Turn To Stone (The Stone Series Book 1) by Ariana Rose

Author:Ariana Rose [Rose, Ariana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

***

I held him forever. The sun set, the moon rose. The only thing I did was text Jordan with a story that would satisfy us both being missing. Julian didn’t need questions right now. Selfishly, I wasn’t going to move. Unfortunately, the tides were determining our departure. I couldn’t move him. He seemed to finally release into the massive waves his own infinite emotion. There were times I didn’t think he’d ever be able to stop. Even though he didn’t know, I understood. You get to the point where you’ve hidden for so long that once you break free…

His weight is still heavy against me. I fear he may even have exhausted himself to sleep. I speak the first words in hours.

“Julian…we have to leave the beach. The tide is coming in.” I stroke his hair just a bit. He doesn’t respond verbally but he does with my touch. “You don’t have to talk, but I need you to help me. I’ll take you back to the resort. No one will see us… You. I promise. Not until you’re ready. I need you to just put one foot in front of the other and walk with me. Can you do that?”

For the first time in forever, he looks up. His eyes are nearly swollen closed from the tears he’s shed.

“Just lean on me. I won’t let go.” I know he understands by the gentle squeeze on my arm. I let him set the pace. We get to our knees, then our feet. “Just one foot in front of the other. We’ll make it together. I promise.”

He takes a deep breath. We follow the same path back to the road…retracing our steps. I don’t know what to do, but I know what I feel. I need to help him. I need to hold him. I need to make him feel safe again. I need him to feel the love he’s missing. He’s a zombie. I’ve seen him struggle through very tough scenes and come out wrecked on the other side. I’ve never seen this, though, and it scares me. What if he doesn’t come back? He has to come back. I need him as much as he needs me.

We make the walk back to the main gate in silence, where we’re greeted by security. I’m still having to encourage him to keep moving, and we’ll never make it without some sort of vehicle to get us to the residence side of the property. The guard, Charlie, looks to be the same age as my dad, and I look up at him with pleading eyes.

“Please. I need to get him to his room, as discreetly as possible. If I can’t, I’m out of a job.”

Charlie hesitates at first, but he can see I’ve been crying, and his father-like sensibilities win out. “My car is parked right over there. Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”

He smiles at my instant relief and gets us to the bungalows by way of the staff only roads.

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