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I let out a soft rush of air as I realized thatforward If he wanted to live, if he wanted others to live, he needed to be good, he needed to listen and do as he was told

I held him until he was the one to pull back He wiped at his face but refused to look atwith me?”

I used ,” I said softly His eyes shifted to aze as I trailed my thumb over the softness of his lips He was aI’d ever seen

And even more off-limits to me

I needed to remember that and I needed to make this about him and not my ill-timed bout of desire

“Aleks, have you ever talked to someone about what happened to you?”

He see about because he dropped his eyes and then carefully pulled away fro forward in the seat He shook his head but said nothing

“Do you knohat PTSD is?” I asked

That got his attention

“Like what the soldiers go through when they co in surprise “I… I don’t have that They see terrible things… they’re forced to do terrible things Magnus said that they can’t always relate to civ… civ…”

“Civilian life,” I said

He nodded

“Magnus says that their minds play tricks on them when they come home but that it isn’t their fault and it’s okay for them to ask for help”