AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ll fucking give her so many good memories there won’t be any more room for him in her head, Cornell silently vowed.
A soft noise drew his attention, a quiet kneading. His gaze flew back to Ali, drifting down her body to her arms folded in her lap. The stroking grew harder and faster with each shaky breath she took.
“Ali,” Cornell said, trying to gain her attention. But her eyes remained down, and the rubbing continued. He placed his hand on top of her own, squeezing it above the fabric to halt her movements. “Ali, look at me.”
Her hand kept moving more furiously as if Ali were desperate to rid herself of the hold Graham had on her.
He gripped her hand tighter. “Baby, stop.” He’s not here anymore. He’ll never be near you again, I promise, Cornell wished desperately to tell her.
Ali pressed her lips shut, trying to stifle the noise threatening to escape. Beneath the fabric, he could feel her hand trembling as it remained locked on her arm, eager to move again.
Cornell dropped his head, kissing the top of her covered hand softly, wishing he could deliver the right kind of kiss—one beneath her skin so he could heal her from within.
Slowly, Cornell pulled her hand free, slipping it from beneath the hoodie as he held up her left arm, pushing down the fabric. The skin of her arm was red and warm to the touch beneath his lips, as he tried to hide how hard he was trembling. Tell her, he tried to will himself. Tell her you love this arm. This skin. Inside out and upside down. Every inch of her no matter what. Forever and whatever comes after. But before Cornell could work up the courage, Ali yanked her arm free.
“Please take me home,” Ali cried, clutching at his shoulders, squeezing them. “Please.”
Cornell couldn’t kill Graham. He couldn’t travel back and erase that night—or the entirety of the last five months since the day he walked into their lives. But he could help Ali stand and let her continue to cling to him as he guided them out of the office and into the hallway.
And he could grab the bag filled with the best parts of Ali—all the reasons he loved her. He could bring them home to put the pieces back together again so that one day she might realize he hadn’t taken all of her after all.
* * *
“Discovery Gardens?”
Cornell guided them to the window for reservations, and they fell into line. “Have you been here before?”
Ali looked around. “I think I came here for a field trip in fourth grade.”
Okay, Cornell. Lame idea. “It’s supposed to be pretty cool.”
After another week of tiptoeing around each other, and after the tumultuous turn of last weekend, Cornell thought the best thing would be to get out of Hopperville, away from work.
They approached the window. “Reservation is under Crawford,” Cornell said, pulling out his wallet.
“You’re a little early for the release appointment,” the man said. “Green bracelet is for entrance to the gardens, yellow is for the Butterfly House. Check in at the information desk inside. Here’s a map of the grounds.”
“Release appointment?” Ali asked as she slid her hand under the window so the man could fasten the bracelets. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Cornell draped an arm around her, guiding them toward the entrance. “Have you ever held a butterfly before?”
They made their way across the garden to the Butterfly House. “We’ll call you in a few minutes,” the woman told them. “Feel free to take a look around. The Emergence Room is just that way.”
Taking Ali’s hand, they wandered down the hall.
“They’re beautiful,” Ali said, looking at the photos adorning the walls. “I guess I never really paid attention to the details on their wings.”
“And they start out like that,” Cornell said, pointing to a furry, green caterpillar.
“You probably weren’t all that pretty when you were born either.”
Cornell chuckled. “Fair point.”
“It’s weird when you think about that whole butterflies in the stomach thing.”
“Why?”
“I mean, they’re so beautiful. I get the whole fluttering thing, but it doesn’t seem right to associate them with being nervous.”
