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Choking up entirely, she paused to swallow several times, taking hard gulps of air. “But the man in<br />
the mask was horrifying, and it was awful to see Chet die, and—” She covered her face with her<br />
hands and began to sob.<br />
“Aw shit,” Crawford muttered. He slid his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and left her to<br />
wallow in several moments of heavy crying. Finally, he said, “Hey. Don’t do that.”<br />
“I can’t help it.”<br />
“Yeah, you can.”<br />
“No I can’t. I was so afraid. Not just for me, but for…for…”<br />
“Come on now, stop crying.”<br />
“—for all of us. He was so—”<br />
“Scary. I know. I was scared, too.”<br />
“No, you weren’t.”<br />
“Hell I wasn’t.”<br />
She continued to cry into her hands.<br />
“Try not to think about it anymore, okay?”<br />
She nodded but she didn’t stop weeping.<br />
Removing his hands from his pockets, he pulled a paper napkin from the holder on the dining table.<br />
“Here. Wipe your eyes.” She didn’t see the napkin he extended her, so he walked over and gently<br />
nudged her arm. “Use this.”<br />
Blindly she groped for the napkin with one hand, then held it against her eyes. But her crying didn’t<br />
abate; in fact, the wracking sobs increased.<br />
Uncomfortable with the situation, Crawford shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Come<br />
on now. This isn’t helping anything. Get it together.”<br />
“I’m trying. I can’t.”<br />
“Everything’s okay.” He moved a step closer and lightly placed his hands on her shoulders. Patting<br />
them, he said, “It’s all right.”<br />
“I know, but—”<br />
“You’re safe. We’re all safe. Hear me? Safe.”<br />
His soothing words must have reached her because a few seconds later, her neck went boneless,<br />
and her head dropped forward. She hiccupped into the damp napkin, used it to blot her eyes and wipe<br />
her nose, then lowered her hands from her face. “I’m sorry.”<br />
“No problem. Better now?”<br />
She nodded and when she did, her forehead brushed against his chest and then rested there. His<br />
hands stilled on her shoulders, then moved to encircle her neck, his fingertips gently kneading the<br />
back of it. She set her hands at his waist and leaned into him. A deep inhale caused her whole body to<br />
shudder.<br />
“Shh.” He hugged her closer and sent his fingers up into her hair until he was cupping the back of<br />
her head in his hand. His other slid down her back and began stroking her spine. On one downward<br />
trip, it slid past the small of her back and settled on the curve of her hip. And stayed there.<br />
Suddenly neither of them was breathing.<br />
After what seemed an endless time of absolute stillness, she tilted her head up.<br />
Crawford looked down into her brimming green eyes and thought, Oh fuck.