The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

me. It’s okay to not be okay when you’re with me,” he said,
and my breath caught. “It’s my duty as your husband to
make sure you feel safe enough to be real. You don’t have to
pretend that you’re okay with everything that has
happened, Poppy.”
Oh…
Oh, gods.
His words wrecked me. Tears scorched my throat and
rushed to my eyes. I did the only mature thing possible. I
smacked my hands over my face.
“Poppy,” Casteel whispered, folding his fingers around
my wrists. “That sounded like it hurt.”
“It did.” My voice was muffled. “I don’t want to cry.”
“Does smacking yourself in the face help with that?”
“No.” I laughed, shoulders trembling as tears dampened
my lashes.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He tugged a little on
my arms.
My hands stayed over my face. “Then don’t say
incredibly sweet and supportive things.”
“Would you rather I say something mean and
unsupportive?”
“Yes.”
“Poppy.” He drew my name out, pulling my hands away
from my face. He gave me a lopsided grin, one that made
him seem so incredibly young. “It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to
be vulnerable. This was possibly the worst homecoming
ever. This last week sucked, and not in a fun way.”
I laughed again, and it ended in a sob. I didn’t stop the
onslaught of emotion this time. I broke, and just like Casteel
had promised, he was there to catch those pieces, holding
them together and keeping them safe until I could piece
myself back together. Somehow, I ended up on the floor
with him, in his lap, my arms and legs wrapped tightly
around him.
And I stopped pretending.