Chapter 1
“Hey hey hey…” Maggie chased Alex across the bed, folding her in her arms and throwing a leg over to keep the other woman in place.
“I’m not trying to make you talk to me.” Maggie snuggled her nose into the back of Alex’s neck, breathing in the other woman’s scent for a moment. Waiting to see if her hold would be thrown off.
Alex had woken them both again, screaming her terror into the night. Every time Alex left the bed and made Maggie stay, making excuses that she needed space. Maggie only ever caught fragments of sentences, she heard Kara’s name and someone named John.
Sometimes, Alex woke up crying. Hours later Alex would crawl back under the covers and lay on the edge of the bed as if afraid to seek comfort but still not willing to be far away.
Maggie wanted this time to be different. They both laid quietly, the only light was what filtered in through the curtains from the streetlight outside Alex’s window.
When Alex made no move to throw off Maggie’s arms, she decided to give voice to what she had wanted to say to Alex for weeks.
“Look, I want you to know that I want to know all of you.” When Alex tensed Maggie shushed her quietly. “Shhh, just let me get this out.”
Alex didn’t relax, but she didn’t push her away either so Maggie took that as permission to continue.
“I know the woman who I kissed, has this hidden sadness that grips my heart. She wears it like a shield.”
“It makes you so beautiful and so strong, but I see it. It grips my heart and I just want to hold you.” Maggie punctuated her words by squeezing Alex who still lay rigid in her arms though she wasn’t trying to escape.
“Alex, I want to know all of you, see all of you. It won’t scare me away, because you know what…I want you to see me too, as scary as it is, I think you would understand me, or more of me than anyone else could.” Maggie took a breath as she felt Alex relax a fraction in her arms. It gave her the courage to continue her confession.
“You’re brave. You’re beautiful. And when you are ready, I want to know what keeps you up at night. Until you’re ready to tell me though, just let me hold you. It helps me to chase away my darkness too.”
Alex breathed in unsteadily and turned in Maggie’s arms to face her, eyes glistening in the low light with unshed tears. She cupped the detectives face in her hands brushing her thumbs over Maggie’s cheekbones before kissing her softly.