Where The Ice Gives Way (Charlotte and Blake) novel Chapter 223

Chapter 223 Traces of Me

Emily

Nothing has physically changed in the rehabilitation building. The hallway is still warm and quiet, the lights still soft above us,, the

floors still clean beneath my shoes. There’s the familiar noise of people moving about, and it smells faintly like clean sheets, seap..

and the herbal tea Mara keeps sending over in little jars.

But for me, it feels like everything is different.

Theo walks beside me with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, and Sasha hums softly in my mind, pleased and sleepy

beneath the warmth of Theo’s mark.

When we reach my door, I stop with my hand on the handle. It is strange how heavy something so small can feel. I’ve only been in

this room for a short time, but when I first came here, it felt like a place to breathe. A place where no one and nothing could touch

1. It was the safe place I had needed so badly.

Now, my safe space stands beside me, with messy hair, warm brown eyes and a contagious smile. So I open the door.

The room is exactly how I left it. The bed is made, and a jumper hangs over the chair. My folded clothes sit in the little dresser near

the wall. My shoes are lined neatly by the door, and the few toiletries are still on the small bathroom sink.

My whole life fits inside one small room, and even then, it barely fills the space. Standing here now, I realise how little of myself I

allowed to exist before.

Theo steps in behind me, his voice gentle. “Do you want me to help, or do you want to do it?”

“You can help.”

The bond in my chest warms, just like the smile across his face.

“Okay, Petal.”

He waits until I pick up my bag and set it on the bed, then he follows my lead. I fold the jumper from the chair, and he takes the

clothes from the dresser.

11:07 Thu, Jul 23 TJO.

Chapter 223 Traces of Me

I glance up at him. “I don’t need a lot.”

“I know.” His thumb moves again. “But you can still have things, Em.”

Things used to mean money. Money meant stress. Stress meant Dad sitting late at the table, covered in bills, Mum crying quietly

beside him. I never really cared much for things, because I didn’t want to be a problem.

With Theo, things feel more like growth, stability, happiness. Having things shows how few problems I have with him.

“Maybe we can get a few more things,” I admit.

Theo’s face brightens impossibly, his perfect teeth flashing at me as he grins. Then he lifts my bag from the bed and slings it over

his shoulder. “I was going to get you more anyway.”

I laugh softly, because that sounds exactly like something Theo would say. Sweet enough to make my heart ache, ridiculous enough

because he looks so serious with my tiny bag over his broad shoulder.

I shake my head, but I’m smiling as we leave the room.

At the door, I pause again. I expect to feel a little sad, maybe a little scared. Something that tells me I am making a mistake by

closing this door and leaving the safe little space behind.

But all I feel is gratitude. This room held me when I needed somewhere to be held. It kept me warm. It gave me quiet. It gave me a

place to sleep while my life rearranged itself.

Now someone else can have that. Someone else can walk in here afraid and leave a little less broken.

I close the door gently and take Theo’s hand.

We walk home together quietly, and then Theo leads me upstairs to his sunflower-covered room. He puts my bag on the bed and.

steps back. “Okay. Tell me where you want things.”

I unzip the bag slowly, not really knowing where to start. It feels strange to open drawers that are not mine, and place folded clothes beside his, to put my face wash in his bathroom and my toothbrush beside his. Every little thing feels like a question.

Is this okay?

Am I taking too much space?

What if that’s not how he likes things?

swer bear bugs out all of the contents, and shoves them into another drawer before he proudly

11:07 Thu, Jul 23 TO

Chapter 223 Traces of Me

When I place my toothbrush beside his, he’s practically vibrating.

And when I set my few toiletries along the bathroom sink, he leans against the doorframe with the softest smile on his face.

“You’re doing the face again,” I tell him.

“What face?”

“The weird one.”

“It’s my happy face.”

“It’s very weird.”

“I’ll work on it.”

“No, don’t.”

His smile grows.

By the time I finish, there isn’t much of a difference, but to me, the room has changed completely.

It is still Theo’s room, full of hockey gear, sunflowers, and the typical boy mess, but now there are traces of me here too.

Theo comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. He rests his chin gently on my shoulder, his breath brushing my

mark.

“Got any hair ties?” he asks.

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