Page 49 of Somnium

A pit formed in Cadi’s stomach as the image of Cuba starving and miserable just because she’d been too stubborn to accept help flashed through her mind. She had always been just fine handling things on her own, she had to be, but as she watched Elias tug the door open, his words from yesterday echoed in her memory.

But what if you didn’t?

“Wait.”

Elias paused in the doorway, turning to face her.

Cadi sighed, holding up the small piece of paper with Sera’s ridiculous idea of instructions. “Sera left what is possibly the world’s least helpful note for how to care for Cuba, and I have no idea where her food is and I don’t want her to starve and I don’t know if she has allergies so I can’t just make her something and I⁠—”

Cadi took a deep breath, cutting off her rambling to voice the only thing that truly mattered in that moment. “Can you help me?”

A gentle smile curved his lips. “Of course.”

Relief flowed through her when he stepped back into the apartment and crossed to stand next to her.

“Safe to say you’ve searched the kitchen?” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching as he eyed the chaos at her feet.

Cadi huffed a laugh. “What was your first clue?”

He shot her a sideways glance, the teasing glint dancing in his eyes stirring something in her belly that nearly made her break out into a fit of giggles. She sucked in a breath and forced down the giddiness threatening to rise up and make her look like a complete fool.

“I get the feeling Sera was in a bit of a cheeky mood when she wrote that note,” he continued, “so I’m guessing the food is somewhere completely illogical. I’ll keep searching down here if you want to check upstairs?”

Cadi nodded, scurrying away toward the metal staircase and taking in a deep pull of fresh air. There was no doubt she needed the help, but with the way her head had already started to swim just from standing so close to him, she knew she was playing a dangerous game.

Sera’s queen-sized bed took up most of the upstairs, though the room had a single nightstand wedged in the corner to the right and a small dresser pressed against the wall to the left. Still, despite the cramped space, it felt remarkably airy, likely due to the massive circular window above the bed and the way its panes flooded the room with natural light.

Cadi ran her hand along the metal railing as she crossed to the bathroom and began to search under the sink and in linen cupboards, but she found only standard, run-of-the-mill bathroom items. She flicked off the light, turning to head back downstairs, then paused, looking back at the massive clawfoot bathtub and its drawn curtain.

Sera wouldn’t …

Cadi stepped back into the bathroom, pulled back the curtain, and let out a groan that echoed against the tiled floors. There, in the middle of the bathtub, was a gigantic plastic bin of dog food.

“Everything okay up there?” Elias called from below.

“Yeah,” Cadi replied over her shoulder. “I found it.”

The sound of footsteps on metal resonated behind her, then Elias appeared at her side and let out a bark of laughter.

“What the fuck, Sera …” he muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. Cadi tracked the movement, only briefly letting herself wonder how soft his hair would feel against her own fingers before turning back to the task at hand.

Stepping forward, she tried to lift the bin out of the tub, but the damn thing didn’t move.

“How the fuck did she even get it up here?” she asked, staring down at the enormous container.

Elias only shrugged.

Cadi laughed, then moved around to one side while Elias fixed his grip on the other. Between the two of them, they had to set it down twice before they even reached the stairs, taking those one at a time to avoid either of them falling to their death.

“Okay, I need to put this down,” Cadi grunted when they reached the kitchen. The bin hit the floor with a solid thunk, pulling Cadi and Elias down with it, and nearly knocking their heads together. Cadi froze, intensely aware of how close he was and how the soft rhythm of his breath washed over her cheek. Slowly, she looked up, her throat going dry when her eyes locked with his, the quiet intensity of his stare paralyzing her. And as she stood there frozen, she couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t moving either.

He held her gaze for a moment longer before clarity returned to his features and he cleared his throat, pushing off the container to take a step back.

“I’ll grab her bowl,” he muttered, running a hand over the back of his neck as he turned around.

Cadi’s breath shook when she finally let it out. She had to get a grip. Resting her hand against the edge of the butcher block counter, she straightened and pivoted into the kitchen.

“Ah, fuck!” she cried, yanking her hand away from the counter as a sharp pain bit into her finger.