Autumn slowly came out of her sleep fog. She blinked, and then blinked again. Jacob was there. He was here, with her, in her room. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, his hand in hers. He was stroking her skin with his thumb.
Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she was suddenly wide awake. She sat up and glanced around the room.
“Jacob,” she whispered his name. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?” she asked. She glanced down at her wrist, still bandaged, and then back at him. Her wrist had been bandaged by the hospital. She had been released, but it still hurt like hell. Jacob hadn’t left her side since then.
“Everything is fine,” he murmured. “I just wanted to sit with you while you slept,” he replied, his voice was low and quiet. She bit her lip and looked at him again. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something that she hadn’t seen for a while.
“You just wanted to sit and watch me sleep?” she repeated, and her heart was in her throat. She wanted to pull her hand away from his, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
He nodded. “I did,” he replied. “You looked so beautiful, and you didn’t even stir when I came in. It was like you knew I was here to protect you,” he said.
She felt her heart flip, and she felt like an absolute idiot. Here she was, falling for him again, even though she knew she shouldn’t.
She should stay away from him, she should get up, walk away, but her body wasn’t cooperating, and instead, she found herself snuggling back into her covers.
Jacob watched her and then smiled. A small smile, but a smile all the same. He leaned over, brushed her hair behind her ear, and kissed her forehead.
“I’m not going anywhere, Autumn. You can trust me,” he murmured against her skin. She wanted to believe him; she wanted to so badly.
“You’re not going to hurt me again?” she whispered. His eyes darkened at that. She thought she saw a flicker of pain in his gaze, but she couldn’t be sure. She wasn’t sure about anything at that moment.
“No,” he finally said. “I’m not. I’ll protect you from everyone, including myself. You have to have some faith, Autumn,” he murmured.
She looked at him for a moment. She was still half asleep, half awake. He had been by her side for the last few days. He had sat with her while she slept, and he had made sure she ate, even though he wouldn’t join her. She didn’t know what he ate, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know.
“Okay,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. He nodded, a smile on his face. He kissed her forehead again and then pulled away from her. She felt the loss of his touch and the coolness of the room.
She lay in her bed and stared at him. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was too tired to even try and figure it out. She had missed him. She had missed having him in her life.
It had been hell without him, and she hated it. She hated herself for even thinking about him after everything, but she just couldn’t help it.
She watched Jacob stand and move towards the door. He paused at the door and turned back to look at her. “Go back to sleep, Autumn. I’ll be here when you wake,” he said, his voice low.
She wanted to ask him where he was going to go, but she didn’t. She knew he wouldn’t answer her. He was a vampire, and they didn’t sleep like humans did. Instead, she just nodded.
“Okay,” she murmured. He smiled and nodded at her once more before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Autumn stared at the door for a moment before she lay back down and closed her eyes. Jacob was right. She needed to have more faith. He wasn’t going to leave her again.
She could feel it. He wasn’t. She snuggled into the covers and drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with Jacob and the life they could have together. A life she so desperately wanted.
Autumn woke to the smell of food. Her stomach growled, and she sat up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room. Jacob was standing by the door. His eyes were on her, and he smiled.
“I thought you might be hungry,” he said. He pushed off the door and moved towards her with a tray in his hands. She nodded and watched as he set it down in front of her.
“Thank you,”
“You should eat. You need to keep your strength up,” he murmured without looking at her.
She turned her attention back to the plate of food in front of her and began to eat. Jacob hadn’t brought her food for her to let it go to waste. She didn’t speak as she ate; neither did he. He watched her the entire time, not taking his eyes off her.
When she was finished, she put the plate to the side and then turned to him.
“Jacob, what’s going on?” she asked. He raised a brow.
“What do you mean?” he asked as he took the plate from her.
“You’ve been here for three days. You haven’t left my side, and I haven’t seen your brothers. I don’t understand what’s going on,” she admitted. Jacob stood, and for a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to answer her.
“Autumn, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to protect you. To keep you safe from anyone who would want to cause you harm,” he said finally, his eyes locking with hers.
“But you did hurt me,” she reminded him, her voice a little shaky. His eyes flashed, and his jaw clenched.
He turned away from her but then seemed to change his mind and turned back.
“I know I did, and I’m sorry,” he said. She stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say to that. “I’m going to keep you safe,” he continued. She swallowed hard and then nodded.
“Thank you. But I’m safe here. My pack protects me, so you don’t need to worry about that,” she told him, her voice was a little sharper than she intended.