He drew in a deep breath, then let it out. “You’re exhausted,” he said gently. “You should take a nap, and I’ll make you some food for when you wake up.”
The tingles came back, and tears pushed against the back of my eyes. I blinked rapidly to keep them from spilling. I didn’t need to be any more of an emotional mess than was strictly necessary.
“You don’t have to do that,” I murmured, already feeling guilty.
“I know I don’t,” he replied, his tone light. “But I’m going to do it anyway, and I’ll feel bad if you don’t eat it.”
I blinked. “Um.”
“Not eating the food made for you by a Wisconsinite is basically a mortal insult,” he informed me, hazel eyes sparkling and that crooked half-smile on his lips that I had thought of more times than I could count since he’d left.
“Uh… okay?” I wasn’t really capable of complex speech anymore.
“Assuming, of course, that it isn’t going to kill you. No dairy, no pork, no beef, right?”
“Yeah.” My cheeks were flushed now under my beard. Because not only was Elliot going to make me food, he’d remembered what I could and couldn’t eat.
“I’ve got turkey, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles… And chips. That all okay?”
“As long as the chips aren’t cheese, yeah.”
He nodded. “Let me show you where your room is—and the bathroom, so you can shower when you wake up.”
“Because I’m rank,” I mumbled, my face flaming. I was. I’d just spent the better part of the last 24 hours in my car. Maybe like 22.
“Because showering makes you feel like a functional person after a two-day drive and a nap,” he retorted. “Come on.”
He led the way down the hall, bringing me to a moderate-sized room with a full bed and a worn desk. The bed had an old quilt, the colors faded, but still beautiful. “Here you are,” he told me. “Get a few hours’ sleep. Bathroom is across the hall.”
I nodded, stepping into the room. “Thanks,” I managed, speaking around both exhaustion and emotion.
Elliot nodded, the silver in his ears glinting a little in the light from the window. “No problem.”
“For everything,” I said, turning away, embarrassed.
When he replied, his voice was gentle. “Get some sleep, Seth.”
I’d sleptfor four hours, waking up groggy and sore, the bitter aftertaste of the coffee I’d all-but-mainlined all morning still in my mouth. I pushed myself up, swinging my legs off the side of the bed with a soft groan, the heels of my hands pressed against my eyes, which had that horrible still-have-my-contacts-in feeling.
I felt like shit.
I’m sure I looked even worse.
I’d needed the sleep, though. And now I definitely needed that shower Elliot had mentioned earlier.
The bathroom was across the hall, and I nervously checked to see if Elliot was around before I hurried across in my filthy t-shirt and shorts. I hadn’t bothered with any sort of sleepwear, just stripping down to underwear and t-shirt.
I snagged the duffel Elliot had left just inside the guest room door—it had a couple sets of clothes, all my toiletries, and my epipens, just in case. Not that I thought I was going to need those in the bathroom.
Elliot had been right. The shower made me feel like an actual, semi-functional—well, barely functional—person. Being clean made me feel like I could handle complex problems like properly greeting Elliot and thanking him for his hospitality instead of making apologetic grunting sounds. I might well have embarrassed myself, but I was going to act like an adult and be helpful. It was the least I could do, after all.
I opened the bathroom door and immediately smelled something amazing—roasting chicken, I thought. And something both sweet and spicy. I could also smell garlic, and maybe potatoes?
I’d been promised a turkey sandwich, but this was much more elaborate than that. Unless, of course, he was cooking for himself and had made a turkey sandwich for me. Which, okay, would have been kind of a dick thing to do—and Elliot didn’t strike me as a dick—but either way I was getting free food out of it, so even if hehaddone that, I couldn’t really complain.
I’d dressed myself in jeans and one of my old VCU Forensics t-shirts, then I dropped my duffel back in the guest room and made my way toward the kitchen by following the smells.
Elliot was tossing something in a big metal bowl, but he looked up and gave me a crooked smile when I walked in. “Hey. Better?”
