Helping me

It was the same dream every night. It was the same dream, the same man, he just said different things.

The dream always took place in my room. I would suddenly wake up and he would be standing at the end of my bed staring at me. His piercing blue eyes bored into mine as he stared at me in wonder. Then he would walk around the side of my bed and caress my face. Then he would say something, it was different every night.

What a beautiful little human.

I cannot wait to make you mine.

Why do you have to be so close, yet so far away?

Then he would disappear, and I would wake up screaming. I figured tonight would be the same as every other night. I did the same thing I did every night.

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, dried my hair, put my normal night clothes on, a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top, and went to bed.

I laid in my bed for a little bit debating whether or not it was a good idea to go to sleep or not, but eventually, I do. I don’t know how long I had been asleep, but I was suddenly awoken as I felt a pair of hands lifting me from my bed and carrying me out of the house. I looked to see who the man was, and I was surprised to find the man I had been dreaming about. I tried to say something but was cut off.

“Shh, love, just sleep.”

From that, I fell asleep.

———•••———

I woke up in a bed that wasn’t mine. This one was larger with big red down comforter. The room was larger also. The curtains were covering the windows. The walls were a dark red wood. The only light in the room was coming from a little bedside lamp. There were two different doors, one I suspect lead to the bathroom and the other to the rest of the house.

I moved the comforter from my body, glad to see that my clothes from last night were still on, and went to check one of the doors to see where they lead. Maybe even find the person that had brought me here. Considering they didn’t hurt me when bringing me here, maybe that wasn’t their intent. In all honesty, maybe this was better than where I had been.

I opened the door across from the bed and find a bathroom. I quickly but quietly shut the door and went over to the other. I open it to find it leading to a hallway. If I went right, I would go directly to a dead end, but if I went left, it would lead me past more rooms and to a set of stairs.

I quietly moved down the hall, stopping every so often and listening for footsteps. When I finally reached the stairs, I looked down to the rest of the house, or should I say mansion. It was huge, incredible.

“Good morning, love.” I head from behind me.

I turned around to see the man from last night. He was wearing dark jeans and a black shirt. His beautiful white teeth shone as he smiled.

“What do you want?” My voice quivering as I took a step back.

“I wanted to save you. I couldn’t stand seeing him hurts you.” He said stepping closer to me.

“Who hurt me?” I asked playing dumb. He always would say if I told someone he would make it worse. “What are you talking about?” I took another step back.

“Don’t play dumb with me, love.” He said in a softer voice. “I’ve seen the bruises.”

I froze. I thought I had been hiding them well enough that no one could see them. “How do you know?” My voice was barely a whisper. Again, I took a step back, but this time there was no floor. I started to fall, and it was like everything was in slow motion. My body swung around, facing the stairs, and I started to grab for whatever I could. I don’t know how but before I could hit the ground, the guy had me in his arms, keeping me from falling. Then in less than a second, we were down the stairs and he was setting me down on one of the couches.

“Please be careful, love, I don’t want you getting hurts.” He says moving the hair out of my face.

“But you don’t even know me.” How could someone that just kidnapped me care whether or not I’m hurt?

“I know you more than you may think. Those dreams of me aren’t really dreams.” His lifted my chin so that I was looking at him. ” I want you to remember everything.”

Suddenly memories started coming back to me. Damon. He would come in my room and we would talk for hours. He’s told me everything about him and I told him everything about me. I knew he wasn’t a threat to me. I smiled.

“How did you do that?” I asked, now confused. All the time that we have spent together, it was like he had it locked away and he was the only one that was able to allow me to remember them.

“You already know how I’ve told you. You just need to remember.” He said with a mischievous smile.

“Why did you really bring me here? There was no problem with what was going on.” I said.

“But there was a problem. Your father is an abusive asshole.” I could see the anger in his eyes. “I was tired of seeing him hurt you. I will not let him touch you again. From now on, Tegan, you will live here with me.” There was a little harshness in his voice which made me flinch. He noticed and apologized. “I’m sorry. I won’t talk like that again. Tomorrow night I will go and get your stuff. Could you make a list of what all you will need from there?” He handed me a notepad and a pen.

“Yeah, sure,” I say, with a slight nod. I start to write down all the things that I would need down.

