I stand in front of my dorm room door, ragged and ready to collapse.

I haven't slept in days and my body's at its limit.

People are screaming in my dorm. They're all loud and I shift uncomfortably on my feet, which was a huge mistake. I start swaying and everything is so slow-moving and I'm so lightheaded. My head is spinning and I have to close my eyes, hoping to stop the vertigo feeling, like I can't find solid ground even though my feet are planted to the floor. It's as if I'm a feather floating all around the air in a slow torturous fall, begging to make contact with something stable.

There's a round of yelling from my door and it crashes into me like a domino effect, but only to one lone domino... me. I start falling backward.

"Son of a..." Tariq rushes over to me, catching me before I meet the ground and end up with a possible concussion. "I knew you weren't okay."

I don't miss how his thick muscular arms tense around me, holding me steady. This feather found her something stable. "Sorry, I'm just really tired," I mumble.

My head falls back against his chest, so strong and sturdy, his heartbeat perfection to my ear that's pressed up against it. I have zero strength in my limbs as they tingle with that heavyweight of exhaustion, and it freaking terrifies me.

After taking a couple of breaths, I reposition myself to open up my door, but Tariq's hand beats me to it. "Let me help you. I'll get everyone out so you can sleep, okay?"

"Thank you," I say as his eyes search my face, brows pulled tight, his beautiful angles and jaw rigid with worry.

I break eye contact and he opens the door.

My exhaustion is forgotten as soon as it's wide open.

Three guys have some of my dresses on and Tracy is laughing with two girls I don't know, while two other dudes play MY Nintendo 64.

"What are you doing!" I screech out. "Why are you wearing my clothes and playing my N64?"

"Chill." Tracy laughs. "We're just having some fun."

They're all drunk.

I rip myself from Tariq's hold and push a guy out of my way who's wearing a dress of mine as he slurs out, "You the stuffy roomie of hers? Heard you shop at a homeless shelter. This dress reminds me of something my grandma would wear."

Tariq slowly walks between me and the drunken idiot, staring at him with a tense jaw and challenging eyes.

"Tariq! Hey man."

"Do I know you?" Tariq questions, not caring in the slightest that he doesn't remember him.

"Uh," the guy mutters. "We had a class together last year."

"Don't remember you." Tariq steps right in his face and makes the other guy look so puny it's almost funny. "Now mind taking my girl's clothes off before I wring your neck."

Tracy comes between the two, latching herself onto Tariq, pushing every part of her body against his. "Come on, you're not really with her, are you? She's such a prude. I would do things for you she'd never try," Tracy drunkenly spews out while walking her fingers up Tariq's chest.

I'm fuming. I don't know if it's from the guys wearing my clothes, playing my N64 without permission, or Tracy's body fused onto Tariq's.

What am I kidding?

It's my precious N64...

And Tracy glued to Tariq.

"Tracy, get all these people out, now!" I yell. "I seriously need some sleep and am at a breaking point with you. And God will you get off of my boyfriend!"

She detaches herself and gets right in my face. "There's no way he actually wants you. You're a freak, who barely sleeps, plays video games pretty much all night long, and wears frumpy fugly dresses." She starts laughing and her two girlfriends join in as my fists clench at my side. "So your dad died. get over it. I've never seen someone so pathetic. People die and life moves on, get a hold of yourself."

She seriously said that.

My face burns as tears prick my eyes and I regret ever telling her about my dad but I had thought she was nice when we first met. She waits for my response, grinning, but the voice that cuts through the air isn't mine.

"You shut the hell up."

Tariq's voice sends a chill into the entire room and tension fills every available space. Tracy turns around and she stumbles back at his cold expression.

"You open your mouth one more time and I'll make your life a living hell on this campus."

I turn away from Tracy and rip my controller from one of the guys' hands and unplug my system. "Hey!" The guys start protesting and a hand reaches out and shoves me hard into the brick wall. My back hits it and the breath is knocked out of me, pain radiating from my spine, clawing its way into my sternum as I try to catch my breath.

