@outlivespast sent: i’m not leaving my friends!
“-your friends,” tasha finishes for him without needing to see the sentence through, something like warmth blossoming inside of her, filling the look of understanding that follows the expression of familiarity. warmth couldn’t possibly be right given the circumstances, yet it’s warmth she finds, the startling sensation of being alive and feeling connected to the world around her surprising her with an inexplicable satisfaction. none of this has come easily to her; with christian gone, the tunnel vision, powerful enough to overtake her own good intentions, that followed seemed inevitable, but she’d looked to him for strength, let what she’d known christian would want - what he would need - fill her heart.
that had meant a few terrifying hours for her, each and every minute a special kind of torture, but when she’d seen him, alive and breathing and in one piece, her faith had been rewarded. every minute she’d spent battling her instincts - every second she’d spent resisting the desperate, overwhelming urge to charge in to save him, whatever the cost - had been proven worth it, because in saving christian, she hadn’t lost him.
she can still look him in the eye, and she can’t help but be grateful for that. the rest of it is still there - the fear, the bone-deep need to get him out of here, to know that he was home and safe and there wasn’t danger waiting around the bend to take him from her, the exhaustion and wear and tear from the day’s events, but there’s happiness, too. incredible joy and relief in seeing him safe, love and pride for his intense sense of loyalty, prevailing even after he’d come toe to toe with disaster.
“i know,” she squeezes his arm, releasing her hold to dive into her pocket for her phone. “that’s why we got them out. they’re all above ground, they’re just waiting for you. so you can call them, or we can get out of here and you can see them for yourself, because i’m not leaving without you.”