Cell phone/charger

Laptop/charger

School bag

Wallet

Clothes (as much as you can get from my closet and drawers)

Bathroom bag

Notebooks from nightstand drawer

Once I was done, I handed the list back to Damon. “This should be everything,” I said. “Will I be able to go back to school?”

“No,” He says and my face drops. I was about to protest until he starts talking again. “Not until all the bruises heal and you can wear t-shirts because its 80 degrees out. No normal human will wear a long sleeve during the end of summer.”

I smiled. He actually did care for me.

I didn’t do much during the day, of course, I didn’t have any of my stuff either. I mostly explored the house and found out where everything was. The house itself wasn’t really that big. The living room has a vaulted ceiling making it look larger than what it really was. The kitchen was to the right of the living room and there were an office and bathroom on the other side of the living room. To the left of the main entrance was a large dining room and to the right was a study. It was a cozy decor with beanbag chairs along with a desk and office chair. Once I had found my way around the house, I went up to the room I had woke up in, which I figured was Damon’s and laid down to take a nap.

“Tegan, hey, wake up. I got your stuff.” Damon said while shaking me awake. I looked to see my stuff laying in bags by the wall. “I could set you up in a different room or in here, whichever you prefer.”

“I..uh... I think I’d rather be in here with you. I feel safer when I’m around you.” I say snuggly in the sheets.

“You’ll be alright sharing a bed with me then?” He asks.

I remember him sitting on the bed beside me when he would come in my room. He would sit there with me until I fell asleep. “I think I’ll be alright. Just don’t get handsy. I’ll stay in a different room if you’re going to be like that.”

“Don’t worry,” He says with a grin, “I will be a perfect gentleman.”

I got up and went to one of the duffle bags to look for clothes to sleep in. Once I find them I get my toiletry bag to take a shower. “Do you mind if I take a shower?”

“Me Casa Su Casa. The towels are under the sink.” Damon replies.

“Thank you,” I say and go to the bathroom to take a shower. I do my normal routine before getting out and drying off. I get dressed, run my brush through my hair and brush my teeth before going back in the bedroom. Damon was laying in the middle of the bed with his arms behind his head, eyes closed as if he were asleep. I remembered nights that he would lay with my in bed, rubbing my back, until I would stop cry. I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to be close to him. I climbed onto the bed and rested my head on his chest.

His arm moved out from behind his head and wrapped around me protectively, pulling me closer to him. I was drifting off to sleep with I head him whisper, “No one will ever hurt you again.”

As I woke up to the sun shining in my eyes. I tried to move but the arms that were around my waist wouldn’t allow me to. I struggle as I roll over and sees that Damon was still sleeping.

I was looking at his face as I was trying to remember how he was able to get me to forget. While I was looking at him, dark vein-like lines start to appear around his eyes. I tried to pull away but again was unable to because of his still around my waist. His eyes opened when he noticed my struggling. When he opened his mouth to speak, all I was able to notice was the fangs that were in place of his canines. He let me go as I screamed and scrambled across the room, against the wall on the other side, to get away from him.

“Y... You’re a vampire,” I say, my voice was shaking with fear.

“Tegan, hey, listen to me. You already know this. You know that Ian not going to hurt you,” he says, trying to calm me down. My back was still pressed against the wall as I tried to remember him telling me about what he is. “Tegan, you need to remember everything.”

I open my eyes and see Damon right in front of me. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was cut off when his lips connected with mine.

And I remembered everything.

All the ways that he made me feel loved even when no one else did. He let me know that he cares even when no one else cares at all.

I start to kiss him back and wrap my arms around his neck. He wrapped his hands around my back and pulled me closer. I pulled back and looked up to his eyes. “Why did you want me to forget that?” I ask him, know that even though I couldn’t remember it, that was the reason that I kept fighting.

“Because when I first saw you, I thought I wouldn’t be good for you. I promised myself that I wouldn’t let myself hurt you. But then I saw that your father was doing that instead and I knew I had to get you out,” he says and leans his forehead against mine.

“Please keep me safe,” I say as I wrap my arms around his waist.

“I promise that no one will hurt you,” he says while also wrapping his arms around me. “I’ve already promised myself that I’ll keep you safe. I’ll promise you that, too.”

