Breaking

Chapter 9.

Tobias

I glance anxiously at the door Arabella went through nearly thirty minutes ago. Did she get bored and decided to wander around the backyard? Is it safe back there? I fucking doubt it. I was waiting for Manuel to return to ask him to check on her but he hasn't come back yet. I drop my knife, grab my jacket, and hurry outside.

Her laughter is the first thing I hear. Then I see her and some boy sitting on the top of the porch's steps, their backs towards me.

"Arabella!" I snap. They both jump and wipe their heads at me. When Arabella sees it's me, she sighs and rolls her eyes. I start to approach them and the boy stands.

"It was nice meeting you, Arabella, but I'm gonna go." He smiles at her then walks away.

Once he's out of earshot, I turn to Arabella. "What do you think you're doing talking to a boy alone?"

"Whoa, Tobias," she hisses, rising to her feet. She strolls halfway across the deck and approaches me when she speaks. "You're not my dad."

I wince. It actually hurts, and all I want to do is scream the pain away. But I don't. Instead, I grab her arm, stopping her from walking around me then away from me, and I make her face me. She averts her eyes. My grip on her isn't hard, just strong enough to stop her. She can easily yank out of my hold if she truly wants to.

"I know I'm not your dad and I am sorry for how I talked to you before," I tell her and mean it. I mean every word that's about to pour out of me. "You're not a child, I know that...but when someone you care about-" she winces and turns her head. I exhale deeply through my nose, releasing her arm, and she shuts her eyes. "Go ahead and be mad at me, but when you, someone I care about is at risk, even the slightest bit of danger, I'm going to do and say whatever I want to protect you. I rather have you safe and hating me than hurt and being okay with me." We're quiet for a long moment, letting the truth to my words sink into both of us, then a strong gust of wind hits us and I remove my jacket and drape it on her shoulders. "We should-"

She throws herself into my embrace.

I feel the pain from her pushing me away earlier fade away, and I can finally breathe normally now. I hug her back and kiss the top of her head. After a long moment, she pulls away and wipes the tears wetting her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she says.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

She shakes her head. "The way I acted-"

"Stop. Just stop, kid."

She hugs me again. "Tobias?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"I care about you too." I smile and squeeze her, causing her to groan. "You're crushing me!"

I yank myself away from her. When I see her smiling, I start to relax. "I'm sorry," I chuckle. "Let's go inside. Your nose is red."

"Remember when I used your shirt to blow my nose?" She asks as we head inside. "I mean I didn't blow my nose but there were a lot of tears and blood and buggers." A part of me is glad she can talk about that night, I can't. She was covered in blood and tears with a piece of glass in her forehead and screaming I broke my promise. I technically did and I hate myself for it. "Hey, you okay?" We step through the door and into the kitchen's warmth.

I'm reliving the memory and she can see it on my face.

I shake my head, trying to recover from whatever facial expression that's worrying Arabella. "Stay in the kitchen. I don't want you around that boy."

She frowns, placing her hands on her hips. "Can I at least use the bathroom, officer warden?"

"Go."