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He hesitated a moment before he said, “I won’t leave.”
I nodded and swallowed again. Ash turned away from the door, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. I took a moment to pull myself together. It was just the dream. It had terrified me, and now everything felt scary, but there was no need to worry. Ash was here, and I was okay.
I was okay.
I was okay.
I got out of bed and walked across the creaky floor. I stepped out of the bedroom and crept toward the kitchen.
Ash hadn’t lit any candles, only stoked a fire in the stove. The crackling behind me made me turn, and I realized he’d lit the fire, too.
He’d told me how to do it when he’d built that fire, but when I’d come back at nightfall, I hadn’t known what to do, so I’d left it. The warmth that radiated from the fireplace now was soothing.
I watched Ash move around the small kitchen as he put water on the stove to boil. He prepared two cups with tea leaves.
“What kind of tea is that?” I asked.
“It’s nothing you’ll know,” he said. “It’s an herbal mix that helps for nerves, for panic. The drya—some of my friends use it and it helps a lot.”
I nodded. “My sister and I always have a cup of tea together when I get home from work.”
“Are you and your sister close?” Ash asked.
“Yeah. We’ve always been close, but since my parents died, we’ve been closer than ever. It’s just the two of us, so we stick together, you know?”
Ash didn’t answer me. He leaned his large form against the counter, powerful arms crossed over his broad chest. He watched me with his eyes that seemed to glow from the fire beneath the stove. Or was it just what his eyes looked like?
I shook off the thought. No one’s eyes glowed like that. It was a trick of the light, or my nightmare was making me see things that weren’t real.
When the water boiled, Ash poured the hot water into two cups and stirred it with a wooden spoon. He scooped out the leaves again instead of using a strainer, and finally, he offered me one cup.
“Come,” he said.
He led me to the living area. I perched on the edge of one of the crude couches. They were nothing more than log squares with cushions on them that seemed to be stuffed with straw.
Ash didn’t sit on a couch. Instead, he folded himself and sat on the floor. A fur rug had been laid out in front of the fire. He sipped his tea.
I followed his lead and sat down on the floor, too. It was closer to the fire, warmer and more comfortable. There were no formalities.
I sipped my tea. It tasted strange, but it wasn’t altogether horrible. The warmth flowed through my body, defrosting me from the inside, and after a couple of sips, I felt the tension in my body bleed out, the remnants of fear retreat. I took a deep, shuddering breath.
“You’re okay,” Ash said.
I nodded. “I am.” This time, I meant it. I didn’t know what kind of tea this was, but it had made me feel better. I felt like the claws of the nightmare had finally let go of me.
“Everything feels so surreal out here,” I said. “It feels like I’m stuck in a dream.”
“A dream?” Ash asked.
I nodded. “It just feels like I’m stuck in a different reality.” I shook my head. “It sounds silly.”
Ash didn’t answer me. He only watched me with his deep blue eyes. I glanced at him, and something inside me twisted and turned. I was drawn to Ash in a way I’d never been drawn to anyone, and if I wasn’t careful, I could fall into those eyes.
And once I fell, I knew I would fall forever.
I sipped my tea, and the world seemed to dim all around me. It faded until I felt like we were caught in a bubble. We didn’t talk much, but we didn’t have to. It was good just to sit together. I felt safe with Ash. Nothing would get me as long as he was here.
The night around us stretched thin, and the dreamlike feeling intensified.
