“How can they be sure?” I ask, fighting to keep balance in my voice. “The police, I mean. They’re going to find out if he had anything to do with it or not, right?”

“Yeah.” She buries her face in my chest. “What if he is… what if I let him touch me the way that he did and that whole time he took they’re lives...” Her hands find the bottom of my shirt and she grips tightly. “I can’t deal with anymore of this…” She sucks in a breath, then another. “Pain. I’m so sick of having no one… of having every relationship ruined.”

My arms tighten around her and I hold her with every part of me. “No matter what happens, I’m going to be here for you.”

She presses her face closer to my chest, balling herself up against me. “Promise me you’ll never leave me.” It’s hard to hear her through the crying, but the soft utter of the words are enough that a few tears escape my eyes. I want to wipe them away so she can’t see me falling apart, but I don’t want to let her go either.

“I promise.” I mean it more than I’ve meant anything. “No matter what happens, I’ll always be here for you.”

I want to tell her right there that I love her, but know it’s in no way the right time. So instead try to show her, holding her and letting her cry, vowing to myself to try and find a way to take some of her pain away, no matter what it takes.