I couldn’t hold them back anymore, and I couldn’t go any farther myself. I bent over, right there, at the bottom stairs. My forehead went to my knees. I wrapped my arms around my legs, and I sobbed. Deep. Guttural. Straight from the soul sobs. He must’ve let me cry for a few minutes until I felt his hands on my back. “Fucking Christ, Phillips.” But he didn’t sound frustrated, and his hands were gentle. He knelt, his arms moving under me, and he picked me up. He carried me to my room, going to turn the light on.