It's like an explosion of chaos erupts. My vision clears a little to see Tariq pinning the guy to the wall as the others try pulling him off. Reality sinks in when Tariq pulls his arm back and I know if he hits this guy, he'll get suspended from playing.

I clutch onto his arm and grab his face, making his beautiful ferocious eyes lock on mine. "I'm okay, I'm okay. Let's get my stuff and get out, okay?" His breathing is quick, fast, and like a raging bull's. "Please, Tariq."

He lets the guy go and whips around grabbing my stuff, packing it up swiftly, and then grabs my hand pulling me out of there. I don't care that I don't have any clothes or necessities packed, I needed to get away from there.

"Can you stay at Heather's?" Tariq asks, his voice deep and filled with husky irritation that makes my skin prickle and my heart pound. My feet stop and I yank Tariq back in the process, making him turn to me.

I'm too stunned to really move anymore.

Why does he keep doing this?

Defending me.

"Blue?" he asks, concern etching his beautiful features. "Can you stay at Heather's?" he repeats.

I can only shake my head.

He nods. "Alright, so you stay at my place tonight. I'll sleep on the couch and you take my bed."

He tries pulling me again, but I remain rooted. "Why do you do this?"

He turns to me, staring me down. "What do you mean?"

I blink back tears. "Why do you care so much?"

Tariq slowly takes those couple steps to me, closing the small space between us and I suck in a quick gasp as his forehead touches mine. He breathes in some of the thick air. "Blue, let me get you back to my place so you can get some sleep. This is a conversation we can have later."

It's like those words cause exhaustion to return at full force. "Okay," I whisper.

We get back to his car and the drive is quiet as I stare absentmindedly out the window. "He was everything to me."

Tears fall from my burning eyes that are so dry, I don't know how I'm still able to produce tears. At this rate, I'll become dehydrated from crying alone. Tariq's hand engulfs mine and this time I don't hold back and let it all out. I take my seatbelt off and slide over to my source of comfort and protection. Tariq doesn't even hesitate as I curl my body into his side and he wraps his arm around me, pressing me into his warmth.

The hole that wants to swallow me up shrinks a little. Tariq pulls into the driveway and shuts the jeep off. He envelopes me as I crawl into his lap and wail, drenching his shirt as he digs his face into my hair along with his fingers, providing me with a sense of comfort and security more than words ever could.

Once my wails turn into sniffles, Tariq lifts me out of the car and brings me inside and straight downstairs. I bury my face into his chest, hiding from everything and everyone. He lays me down on his bed and goes into his closet bringing me out a shirt with some sweats. We don't talk to each other and he leaves me alone so I can get dressed.

His shirt is massive on me and I put on his sweats only from them to slide right off me. I try rolling them, but when I lay on the bed they're super uncomfortable so I throw them off, not caring in the slightest.

I slide under the covers and there's a knock at the door. Tariq comes in and the bed dips as he sits on it, right beside me. I grab his hand and he holds on tight.

"I'll be right out there if you need anything, okay?" I squeeze his hand as my answer because my throat is raw and hurts. He lets go and shuts the door behind him and I snuggle into his scent, hoping the addictive gingery smell will give me the sleep I need.

It didn't work.

Cold, dead eyes stare at me. The life was gone, drained from those steady brown eyes that used to be so full of warmth. His face was sunken, ashen as those lifeless eyes looked back at me. No harsh breaths coming from his mouth. He was eerily still.

My dad was gone.

Forever.

I shoot up, panic gripping me, curling around me trying to suffocate me. A hot flash comes on fast as my chest tightens, making breathing difficult. My whole body trembles and I leap out of the bed. On shaky legs, I open the door and Tariq shoots up from off the couch he had been sleeping on.

My eyes dart around in panic as I try to find a way to escape and nothing is making sense to me. I can hear my shaky voice calling out for my dad, trying to reach him. The only thing blanketing my mind is my dad's dead face. I rush up the stairs and Tariq is right on my heels. I go to open the door and he shuts it before I can run away.