I was sitting on the bed after Damon had gone downstairs when I decided to get ready for school. I knew he wouldn’t be happy, but I only had three weeks left of school and I had to pass my finals so that I could graduate. I put on my long sleeve, guns and roses shirt along with a random pair of jeans. I grabbed my bag before going downstairs to put my shoes on.

“What do you think you are doing,” I hear from behind me as I had just started putting my shoes on.

“I’m going to school. I have finals next week and I cannot miss.” I tell him as I continue to put them on.

“I told you that you weren’t going back until all of the bruises where healed. I can get your work that you miss in the meantime,” He says while giving me a pleading look.

“Alright,” I say giving in. I walk back into the living room, after taking my shoes off, and sit down on the couch. Damon followed me while he was still trying to get me to stop being mad. “I don’t want people to think that there is something wrong with me because I’m not there.”

“Well, I’ll make sure that everyone knows that you are alright,” He says, and I give him a questioning look. “How about if I can get you to pass and you don’t have to go to school for the next three weeks.”

That had caught my attention. “Wait, how can you do that?” I ask confused.

“Well, let’s just say that I can be very persuasive,” He says with a grin.

I smile as he sits down beside me and puts an arm around behind me. I was looking at him when a guy walks into the living and starts to stare at me.

“Damon, who is this?” The guy asks with his arms crossed over his chest. Damon looks over at him in surprise.

“Stefan,” He says as he stands up and moves in front of me protectively. “I didn’t think that you were supposed to be back until next month.”

“No, I told you that it would be today. Now, why is she here?” Stefan asks him, getting mad.

“I saved her from her abusive father,” Damon yells at him. I sank into the couch as I was starting to get scared and didn’t know what to do.

“That’s not your place to step in,” Stefan says before appearing in front of me while pushing Damon across the room. “Get up,” He says while staring into my eyes. I didn’t listen to him and stayed where I was, shaking in fear.

“Damon,” I say, and he pushes Damon away from me, pulling me into his arms and moving away from Stefan.

“How did she not listen to what I said? Do you have her on vervain?” Stefan asks as he turns to us.

“No,” Damon says as he turns and looks at me confused. “Go sit back down.” He says as he stares into my eyes. Not being able to control what I was doing. I turned away from Damon and went to sit back down where I was sitting before.

“I guess she’s not,” Stefan says as he looked at me in wonder.

Damon walked over to me and wraps an arm around my waist before taking me upstairs. “What is his problem?” I ask once we get into his room.

“He doesn’t trust me with you. He thinks that I’m either going to kill or end up exposing what we are to the public.” He says while shutting the door and turning to me.

“Why would he think something like that?” I ask him confused.

“Well, let’s just say that I haven’t had a very good past with humans before finding you,” He says walking over to the bed and sitting down.

“What do you mean by that? How could I change what you think of human?” I ask him.

“Well, when I first turned, I swore to Stefan that I would make his life a living hell because he was the one that made me become this. I did that by following him and leaving messes that he would have to clean up. And because of the way he fed, it made it nearly impossible for him to do. Over time, I’ve slowly gained a hatred for humans because of what they have that I don’t. They were able to start their own families, have children, grow old and watch as their children make a life of their own. I can’t do that and because I’ve watched so many other people do it, I hate them for it. But then I saw you, there was just something about you that was different. You would fight through something that many other people would give up in, that they would run away from. You fought through something that my father did to me and I thought that I deserved it,” He says as he pulled me into his lap and nuzzled his face into my neck, breathing in my scent. I wrapped my arms around him and sat there with him as I didn’t know what to say.

I don’t know how long we sat like that, but I had eventually fallen asleep. When I had woke up, I was laying on Damon’s chest and one of his arms was wrapped around me, while the other one was stroking my hair.

“Good evening, love,” He says once he notices that I was awake. I give him a sheepish smile before moving off him and sitting beside him.

“Damon,” I say as I look up at him, “Would you ever turn me?” The look that he gave me told me he did not like the question.

“Why would you ever think that I would do that? I would never damn you to the hell that I have to live in,” He says looking down at me.

“But what if I were hurt? What if I was dying?” I wanted to be with him and I knew it would kill him if I were to die. “If I stay human, it’s not a matter of if, but when.”

