### **Chapter 6: Unraveling**
Nadia froze the moment Zaryn's arms wrapped around her. The cold night air still stung her skin, but suddenly, all she could feel was the warmth of him against her. It was… startling. Zaryn had never been the type to show affection, never the type to reach out to anyone, much less her. She wasn't sure what shocked her more—the fact that he had done it or the fact that she needed it so much.
For a moment, she just stood there, tense and unyielding, unsure of how to react. This was Zaryn. The guy who kept his distance from everything and everyone. The one who observed but never participated. And now here he was, holding her in the middle of the empty hospital parking lot like he'd been waiting for this moment all along.
Her tears were still falling, but they felt different now—less like the flood she had been holding back and more like a quiet release. Her body slowly started to relax against him, though her mind still raced. She didn't understand why he was doing this. Why now? Why, after all this time, was he suddenly reaching out to her in a way she had never thought possible?
She didn't know what to say, didn't know how to react, so she did nothing. She just stood there, allowing herself to melt into the embrace, letting the moment be what it was.
Zaryn, for his part, didn't say a word. He simply held her, his chin resting lightly on top of her head, his arms tight but not too tight. There was no awkwardness in the way he stood with her, no hesitation, no question of whether this was the right thing to do. He just did it. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
But for Nadia, it wasn't natural. It was everything she hadn't expected from him, everything she thought he wasn't capable of. Zaryn had always been distant, unreadable, and somehow she had accepted that. She never expected warmth from him, never expected this kind of… intimacy. But now that it was happening, she didn't know how to handle it.
She didn't even know how to breathe.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably just a few minutes, Nadia finally pulled back, just enough to look up at him. Her tear-streaked face was a mixture of confusion and vulnerability, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
Zaryn looked down at her, his face as calm and unreadable as ever, but there was something different in his eyes. Something that made Nadia's heart skip a beat. It wasn't pity. It wasn't discomfort. It was… understanding. For the first time since she'd known him, it felt like he *really* saw her, not just as some part of the world he observed, but as a person he cared about.
"Zaryn…" Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with the emotion she was still trying to hold back.
He didn't say anything, didn't move. He just looked at her, his eyes searching hers like he was waiting for her to say whatever it was she was struggling with.
"Why?" she finally managed, her voice trembling. "Why are you…?"
Zaryn blinked, his brow furrowing slightly, as if he hadn't considered the question. Then, in his usual quiet tone, he answered, "Because you need it."
Nadia's breath hitched. That simple answer hit her harder than she expected. It wasn't an admission of love, wasn't a confession or some grand declaration. It was just Zaryn being Zaryn—blunt, honest, and entirely too aware of her emotions for someone who claimed to have so little grasp on his own.
She shook her head slightly, wiping at her face with the back of her hand, trying to pull herself together. "I didn't think… you didn't have to."
"I know," Zaryn replied, his voice still calm, still steady. "But I wanted to."
That stunned her into silence. *He wanted to?* Zaryn had never expressed wanting anything when it came to human connection. He didn't do comfort. He didn't do affection. But now, here he was, holding her in the dark, his words cutting through her defenses like they had been waiting to do it all along.
She swallowed hard, her throat tight again, but this time it wasn't just from grief. There was something else bubbling up inside her, something she had buried deep for a long time. Her feelings for Zaryn had always been complicated—always something she tried to ignore. But standing here now, with his arms around her, his voice steady and comforting in a way she had never expected, she couldn't deny it anymore.
She cared about him. More than she should. More than she had ever let herself admit.
Nadia took a shaky breath, pulling back fully now, her eyes still locked on his. "Thank you," she said softly, though the words felt inadequate.
Zaryn gave a small nod, stepping back just enough to give her space but not so far that the moment between them was broken entirely. "You don't have to thank me," he said quietly.
But she felt like she did. Not because he had comforted her, but because he had *shown* her something she didn't think he was capable of. He had shown her that he cared, in his own way, and that meant more than she could put into words.
---
The drive back to Nadia's place was quieter than the trip to the hospital had been, but it wasn't the same heavy, suffocating silence. This was different—softer, almost comforting in its own way. Zaryn kept his eyes on the road, but Nadia could feel his presence in a way she hadn't before. It wasn't just that he was physically there. It was that he was *there* in a way she had never expected him to be.
As they pulled up to her house, Nadia felt the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on her again. The loss of her father, the overwhelming grief she had been trying so hard to suppress, and now this new, confusing shift in her relationship with Zaryn. It was too much. It was all too much.
But she didn't want to be alone.
"Zaryn?" She spoke his name quietly, almost hesitantly, as they sat in the car, the engine idling in her driveway.
He glanced over at her, his expression calm, though there was a hint of something else in his eyes. "Yeah?"
She swallowed, unsure of how to ask him what she wanted to ask. It felt stupid, but the thought of being alone in that empty house right now made her stomach twist with anxiety. "Will you… stay?" she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Zaryn didn't hesitate. "Sure."
Nadia felt a wave of relief wash over her, though she wasn't sure why. She had never needed anyone before. Not like this. But right now, she couldn't imagine being by herself. Not after everything that had happened.
They got out of the car, and Zaryn followed her inside. The house was eerily quiet, the usual warmth it held feeling distant now, overshadowed by the grief that hung heavy in the air. Nadia led him to the living room, where they both sat down on the couch, the silence between them stretching out once again.
But it wasn't awkward. It wasn't uncomfortable.
Nadia leaned back against the cushions, her eyes closing for a moment as she let out a slow breath. She was exhausted—emotionally, mentally, physically. And yet, sitting here with Zaryn, she felt a strange sense of calm settle over her.
Zaryn didn't say anything, didn't move. He just sat there beside her, his presence steady and unwavering, like a solid anchor in the chaos that had become her life.
After a few minutes, Nadia opened her eyes and glanced over at him. "You don't have to stay, you know," she said softly, though part of her hoped he wouldn't leave.
"I know," he replied, his voice quiet but firm. "But I will."
She nodded, her throat tightening again. She didn't know what she would do without him right now. As much as she had tried to push everyone away, to keep her emotions hidden behind her walls of sarcasm and indifference, Zaryn had somehow found his way past all of that. He had seen her, really seen her, and that scared her more than anything.
But it also made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time—safe.
She shifted slightly on the couch, pulling her legs up beneath her as she rested her head against the back of the cushions. "I don't know what to do now," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.
Zaryn didn't look at her, his gaze fixed somewhere ahead of them. "You don't have to know right now," he said softly. "Just… be here."
Nadia felt a lump form in her throat, but she nodded, taking comfort in his words. She didn't have to figure it all out right now. She didn't have to be strong, or composed, or anything other than what she was in this moment.
For now, that was enough.
And for the first time in a long time, Nadia felt like maybe—just maybe—she wasn't alone anymore.