Chapter 7 - The Long Road Home
Recovery wasn't a linear process. For weeks, Lily barely spoke. She would wake up screaming from nightmares of swinging bags and cold, cruel whispers. Nathan was there every time, holding her, telling her the same thing over and over: You are safe. You are loved. You are free.
He had lost his company. His reputation was shredded. He lived in a small, rented house outside the city, his assets tied up in endless legal battles.
But he had Lily.
One morning, the sun was shining through the kitchen window, warming the wood of the table. Lily was sitting there, drawing. She had stopped using black crayons weeks ago.
She was drawing a house. A big, bright yellow house with a garden and a tall man standing in the doorway.
Nathan walked in, carrying a tray of breakfast.
Lily looked up. She studied his face, the way she used to before Victoria, before the hospital, before the world went dark.
"Daddy?" she asked.
"Yes, princess?"
"Are we going to be okay?"
Nathan set the tray down and knelt beside her. He looked at the drawing, then at her eyes—bright, clear, and full of life.
"We are more than okay," he said. "We are starting over."
Lily looked at the drawing, then back at him. She reached out and took his hand. It was the first time she had initiated contact in months.
"Can we get a dog?" she asked.
Nathan laughed, a real, genuine sound that felt foreign in his own ears. "We can get a dog, a cat, and an entire zoo if you want."
May you like
"A dog," she decided, smiling. "A big one. One that guards the door."
"A guard dog," Nathan agreed. "Deal."
