Unbreakable

Chapter Thirty - Eight

Hawk's POV

I pull out quickly, hearing her hiss. I pick her up and pull her unto my lap. I brush her hair out of her face and look into her beautiful blue eyes that are a sea of emotion, and I see her trying to hold back her tears. I take in a deep breath and pull her into a tight embrace, still not believing what I thought I heard her say.

Could I have just imagined it? Those are the words that mean the most to me. Those are the words that filled my heart with the utmost joy when she would say them. Those are the words I have missed ever since the day she was taken away from me. Those are the words that were stolen from her lips by those monsters. Those are the words I never thought I would hear again.

Maybe she doesn't mean it. Maybe she's just saying what she thinks I want to hear. Maybe she feels obligated to say it back. Maybe she's just confused. The thought kills me.

I shake my head, refusing to think that way, but it's too late. I groan and pull back to hold her at arms length and look at her again, unsure of what I was hoping ot find. But she's closed her eyes. She's shut me out again, and now I'm sure she's just lost. I should just drop it and not push it.

"Look at me, June," I sigh, the curiousity winning over my better judgement. Her eyes flutter open and reveal her stunning sapphire eyes. "Say it again."

"I-I..." she says tentatively. I cup her cheek and she leans instictively into my palm, submittin herself to me. The thought makes me frown, but I cherish the trust she puts in me. She takes a deep breath and continues, "I said I love you, too."

"Oh, June," I breathe out, hugging her again and holding onto her for dear life, terrified that she'd slip through my fingers again. "I love you so much. Say it again."

 "I-I don't..." she struggles to get out as she pushes me away slightly. She looks into my eyes, hers filled with so many different emotions - pain, confusion, but most of all longing.

My heart aches for her. She doesn't know what love is, and yet she would say it to me anyway. My poor broken girl. All she wants is love and she would be willing to put herself on the line like that just to feel something but broken.

I shake my head and silence her. "Shhh..it's alright. I understand. You are feeling something new and you don't quite understand it, but it's there. Am I right?"

She nods her head and I give her a soft smile. I continue, "I love you with all of me - heart, body, mind and soul. We will work this out together."

"Oh, Ashton." She leans back into me, her head resting on my shoulder. I feel her body quake as she begins to cry.

This moment is surreal. All my life I thought I had experienced true vulnerability, but this amazing, but damaged woman in my arms has brought me so much clarity. She continues to sweep me off my feet, and she doesn't even know it. What she doing right now is putting her whole self - her brokenness, her emotional mental stability, her entire being - into my hands, practically still a stranger to her.

By telling me something that she doesn't even fully understand yet, she has given me so much power over her. It's overwhelming. And I break down into tears. "I'm never going to hurt you. I don't ever want to cause you any pain. I want to take it all away from you, baby. Thank you," I sob into her hair.

"F-for w-what? I'm the one that's supposed to be thanking you," she replies, giggling slightly.

"Thank you for trusting me. I will never betray your trust. Never, ever."

"I know, Ashton."

"I'm here for you, babygirl. We're going to get through this together," I whisper in her ear while stroking her hair, trying to comfort her in her moment of absolute vulnerability. "I promise."

Author's Note

So it's almost been ages since my last update, sorry. I've been suffering from slight writer's block. No, okay, that was a lie. I've been struggling with some relationship things and I was scared that it would spill over into my writing. And it kind of has. I've been hurt, so I'm willing to be vulnerable just to feel loved and cared for. It's gotten me into some trouble, but now I can honestly say that I've come out on the other side and for the better.

Also, I have mock exams starting tomorrow, so I was busy with that.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I plan to wrap up this book soon. It's a crazy thing to think because once it's finished, it will be my first completed book!

I also wanted to let you know what to expect before Unbreakable is concluded:

- confrontation with her captors, of course

- intense sex scenes since she will be getting her memory back and her relationship with Ashton is getting better (I might throw in some Aliana and Declan sex, and maybe even group sex)

- she rejoins the team and becomes the leader again, and they defeat the Brandy Brothers

Also, I will be going back and editing the book once it's done. I'm thinking to add some more action before she gets captured. I'm thinking of adding some more details of what she did while she was in the Pit. I'm also going to add some chapters of what Ashton was doing while she was away from his perspective since that POV was introduced late in the book.

Apologies for the extremely long author's note, and I know most of you will not have read the whole thing. Just wanted to let you know I'm going to be finishing up the books soon and editing it. Then I can focus on Designed for Submission since I decided to kind of restart it a little while ago.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading my book!

Peace,

DDD