inhales. I'm not sure if he held on for her sake or his. Because I watched as his bottom lip quivered and he held onto to her tighter.

I knew that feeling. I knew the feeling of needing to hold onto someone, or something, as tight as you could possibly could to keep your body from falling apart. The urge to crush the feeling of complete helplessness.

I wanted to tell him that he didn't need to pretend to be strong. I wanted to tell him that his best friend, the man he grew up knowing and confiding in, laughing with and trying new things with, was dead. He had every right to cry. He had every right to seek comfort for losing someone that he loved but I didn't say anything. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I wasn't the one who could bring him comfort. It was my fault that his best friend was dead. I was the last person he wanted to hear from.

I turned away from him because I'm too much of a coward to look at the pain I caused. Instead I laid in the opposite bed while Nova laid in his cot and we stared at the ceiling together. Eventually, I could hear Will's suppressed whimpers slow and the sound of his breathing fall in sync with Bella's.

Every few minutes I could hear Nova sigh. Who knew what he was thinking? There was so much to think about. Kendall was still missing, Kyle had not called him back and we were left to wonder what Bradley's next move was going to be. It would be stupid for me to ask him what he was thinking.

"Why didn't you tell me about Bradley?" His voice was low. He didn't want to wake up anyone else. The sound of his voice carried a feeling of relief through me, I sighed into the melody.

"You had enough to worry about." I answered.

"You didn't think maybe I had a right to know that he knew where we were?" I was glad that I couldn't see his face. His voice sounded angry enough, even in a hushed tone.

"You already knew he knew." I imagined him shaking his head.

"But this was confirmation. This was the first real confirmation we had. Why wouldn't you tell me?" I heard him sit up. I continued to stare at the ceiling. I didn't want to look at him. I didn't have the heart to look at him. Liam was dead and it was my fault and I knew I would get that confirmation on anyone's face that looked at me.

"You had enough on your plate. I trusted you could keep us safe."

He groaned, "Jesus, Dani, do you have any idea how dumb that sounds?"

I bit down on my lip, forcing tears back and shrugged, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't change the fact that Liam is... dead." The sound of my voice surprised me when it cracked. It was the first time I said it outloud. A heavy pressure slowly laid itself on my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

I shook my head even though I knew he couldn't see me. I tried to shake this awful feeling of being submerged under water in a small box. I didn't have the right to feel this way. I drew in a deep breath, grabbed my hands and demanded that they stop shaking. I didn't have the right to fall apart.

I gasped when Nova unexpectedly pulls himself onto the bed and lays down next to me. He doesn't look at me, he doesn't even take his gaze away from the ceiling. I wait for him to say something and eventually he sighs, "It's not your fault."

"Wh... What?" I quickly look over to make sure Bella and Will are still asleep, "I... I don't... I don't know what you're talking about."

He still doesn't look at me, "I know you well enough now that you tend to blame yourself for things that aren't your fault."