grace could feel her heart begin to shatter at the sound of nate’s voice — he sounds so broken , and he doesn’t deserve that kind of pain . naturally she extended an arm out to help him with his balance , all of her focus instantly shifting towards getting him to the couch as easily as they could . “ here , take my hand “ she presses her fingers to his arm , she wants him to know that she’s here , that she wants to give him exactly what he wants : help . “ see look i’m right here , everything’s gonna be okay “ she soothes him , now taking both of his hands in hers as she begins to guide him towards a place to sit . she can’t help but notice how cold his skin feels , goosebumps rising down her arms as their fingers grip to one another . “ too much of what ? is it drugs ? or did you have too much to drink ? “ she’s aware he’s had a problem with both , and though her questions might seem invasive at the moment she knows that the context is key to giving him what he needs . with only a few more steps they finally make it to her couch , setting nate down on the closest cushion she can and leaving him to adjust to his surroundings while she runs into the kitchen to get him some water . she returns barely even a minute later , squatting in front of him and resting a hand on his knee while the other , shaking , extends the glass out to him . nothing comes out of her mouth for a moment , all she can do is look at him and think how relieved she was that it was her house he chose to find. “ i have to admit nathan…i don’t have too much experience with this so i need you to help me help you “ the pad of her thumb softly rubs back and forth against his knee , the other hand gently nudging the water towards the direction of his mouth . drug induced or not , it’s more than obvious nate’s suffering from a panic attack , so she tries to think of what she would want someone to do for her if she were in his shoes . “ do you think maybe a bath and some food will help ? sometimes sitting in the water can help ground you , is that something you think you want right now ? i’ll even put your clothes in the wash so they can be nice and fresh for you when you get out “
he lets grace guide him through her home , hands clinging tightly onto hers as his feet move across the floor . nathan didn’t want her to let go . his world felt like it was shaking on its axis , turning itself upside down , and she felt stable . “ i’m okay , ” he finds himself repeating , his head just barely nodding along . saying it didn’t make him believe it , but the way she said it made him want to . he lets her lead him to a couch and the moment his back makes contact with the cushions he sinks into their comfort . eyes shift left and right — for a moment he can’t even get a single word out . even when his lips part , his throat constricts and a sound can’t slip through . it takes seconds too long for him to finally mutter out , “ both . a beer turned into two , turned into — into coke and i couldn’t stop myself . i couldn’t . i’m sorry . ” when she lets go of his hands his instinctively reach out to grab hers again . he wants to tell her ‘ don’t go ’ because her walking away isn’t what he needs . being alone isn’t what he needs . and grace rushes off all he can bring himself to do his clench his eyes shut as tightly as his fists . they keep shut as her footsteps begin to echo in his ears . despite knowing she’s there , nathan still jumps when he feels a touch against his knee . his eyes fly open , widened in shock — in panic . if the circumstances were different he would’ve teased her for the way her hand was shaking but in a world seemingly turned upside down , he couldn’t tell if it was her hand shaking the glass or his eyes . all he can think about is how badly he needs to be touching her , in some way , any way . so he does . while the glass presses against his lips , his own hand places itself atop of hers . it tilts the glass back just far enough that water spills over the brim and into his mouth ; just a sip is all he takes before he’s pushing the glass back .
at first he only nods . but a nod doesn’t answer much , he can see that . “ i can try a bath , that sounds nice . ” the panic flooding his body was already starting to slowly dissipate . grace had to be an angel . “ let me get up . ” bringing his sleeve - covered wrist to his mouth , he wipes what little water had dribbled down his chin and he forces himself up away from the couch cushions . at first the movement makes his head spin , his body falls forward just barely and that’s all it takes for him to grab her forearm . with her squatting down lower than his level , it’s easy for nathan to let his head fall onto her shoulder . “ thank you , ” he mutters , speaking no further than that .
andulkaphoto
prguitarman
titsay
stormborns
jbbartram-illu
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
