Free Pure Redemption (Tainted Legacy) by Amity Hope Page B

But after I met you, so many things happened that I never thought would be possible. This is the one thing, the one twist that has been thrown at us that I’m grateful for. I don’t know how the floor of the church opened up. I don’t know how it closed back up again. This,” she said as she fingered the cross around her neck, “I thought was gone forever but somehow, you got it back for me. I didn’t question it. And I’m not going to question how you came back to me. The important thing is that you’ re here.”
    “Is that everything?” Gabe asked.
    She sighed. “I covered the important things. There are a million little details, things I didn’t get to. It’s not that I’m trying to keep anything from you. It’s just that it’s a lot of information. I can keep trying to explain?” she offered.
    “I think that’s enough for now,” Gabe decided. He was clearly busy enough trying to assimilate what he’d already been told.
    “If you have any questions, about anything, just ask. I’ll do my best to answer. You were pretty private about your life before me but I’ll tell you what I do know,” she promised.
    He was quiet for a long while. His eyes would settle on Ava only to dart away again. They finally, cautiously landed on her and stayed there. “I must’ve really loved you. I mean, if I did that.”
    The weight of the surprise in his voice crushed her heart but she just nodded. Her eyes welled up with tears but she managed to blink them away.
    “If I’d have known that was what you were planning, I never would’ve allowed it,” she fiercely replied. “I never would’ve let you trade your life for mine.”
    Gabe looked contemplative for a moment. “That’s obviously why I didn’t tell you then.”
    Ava blinked a few more times but a renegade tear made its way down her cheek. “It was awful,” she whispered, her lower lip trembling. “I was there and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t stop you. I have never, ever in my life felt so helpless. It was the worst feeling in the world. Watching you die—,” her voice cracked, stopping her from saying more. She pressed her face into her hands, trying to push back the m emory. “I’ve relived that moment every day since, playing it out in my head, wondering what I could have done differently.” She took a deep, shuddering breath.
    “Are you okay?” Gabe asked.
    She nodded but more tears coursed down, disputing her.
    “Hey,” Gabe said, pulling her into his chest, “don’t cry.”
    This, of course, only made her cry harder. It wasn’t just the memory of that horrific night. It was a culmination of all of the emotions she’d been feeling since she’d found him. She’d stuffed them down deep but they were suddenly spilling over. When he pulled her into him, she wrapped her arms around him so tightly she heard him take in a sharp breath of surprise. After a few hesitant moments his arms tightened around her and she relaxed into him. When his hand started rubbing small, calming circles against her back, he felt so much like the Gabe she knew that it made the tears really flow.
    “Ava,” Gabe said softly, “please don’t cry. What can I do?”
    “C-can I just stay here a minute?” Ava asked.
    “It’s your house,” Gabe said, sounding confused.
    “No. I mean can I stay right here? Will you just keep your arms around me for a little bit ? I never thought I’d see you again. I never thought I’d feel you again. I know I’m a total stranger to you so if you don’t want me to, I understand.” She tilted her head up to look at him.
    His features were dancing with unspoken emotions, confusion being the most prevalent.
    He finally simply nodded and Ava put her head back down on his chest. She curled into his warmth, into his familiarity.
    Slowly, she managed to pull herself together. Finally, she forced a little laugh. “You look like you. You sound like you. You feel like you,” she quietly admitted, then smiled, trying to