“Tegan, listen to me. This is not something that you would want. But if you were to ever want this, you need to really think about it because I don’t want you to regret it later.” Damon says to me. I understood what he was saying but I also knew that I would eventually have to choose.

I nod as I lay my head down on his chest again and sigh. “You know that I am always going to choose you.”

“Why would you choose me when you barely even know me?”

“Damon, I remember everything. I remember every time that you came into my room the past six months. I remember when you kissed me for the first time on Christmas Eve. I remember when you gave me this bracelet,” I held up the wrist that the bracelet with the blue that had the letters “T” and “D” on it. “I remember

everything that you told me about yourself. Why do you think that I wouldn’t remember that?”

“Tegan, you know that I love you but like what Stefan means, I’m not good for you. I don’t deserve to have someone as good as you.” He argues with me. “I can’t give

you the family that you want. I couldn’t give you anything that you want.”

I look down at my hands. “What if all I want is you?”

Damon looks at me in silence for a moment before speaking again. “Tegan, you don’t know what you are saying.”

“Yes, I do Damon,” I said interrupting him. I move so that I am on top of him

straddling his lap. “What don’t you get about me wanting you? I’m choosing you,

stubborn ass.” He sat there looking at me in shock. I took a deep breath before kissing him. He was hesitant at first but then his hands were at the small of my back pulling me closer.

“This is dangerous, Tegan.” He says in between kisses.

“I don’t care,” I say, kissing him again. Suddenly he was on top of me, kissing me roughly. I kiss him back, but I felt something nick my lip, causing me to bleed. I jerk back and look at him. His fangs were out, and the veins were showing around his eyes. “Damon, are you alright?” I ask, lifting my hand to his cheek. “You are hungry, aren’t you?”

He looks down at me, nodding sadly. “I’m sorry.” He pulls back but I stop him.

“Hey, it’s not your fault, don’t worry,” I tell him. “It’s fine.” I put my wrist up to his mouth so that he could feed.

“Tegan, no. I am not feeding on you.” He says while pushing my hand away.

“So, you would rather go out and leave me here alone with Stefan?” I ask pointedly.

“No,” he says and hangs his head slightly.

“Just this once. You can figure something out after. Don’t ruin this moment.” I say and put my wrist can to his mouths. He looks at me nervously before he took my wrist and gently bites it. I flinch a little, but it soon became an enjoyable feeling. It wasn’t very long before he pulls back and looks at me. I smile up at him before kissing him again. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me. “Don’t be afraid to love me.”

After the little make-out session with Damon, the rest of the day went by relatively uneventful. We stayed up in his room to avoid Stefan and Damon would sneak down every so often and bring me up some food and something to drink. There was a few time that Stefan would knock on the door and ask to see if I were still alive. After he did that a couple times, I finally walked to the door and answered him, looking him straight in his face as I spoke. “As of right now, I’m still alive, but if you keep bothering us, I’ll be begging him to kill me.” I was given a look of shock before I turned away from him and shut the door in his face. When I looked at Damon he was laughing.

“My little spitfire strikes again,” he says while smirking.

“I got tired of his voice,” I say while laying back down beside him. He wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to him. “So, are we officially an item now?”

“I guess you could say we are,” he says with a small grin, “I want to give you something.” He turns to the bedside table and reaches into the drawer. He pulls out a small, black box and handed it to me. “I want you to wear it all the time, it will keep you from being compelled.”

I open the little box to find a beautiful silver ring with an amber stone with petals inside of it. “It’s beautiful,” I say as I took the ring out of the box and put it on to my finger. I set the box back on the table and kissed him. He smiles into the kiss and wraps his arm around me. I lay my head against his shoulder as I look up at him.

“You know, I am only ever like this when I am with you? Anyone else would have expected me to have killed you by now. You’re different, you change me for the better,” he smiles down at me as he spoke. I smile back as I yawn. “Go to sleep, Tegan. I’ll have a surprise for you when you wake up in the morning,” Damon says while kissing my head.

I slept peacefully that night, a lot more peacefully than I had in a very long time. I felt safe and warm when I was close to Damon.

The next morning I woke up in bed alone. I decided to change out of the clothes I had on from the day before and change into something that was a little more comfortable. After putting on an old t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, I went downstairs and found Damon in the kitchen.

“Good mornings, love,” He says grinning at me.

