Bare Her Soul (James Patrick March x reader )

Twelve

You sat with your knees up on the edge of James' bed, your face buried in your arms.
You peered up under wet lashes when you heard him enter the room. He'd taken off his dress jacket, revealing a white shirt and burgundy bracers you hadn't noticed before.

There was a shade of concern on his face, and you felt better now that he was here with you, but also felt that you shouldn't. As he stood before you, you felt his aura once again. It seemed impossible to ignore now that it had become allegedly your greatest sin. When he was looking directly at you, there was an undercurrent of excitement to the darkness you noticed - as though he was anticipating something.

You pressed your face back down into your arms, crying harder into your sleeves. James dropped to a crouch before you, and you flinched as a cool hand came to your knee.

"You're shaking like a leaf" he said "if somebody in this hotel has hurt you-"

"No" you choked, head snapping up "I mean...I don't know. That's the problem..."

"You must tell me Y/N, at once."

You told him everything, even the hallucinations of he and John, and though saying it all didn't make you feel better, you had stopped crying.

James hadn't interrupted you once, his eyes were on the carpet as he simply listened patiently, giving the odd grimace or wrinkle of his pointed nose every now and then.

You probably sounded like a lunatic to him.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you read that darned news artefact." he cussed himself lowly under his breath.

"Now I don't know about Sally, frankly, I wouldn't put something like this past the woman, and I would advise that perhaps you change your negligence for 'taking people on face value'....but John. Hm." he put a finger to his chin as he considered the man "as a reputable detective, I am disinclined to believe he intentionally lied about your test results - nor fabricated them. You say the two of them are having an affair, hm? Sally is..shrewd, I wouldn't be surprised if she swapped those drug tests for defective ones, knowing John wouldn't share her bed while she was under the influence..."

It made perfect sense - of course Sally would do that.

"I suppose" you sniffed and he squeezed your knee lightly "I don't want to but...I think I should go home now. Back to my parents..."

"No." James started, and his callous tone made you flinch.

His free hand came to your other knee then and he gently pushed down on them until they were unpinned from your chest and you lowered your feet to the ground.

"I'm not having you leave because of this Y/N."

"But Sally-"

"Sally will exile this hotel tonight. I will see to it that you never run into that woman again."

"You'd do that for me? Isn't she a long term resident?"

"To see you safe, yes I would. I don't wish to be forward dear, but it is true that in this short space of time I have grown quite fond of you, and if somebody hurts you, well, that just won't do."

You cast your eyes down to your hand in your lap, the hem of your sleeve now a tatter of threads that you'd plucked at.

You sighed "There's more, I don't even know if I should be telling you but.."

But I'm in an enormous city all alone and I really need someone.

You went on to tell him about your rattling experience at the church.