Her embrace nearly short-circuits anything else Michael has on his mind. He melts into it, barely noticing the awkward position his body is in and completely unaware of the overcrowded room. One of his arms wraps around her shoulders, behind her neck, and he pulls her close.
Michael’s not sure whether he’s going to cry or be sick or scream or fall asleep. He’s been awake since the night Lee left, outside of handfuls of minutes lost to some state of limbo on the couch or by the radio. His body shivers over hers; it’s hard to even hold himself up anymore. It’s all hard, except for the part where Lee is definitely with him now and she’s touching him and she says she’s okay and Lee doesn’t lie.
“Okay. Okay.” He repeats it like a mantra, along with other babble like Lee’s name and intermittent curse words and blasphemies while the massive flood of adrenaline that had surged through him upon receiving that phone call ebbs away. Soon enough, he’s eased himself down onto the bed more completely (his position still doesn’t look too comfortable, but he lies there like a dead weight).