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“Scratch wants to stay watch outside the door.”
It’s not that surprising given how Scratch has been since they’ve been out here, but it makes me feel a little sad all the same. I’ve connected so easily with his brothers. It feels like there’s a wall up between us, and I don’t know how to get around it.
“Scar is telling him the battle is over. That we no longer have an enemy to defeat.”
“Scratch wants to remain cautious. Scar is reminding him he is the leader, and his word is final.”
Oh, Goddess. He really doesn’t want to be here.
I don’t think my heart can handle this.
Scratch sits down on the edge of the blankets by the side of the wall.
He’s closer to the door than he is to me, and his attention stays straight ahead. If the drapes were open, it might look like he’s staring out of the window. Considering they’re closed, I know he’s not really looking at anything. He’s just trying not to be present.
Scar shakes his head as he sits down at my right side.
I need to do something, and I’m not sure what.
It takes a few moments of sitting around feeling awkward before I get to my feet.
I move to Scratch’s side and sit down next to him, on the cold, hard floor so I’m closer to the door than he is. My butt goes numb pretty fast, and he turns his head slightly, looking like he’s frowning.
“It’s hard to feel alone,” I tell him, as I put a hand around his arm and lean my head against his soft, furry shoulder. I don’t look to see if he is still staring at the wall. I just sit with him, touching him.
His body feels tense, his posture rigid, until I’ve been lying against him for a while, clinging to him as if he’s a life-preserver and I’d drown without him.
I’m starting to get warm from the heat of his body, and he’s beginning to relax.
“I’m still here,” I tell him, stifling a yawn and fighting the urge to nod off.
It would be kind of weird if I actually brought them in here to sleep.
Then again, all of us were up all night …
He has me in his arms when I wake up goddess only knows how much later because I’m drooling.
Well, that’s embarrassing, though he doesn’t seem to mind.
I wipe at my mouth one-handed, clinging to him with the other.
“Stay close to me,” I plead with him. “Please?”
I see his lips move, but I can’t tell what he’s saying.
My eyelids blink closed, and I let myself fall asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Scratch
Litaissweeterthanany of us deserve. She came and sat with me after I acted like a jerk. Having her snuggle up against me until she fell asleep was a strange kind of wonderful, and when her hands grasped at my fur and she told me to stay close when she was barely conscious, it was like a wish come true.
She’s stronger than any of us.
She knows who she is, and she has the biggest heart of anyone I know.
I may not know a lot of people, but the ones I do have more heart than the rest of this world.
