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Chapter Fifty-Eight

"You ready to talk Baker?" Pierce said as he ran his fingers through my hair. The constant feeling of his light touch had me melting in his arms.

"I'm okay." I said softly, to be honest I didn't even know if I had said it aloud or in my head.

Pierce didn't push any further which is what made me question the loudness of my response. I stayed silence in his arms just using his body for warmth. Goosebumps still laced my arms but it honestly was a little comforting. Made me still feel alive, as weird as that sounds.

"Babe, I'm going to set you down right next to me. I will be right back okay?" Pierce ended our silence and I just nodded in response.

Pierce gently set my body onto the swing next to him. I curled up into the cold cushioned fabric, shielding myself from the wind the best that I could. Within seconds Pierce returned wrapping a fuzzy blanket around my arms. Typical Pierce move.

I pulled the soft blanket towards my face as I curled back up into Pierce's lap. I took in the scent of the blanket and right away knew it was Ryatt's. This boy would always know every way to fully my soul with happiness. That's why I loved him and would always love him so much.

"Thank you." I again spoke softly but this time I knew for a fact that I said it out loud.

"Always my love." I could hear in Pierce's voice that he was smiling.

I could picture his face in the light of the moon without even looking at him. It was a perfect sight. Then again, he was always perfect sight.

"Reece gave you a trigger didn't he?" Pierce said as he stroked the back of his fingers against my cheek.

"Yeah." I pulled at the long fuzzy fabric blanket that was now wrapped around my skin.

"You know I get them too?" Pierce said softly as he continued to stroke my cheek. "There isn't many but I have them."

I felt Pierce's lips press against my forehead before he continued. "The smell of alcohol hits me hard every time I'm around it. It makes the parties we have really difficult. All the alcohol, the smells, literally teleports me back to my mom's apartment." A sigh fell from his mouth before he finished. "I can literally vividly see every inch of the tiny place she lived in with all her garbage exes."

I genuinely could not believe that Pierce's triggers where as intense as mine were. Especially not even reacting at all when it came to them. But maybe he was reacting on the inside and was very good at hiding it. He did have months of practice before I arrived. When you have triggers you learn coping mechanisms to deal with your triggers. Sometimes you can work through them, and sometimes they are stuck with you forever. It depends on your trauma and how much an issue has engulfed your brain.

"I'm sorry that I drink around you." I said as I traced the words lining the front of his shirt.

"I know you are doing it to fit in. I can tell you don't like it." Pierce lifted my head to focus on his face. "I know it makes you feel like your bio parents."

I held the bile that rose to my throat the moment he compared me to my parents. He wasn't wrong either. Drinking made me feel like my parents and I hated it.

"Hey, hey." Pierce pulled my mind from my thoughts, as always. "I don't want to upset you."

"I'm never doing it again." I laid my head back against his chest.

"You are the best you know that baby girl?" I smiled as the questioned statement left his mouth.

"You are the best." I repeated back to him. Wewere the best for each other. It was only fair that he heard the exact samestatement back.