Sebastian’s heart broke for her. In his mind, he was reaching out to hug her, enveloping her in a warm embrace…. but that was only a fantasy. In reality, he was standing perfectly still, afraid to move and scare her off. “Is—Is there anything I can do?”
Devon shook her head slowly as she turned and leaned against the wall. She slid down and brought her knees up to her chest, burying her face in them.
"I don't know," she whispered, the words coming out muffled by her jeans. "I haven't– I don't– I don't know…"
Sebastian gently closed the door and knelt next to her, anguish flitting briefly across his features. “What do you want me to do? Stay? Leave? Bring water?”
"Stay." The force in Devon's words surprised even her. If it was anyone else, she would have asked them to leave, but Sebastian… There was just something about him that calmed her, made that horrid feeling of not being enough go away. "Please…"
He nodded and leaned back against the wall, raising his eyes skywards. “I’ll make this up to you..” he promised, remorse filling his voice, “I swear, I will.”
Devon sighed and shook her head, looking over at him with a slightly pained expression. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t all because of you, okay? This comes from everything that’s happened to me. Yes, you triggered it, but it’s not your fault that I’m like this.”
Sebastian flinched, but nodded slowly. “I—I understand that, of course I do. But I should have known better than to lose my temper and yell like that. You wouldn’t be feeling like this at the moment if I hadn’t taken my anger out on you like that, which is why I want to make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Devon murmured, looking down again. “Really, Seb…”
“I want to,” Sebastian told her, guilt seeping into his voice. “I promise you that I’ll never do that again.”
Devon sighed, the breath shaking once more. “Okay… If you really think you need to…”
Sebastian stared down at his hands, which suddenly tingled with need. But no—he couldn’t do that in front of Devon. She’d only blame herself if he slapped his own face… despite the fact that he deserved to hurt. “I do..”
Devon nodded slowly before finally glancing up up at him, keeping her head low. "Would you mind just… Um. Just holding my hand?" she whispered.
“Anything for you, Devon.”
Sebastian reaches out for her hand, clasping it with care between both of his.
Devon let out a slow breath and curled her hand around one of his. She let her eyes close as she leaned her head back against the wall, already beginning to feel calmer.
Sebastian brushed a cautious thumb over her muscles, evening out the rhythm of his erratic breathing in hopes that it would somehow soothe Devon further.
After a while, Devon had calmed down significantly. Her breathing had evened out, and she didn’t have the right feeling in her throat anymore.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
"You don't need to thank me," Sebastian answered, careful to keep his voice lowered and his tone soft. "You're feeling better?"
“Yes. And I’m thanking you for being here. I’m not going to stop that,” Devon said, slowly opening her eyes and looking at him.
Sebastian met her beautiful blew eyes, giving her hand a light squeeze. "I—You're welcome, in that case. I'll do it anytime."
(blew eyes. Lol.)
Devon hummed softly, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly as he met her eyes. “Well… Then, thank you for that, too…”
(I hate autocorrect. So much. So. Much.)
"This is the one time I'm going to let you thank me for something I'd do without hesitation," he teased lightly, careful with his word choice.
(Lol. 😂)
Devon smiled a little, a soft chuckle slipping past her lips. “Fine… But I just thank people. It’s habit. So you’d better get used to it if you’re going to continue to date me.”
It was the first time that either of them had fixed an official term to their relationship, and it sent an ecstatic grin racing across Sebastian’s lips. “Gladly, if it means dating you.”
Devon's smile widened a bit, her cheeks turning a slight pink. "Good… I'm glad," she said softly.
Immensely relieved that she seemed to be okay, Sebastian leaned his head back against the wall. “Is there anything you need?”