"Hey, hey, baby, I've got you. I've got you." His body concaves around me as he holds the door shut, but my hands remain on the doorknob, fingers stiff and shaky. His breath is hot on my ear as his other arm wraps around me. "Breathe, Elodie."

I try taking deep gulps of breath but my throat is closed from the grief trying to scratch up burning vomit. He gently turns me around his hand leaving the door as his hold is loose, yet strong. His hand grabs mine and puts it on his naked chest, taking deep even breaths. "You can do this, Blue. In and out. Nice and slow. That's it. Just like that, baby."

The panic starts to die away as my fingers feel Tariq's strong, steady heartbeat as his chest expands then flattens and I realize mine is doing the same thing. My muggy brain clears a little as my dad's face fades.

I cry out in a choked sob, "I had fallen asleep, Tariq. I woke up to him dead and staring right at me. All those times he would stay up with me and watch over me when I was sick..." I hiccup. "And I couldn't even be there for him when he passed away."

Tariq pushes my hair out of my face and wraps his arms around me, surrounding me with nothing but him. "I failed him," I croak out as I wrap my arms around wide, broad shoulders. "I fell asleep. He was alone."

Tariq picks me up and brings me back down into the basement, bringing me back to the bed, but this time he doesn't leave me and lays down, pulling me into his stronghold.

But I don't deserve the comfort.

I don't deserve any of it.

I move to my back as he props himself up on his elbow. I let the tears slide down and they hit my ear, gliding into it, making it tickle a little. Tariq watches me, his eyes filled with pain and concern.

"Talk to me, Blue."

"I can't." I cry out.

"You can." He leans down, putting his forehead against mine. "Tell me about him. It will help, I promise."

I suck in a harsh breath, snot and all. "He-he was a cop. He had a big heart." I lick my lips as I think of what to say. "One of my favorite memories with him was when we went to the beach for a vacation. I got stung by a jellyfish and he ripped the tentacle off me, got himself stung in the process. But he didn't care because nothing mattered more than protecting me."

My arm covers my eyes as I cry, but each tear got easier as I stayed up telling Tariq story after story about him. By three in the morning, I was laughing with only sparse tears falling here and there and Tariq laid on his back next to me, joining in my laughter.

Our laughter slowly died away and for the first time in a long time... I wasn't scared to close my eyes.

"He sounded like a good dad," he states.

"He was the best." I turn my head and smile at Tariq. "Thank you."

Tariq shifts to his side and grabs me, bringing me into him. He lazily draws circles on my arm, causing me to sigh and for sleep to start reaching for me. "Go to sleep, Blue. I'll make sure you're up for your classes tomorrow."

"My first ones at nine," I murmur.

"After your classes do you have to volunteer tomorrow?"

"No, tomorrow is my day off."

"Good," he whispers as he kisses my head. "That means you can come back here and sleep. Take a nap. I'll let the guys know not to be too loud tomorrow."

"Thank you, Tariq." His hold loosens and I know he's going to leave. He sits up and I'm half asleep as I sit up with him.

"Blue, you really need to--" I cut him off, my lips pressing against his. So warm, soft, and strong, perfectly fusing with mine. I breathe him in and he tenses. It's simple, no tongue, no heat, just a woman kissing the man she loves in one swoop. I pull away, smile, and he stares wide-eyed at me like I blew his world away, which is silly because of the kiss we shared just yesterday. I lay back down. Tariq doesn't move for a while and I fall fast asleep, knowing he is here with me.

Very emotional chapter! I hope I pulled it off! It definitely needs some editing but I promised two updates for you :) I'll probably come back to this tomorrow and touch it up to make it stronger. Elodie is going through a lot but it's a good thing she has Tariq there to help her.

Did you all enjoy this chapter?

If you want more of Elodie and Tariq hit that star button for me and I'll see what I can do tomorrow ;)

Much Love,

LivingRed