Chapter 24. Shut Up and Let Me Hold You (2)

Without a word, her forehead fell against his chest. The quiet tears turned into deep, loud sobs until she was screaming, and her arms went around his waist.

Aaron picked her up and carried her back into the room, sitting down in a rocking chair, rocking her back and forth, and she cried like someone who was being ripped to shreds right there in his arms. He held on for dear life, kissing her forehead and stroking her hair as he felt his heart break for her, for everything she had lost.

Within a minute, she tried to get up, to get away from him, seeming to realize she had let him in, she had lost this one.

“Let me go,” she choked out, fighting for control, trying to take charge. “I am sure my room is ready by now, and it has been a long-”

The words got caught in her throat, and she screamed again, held on to him harder, and bawled her eyes out some more. Aaron held on tighter, too.

“Shut up and let me hold you,” he whispered gently.

Aria had been