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“Yeah…” I whisper, my voice fading.
He sighs roughly. “Lay down, okay? Get some sleep. You’ve gotta be exhausted.”
Nodding, I realize he’s right. As if his words summoned my fatigue, it rolls in with the force of a freight train, drawing my attention to how heavy my limbs feel. How fuzzy my head feels.
There’s an ache too—radiating through my entire body; one I know will be worse come morning—but right now, it’s still somewhat stifled. Distant.
It’s so dark in here…
Heavy. Oppressing.
It reminds me far too much of that room in Canaan, where they’d shut off the lights, and leave me with nothing but that dreaded intercom. All my senses deprived except for my hearing.
I shudder at the memory, feeling the urge to clamp my hands over my ears, if only to remind myself that Ican.Because I’mnotthere—not strapped down, and unable to block out the noise.
As if sensing where my head went, Nolan says, “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. It’ll be light before you know it.”
“Will you…”
“What?”
I swallow, and manage to rasp, “Lay with me. You…you’ve gotta be tired too.”
At first I’m not sure he heard me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he somehow disappeared altogether. He’s just that still.
But then he murmurs a quiet, barely there, “Yeah,” in that low, grumbly voice of his that sends a chill down my spine. Agoodchill.
I feel him lay next to me, and it’s such tight quarters, there’s no keeping us from touching.
His bare arm presses against mine and I blow out a sigh of relief. Right now, even my misplaced cravings for him can’t touch me. Another ache I’ll have to deal with tomorrow.
He’s so warm…
“Sleep, Sky,” he says in that tight, unreadable voice of his.
And despite how hard I try to stay awake to enjoy this, knowing this closeness can’t possibly last—knowing come light, when we return to the facility, it’ll be just a memory.
For all I know, he’s just being nice right now because he doesn’t feel like he has any other choice. We’re trapped here together after all.
And we nearly died…
My pulse quickens at the reminder.
I shift around, trying to get comfortable.
He sighs, then there’s big, strong hands nudging me onto my side so I’m facing away from him.
“Here,” he grunts, putting an arm under my head. With the other, he curls it around me, holding me to his chest. “Better?”
I nod, but then remember he can’t see me. “Y-yeah.”
Another grunt.
His bicep is surprisingly soft pillowing my cheek. With my ear pressed against his skin, there’s that familiar sort of whooshing in my ears that mingles with the waves coming from outside the cave.
It’s soothing, as is the heavy arm thrown across my waist.
Rolling my lips together, I hunch down, getting comfortable.
