Made for crime

Resolve

Kai's POV 

The past few days had been a blur—a mess of raw emotions, sleepless nights, and moments when I didn't know how to help her. Nina's breakdown in the bathroom had shaken me more than I let on. I'd seen a lot of things in my life—death, blood, torture—but nothing had prepared me for seeing her like that. Pale, broken, covered in blood.

I hadn't been there when she needed me most.Now, I couldn't take my eyes off her. It wasn't obsession or paranoia; it was fear. Fear that the moment I let her out of my sight, I'd lose her. That she'd slip away into that darkness again, and this time, I wouldn't be able to pull her back.

She sat on the balcony now, wrapped in a blanket, staring out at the skyline as the last hints of the day bled into the night. The sunset cast a golden glow on her pale skin, but her eyes were distant, lost in memories I knew she couldn't escape from easily.

I wanted to hold her, to tell her everything would be okay, but words felt useless. What the hell could I say? That it would get better? That the nightmares would stop? I couldn't promise her that. I could barely promise it to myself.

The scars on her wrists, now healing, were a constant reminder of how close I'd come to losing her. I wasn't used to feeling this helpless. Usually, I had control over everything—every situation, every outcome. But this... this was out of my hands.

She hadn't spoken much since that night. A few words here and there, but mostly silence. And that silence was killing me. Every time I tried to reach her, I felt like I was pushing against a wall, one I wasn't sure she wanted to bring down.

I stepped out onto the balcony, the cool night air biting at my skin. Nina didn't look at me as I approached, but I knew she felt me there. She always did. I took a seat beside her, keeping a little distance between us, knowing she needed space, but close enough to remind her I was here.

"I hate that I couldn't protect you," I said, the words heavier than I expected. She didn't respond, didn't even flinch. Her gaze stayed fixed on the horizon, her expression blank, distant.

"I wasn't there when they took you," I continued, my voice low. "I wasn't there when they hurt you. And now..." I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay calm. "Now, I don't know how to fix this."

There was a long silence between us, broken only by the soft rustling of the wind through the trees below.

Finally, she spoke, her voice quiet but steady. "You can't fix me, Kai."

I turned to look at her, my chest tightening at the words. "Nina, that's not—"

"I've been broken for a long time," she interrupted, her voice hollow. "Long before you came into my life. What happened... it just brought everything back. Things I thought I'd buried. And now... I don't know if I'll ever be whole again."

Her words cut through me, sharper than any blade. I could see it in her eyes—the weight of her past, the pain she carried. It wasn't just about what had happened recently. It was everything. The scars she'd hidden for years, the trauma she'd buried so deep it had become a part of her. And now, it was all unraveling.

"You don't have to be whole," I said softly. "I don't care if you're broken, Nina. I'm not here to fix you. I'm here because I love you. Because I can't imagine my life without you, no matter how hard this gets."

She finally turned to look at me, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "I don't know if I can love you back the way you deserve," she whispered. "I'm so... so tired. Of fighting. Of pretending. Of trying to be okay when I'm not."

Her words were like a punch to the gut, but I didn't flinch. Instead, I reached out, gently taking her hand in mine. Her skin was cold, and I could feel the slight tremble in her fingers. "Then don't pretend," I said quietly. "You don't have to be okay, Nina. Not with me. You just have to let me in. Let me help carry some of the weight."

Her eyes searched mine, as if she was trying to figure out if she could trust me with the truth. The real truth.

"I'm scared," she admitted after a moment, her voice barely a whisper. "I'm scared of letting you in. Of you seeing the parts of me I hate. The parts that aren't worth saving."

"You're worth saving," I said fiercely, squeezing her hand. "You're worth everything. I don't care how dark it gets, Nina. I'm not going anywhere."

Her lips trembled, and for the first time in days, I saw a crack in her armor. Her walls, the ones she'd built so carefully, were starting to fall.

"I don't know how to let go of the fear," she whispered. "Of the pain. It's always there, like a shadow."

I leaned in closer, my voice steady. "Then we face it together. Every day, every night, we face it. And when it gets too heavy, I'll carry it for you. But you don't get to give up. Not on me. Not on us."

She stared at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and something else—something softer, something more vulnerable.

"I don't want to lose you," she whispered, her voice breaking.

"You won't," I promised, pulling her into my arms. "I swear to God, Nina, you won't lose me."

I slowly picked her up bridal style and she clung to me then, her body shaking with silent sobs as she buried her face against my chest. I held her tight, my heart aching with the weight of everything she'd been carrying. She wasn't okay. I knew that. But she was here. She was alive. And as long as she kept fighting, I would fight too.

No matter how long it took. Because Nina was mine. And I wasn't letting her go.