“Whatever you are making smells really good,” I say while walking up beside him.

“Bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs, just the way you like them.” He says smiling and kisses me on the cheek. “I also have some orange juice for you. It’s in the fridge.”

I smile while walking over to the fridge. “You know that orange juice is my favorite,” I say as I take the container out of the fridge. “Why is it such a dark color?” I ask when I see it.

“Oh, um... it’s a home recipe for mine. It will help you heal faster,” Damon says without looking at me. I gave him an odd look before ignoring it and pouring myself a glass. I was surprised by how good it tasted.

“What is in this?” I ask as I lean against the counter and set the cup on beside me.

“That’s a secret for me to know, and for you to wonder about,” he says while smirking.

I laugh before I saw the bruises that were on my arms were now gone. “How is that possible?” I ask in awe.

“How is me being alive possible?” He asks while laughing.

I hug him before he said that the food was done and we began to eat while making small talk.

[BC] ———•••———

Later that day, Stefan had come home and he did not look happy. I was sitting on the couch when he stormed in and went straight over to where Damon had kept his alcohol.

“Stefan, are you alright?” I ask him from the spot I was sitting at.

He didn’t say anything as he poured himself a drink.

“Stefan?” I say as I stood up and touched his shoulder.

“Don’t touch me,” he snapped as he pushed me away from him.

Everything had slowed down as I saw Damon walk into the room and yell my name. I had tripped when he had pushed me and I tried to turn around to catch myself but it only causes me to hit my head off of the corner of the table. Damon was suddenly at my side as I cried out in pain at the pain that had shot through my temple.

“Tegan, hey, it’s alright,” Damon says as he picks me up and carries me to the couch, ignoring Stefan’s apologies. Damon then bit his wrist and put it in my mouth. I pushed his arm away as I thought he was insane and spit the blood out that had gone into my mouth. I felt blood dripping down my cheek as my vision blurred.

“Tegan, please, it will heal you,” he pleads but I still refuse. “Tegan, come on, you’re bleeding way too much,” he says as he continues to beg me. I shook my head in protest as my vision blurred even more before I felt myself slipping from consciousness.

“No. Tegan, no,” I heard before there was nothing.

[BC] ———•••———

Third Person

[BC] ———•••———

Damon laid his head on Tegan’s chest as he heard her heart stop beating. He started to cry before anger overtook him. He turned to Stefan before he started yelling at him.

“This is all your fault. If you hadn’t have pushed her, she would still be fine now. If you hadn’t had came in here pissed off, she would have asked you what was wrong and she wouldn’t be in transition now,” He snaps as he pushes Stefan back.

The look on Stefan’s face dropped, even more, when he heard that. “You gave her blood?” He asks him shocked. “I thought my she wouldn’t take it.”

“It was in her orange juice this morning, because I couldn’t bear seeing the bruises on her any longer. Now you’ve killed her.” Damon pushes him again.

“Damon, please, I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t realize it was her,” Stefan says as he tried to get his brother to calm down.

“You killed the one person that gave me humanity. She probably won’t forgive me now,” He pushes him again and he was now up against a wall.

“Damon, please. You know that I didn’t mean to hurt her. You’re overreacting,” Stefan says to him and Damon gets a dark smirk on his face.

“Didn’t you give Elena your blood today? How would you feel if something were to happen to her?” Damon took off before Stefan could stop him, but instead of going to Elena’s, he waited until Stefan was out of the house to save Elena before he went back in to be with Tegan. He picked her up and carried her up to their room before setting her down on the bed

He pulled up a chair beside her as he started to wait for her to wake up. She laid there peacefully while he stroked her hair. The time he waited was unbearable and he stayed there the whole time. He didn’t want her to wake up alone. He knew she would be afraid one she woke up.

He was holding her hand once he realized that she still had the vervain ring on and quickly took it off knowing that it would cause her pain when she walks up. He patiently sat there for hours before he felt her hand grip his.

———•••———

Tegan

———•••———

“Damon,” I spoke, my voice quivering.

“I’m right here, love,” I hear from beside me and I look to see Damon beside me. He looked as is he had been crying.

“Damon, what happened?” I ask in some sort of shock as I look around. My gums were hurting as I was also hungry.

