15 Comfort her
Thankfully, she didn't. He made his way to the guest room and laid her down on the bed.
He sat down beside her and let out a long breath. A few hair strands landed on her face and she winced, Luke's hand involuntarily moved and brushed them off, tucking them behind her ear.
He pulled his hand away as if he came to his senses, "Not good." He muttered, he got up and turned to leave the room.
Her foot. He remembered. He walked up to her feet, undid the laces of her sneakers and removed them gently. Right first, he removed the sock, the foot was fine. When he removed the other, he was shocked, her foot was swollen twice the size of the other. He ran out to grab the first aid box.
Bending down he examined her foot, pressing it at places. He unconsciously pressed it at a painful spot, Nora cried out and flung her foot and it hit him right on his nose.
"Fuck. What's the matter with you?!" He yelled covering his nose. "If that's so, do it yourself when you wake up." He shouted, she didn't budge. It was useless, he tried again this time maintaining a safe distance, applied an ointment and bandaged her foot. He got up and looked over at her, she was still sleeping soundly. He grunted and left without saying anything.
He slumped into the couch in the living room. The night did not end the way he had expected, not even close. He picked up his phone, it had six missed calls and a few texts, all from Rachel, at the moment she was the last person he wanted to have a conversation with.
He just sat there staring into emptiness, replaying today's events in his head, how everything ended up in a mess. And how Nora got caught up in between. His lips curled up.
"That little thing, really has some guts. She made me do things I had never done before, from carrying her to removing her shoes. But being kicked in the nose, anyway, it was my fault this time, should've been careful. But that kick, it made me see stars, where did she get that much strength, and it was quite a blow from a little foot like hers." His smile was only growing bigger. And then he shook his head, as if pushing away the thoughts.
It was quarter past one, when he was jolted awake, he had passed out on the couch. He heard it again, it was a scream and it came from the guest room.
He was up on his feet and rushed towards the room. He opened the door and was stunned at what he saw. Nora was on the floor, her legs close up to her chest, her head was between her knees, she was gripping onto it with her hands and was murmuring something inaudible.
"Nora." He managed to get the words out. She didn't move, he moved up close and bent down. He put his hand on her head, "Nora." She looked up, and his heart skipped a beat. She was a complete mess, her eyes filled with confusion, she was trembling uncontrollably at the slightest touch. She looked terrified.
"Hey." He said and a tear slid down her cheek, she whimpered, and the tears continued to fall.
"What happened?" He said wiping away her tears with his fingers.
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. He sat down in front of her cross legged. His thumb caressing her cheek. "Tell me Nora, what happened? " He said gently.
"They left me." She said in a small voice.
"Who left you?" He asked.
She shook her head, "They didn't want me. They hated me. I hate myself. I did that to them. I don't deserve it, I don't deserve any of this." She started yelling, the tears didn't stop, her little whimpers were gone and she was crying frantically.
"I hate myself." She lightly punched her head with her fists. "I am worthless." She didn't stop.
Unable to look at her, Luke reached out for her hands and pulled her into him. He hugged her tightly, with her face resting on his chest. She tried to push away but he only embraced her tighter.
"You are not worthless." He whispered into her ear. "Nobody hates you."
"No," She tried to counter but nothing came.
And then the tears came, she started crying, shivering. He had one hand on her head, stroking her hair, while the other on her back, moving up and down, trying to comfort her. He felt an unknown tug at his heart.
"They left me." She said between her sobs. "I was alone, no one came."
"Nobody will leave you. Don't worry I'm here." He said. "Just calm down. I'm right here."
After what seemed like an hour, she had finally calmed down, she wasn't shivering any more, her cries were now just small whimpers. And then her breathing evened out. He looked down at her, she had cried herself to sleep. He let go of her and picked her up. He tucked her in the bed, and just sat there motionless, staring at her.
He wiped away the traces of tears from her face and brushed off the hair from her face. He bent down to her forehead, but stopped. He straightened himself and looked down at her, sleeping peacefully. He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. "What's wrong with me?" He muttered.
He was agitated and confused. He left the room in a haste, shutting the door behind him. He went directly to his room and headed to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and stood under it. "Get yourself together." He said to himself.
He stepped out, dried himself up, put on his sweatpants and got into the bed.
Sleep did not come easily, he tossed and turned in his bed trying to push away his thoughts, trying to clear up his head. And around dawn he finally dozed off with thoughts lingering in his mind.
