Chapter Twenty-Five:

I’d been Skyping Vasha almost constantly since the night Yuri and his group of thugs attacked her. If I wasn’t at PetSmart working, grabbing a quick bite to eat, or asleep, I could be found in my bedroom video chatting with my girl. When she was ready to turn in and attempt sleeping, I’d watch over her whenever I could. It crushed me to see her jump at every noise, and the nightmares she was having weren’t any better. She’d wake up screaming in terror and I hated myself for not being able to comfort her the way I wanted. If I could just hold her, I knew we’d have a better chance at getting past the hardest part together.

We were having a particularly rough time about a week after the incident. I’d just gotten off of work an hour prior, and hopped into my bathroom to take the world’s fastest shower. When I accepted Vasha’s Skype call a flat five minutes later, I saw a shadow of her former self staring back at me like a woun