“You died with my blood in your system. You’re in the transition to becoming a vampire,” Damon says quietly as he looked at me.

“I... I never drank your blood though,” I say confused.

“It was in your orange juice, it was to just help with your bruises. You’re going to have to make a choice,” he says as he lays his head on the bed while holding my hand.

“I’m becoming a vampire?” I ask in shock. “No, it’s too soon. I can’t yet.” I look down at him. “What choice do I have to make?”

“Either to finish the transition by feeding on a human or die,” he mumbles against the bed sheets.

I let out a small shriek as I start to cry. “No, no, no. It’s too soon. This wasn’t supposed to happen this soon,” I say and I felt Damon’s arms wrap around me. I continue to cry as I lay my head against his chest.

“Shh, Tegan it will be fine. I’ll be right by your side with whatever choice you make,” he says trying to comfort me as he strokes my hair.

“I don’t want to die, Damon,” I continue to cry as I buried my face against his chest.

“You’re not going to die,” he mumbles against my head. I felt him pick me up and carry me somewhere but I couldn’t see because my head was still against his chest. After a while, I heard him talking before he stood me on the ground. “Love, you’re going to have to feed,” he says quietly and I look up at him. “I know you don’t want to hurt anyone that doesn’t deserve it but this man does.” I look over to see a man standing still, not saying anything.

“What did he do?” I ask my voice barely a whisper.

“He molested his own daughter,” He tells me, which sparked a fire deep in me, before he took my hand, leading me up to him. “I compelled him so that he won’t move or make any noise. He will forget everything afterward, if he is still alive.”

“Do I have fangs?” I ask him a little confused.

Damon grins a little before speaking. “No, you won’t have fangs until you complete the transition. I will bite him first so that you are able to feed.” I nod and he walks up to the man, moving his head to the side before he bites into his neck. “Okay, feed as much as you need to. He won’t be missed by anyone.” He takes my hand and guides me even closer.

The closer that I got the more that the hunger burning inside of me grew. Once I saw the blood, it was as if I couldn’t control myself and I lunged at the man, my dull teeth sinking into his neck. I heard him gasp, but other than that, he was silent.

“If you don’t want to kill him, you are going to have to stop soon,” Damon says but I ignore him and bite even harder into his neck. I felt the man go limp before I let him fall to the ground. I started to feel a pain in my gums that felt as if something was trying to rip through them. I gasp at the pain and back up against Damon. “Hey, it’s alright. Calm down,” He says in a soothing tone as he wraps his arms around me. “It’s just your fangs, don’t worry. Let’s get you back home and get you cleaned up.” He picks me up again, leaving the man where I had dropped him. He carries me back through the woods until we were back at the house where Stefan was sitting on the living room couch.

He looked up when he heard the door open and saw us walk inside. “Tegan, I’m so sorry,” He says walking up to me. “Wait,” he says once he sees me, “you completed the transition didn’t you?” Damon moves in front of me and I stay back, afraid of him.

“She didn’t want to die,” Damon says. “I let her choose and she chose not to die.”

Stefan tried to move near me again and Damon blocked his way.

“Stay away from me,” I say grabbing Damon’s shirt as if it would protect me, although I knew the man in it would.

“Tegan, please. I never meant to hurt you,” Stefan begs me.

“The last man that said that to me ended up abusing me for six years after,” I say and Damon takes my hand and pulls me around Stefan and up the stairs to our room. He locked the door as soon as we were inside.

He turned to me and took my face in his hands. “He’s not going to hurt you Tegan. He won’t touch you,” he says before kissing me. I lean into the kiss and wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him even harder. I felt him grin into the kiss until he eventually pulled back and sat down on the bed, pulling me into his lap. “Easy there,” he grins, ”your emotions are amplified right now. And you need to wear this bracelet all the time.” He says referring to the one he gave me.

“I always to Damon,” I say looking up at him.

“The blue charm on there is a daylight charm. That how you’ll be able to go outside during the day, otherwise The sun will burn you. I had it made just in case anything would ever happen and I guess it was a good call,” he says with an arm wrapped around my waist. I smile at Damon and lean my head against his chest. He smiles before moving so that he was laying down and was stroking me hard. “Don’t you worry your pretty little mind, love. You’ll be safe and sound with me from now on,” he whispers.