“What if you wanted to?”
“Then when I got cold, I’d wake up and go to bed.”
“I’m cold now.”
“What would you have me do, Emmalyn?”
“We need blankets out here.”
“Noted. But there aren’t any now.”
“But I’m cold now.”
Barron didn’t even glance at her. He just held up his arm, indicating that she could snuggle close if she was cold enough to want to take advantage of his warmth.
Emmalyn considered just going to grab a blanket from the bedroom, but in reality, all she really wanted was to be close to Barron. She wanted a break from being on alert all the time. Sighing, she scooted closer, tucked herself under his arm and leaned against his body, her head on his chest as he accommodated her, his arm tucking her in and draping over her. A few minutes later, she fidgeted again, bringing her feet out from beneath herself and tucking her toes under his leg.
“Finished now?” he asked, scowling at her incessant moving and fidgeting.
“Kind of,” she answered. Then a familiar theme song began to play on the television capturing her attention. “Oh! I love this show! It started slow, but I can’t stop watching now!”
“I know.”
“How would you know that?” she asked.
Barron turned his head toward her as she looked up at him from her place with her head on his chest. “Just because I appeared to be ignoring you, doesn’t mean I was ignoring you.”
“Ahhh, couldn’t stay away, huh?”
“Never could,” he admitted. On the screen one of half a dozen ghosts confined to a historic manor home followed the young manor owner around insisting she talk to him as she valiantly tried to ignore the ghost because she was surrounded by other humans who couldn’t see the ghosts. “Hush, now. I’m watching my show,” he chided.
~~~
Emmalyn came awake, startled, her heart pounding, arms flailing.
“Hey, hey, hey! It’s okay!” Barron half-shouted, his voice concerned as he tried to soothe her.
She struggled for just a few more moments, before recognition kicked in. His scent, his voice, his bedroom. Though it was dark, she only need blink a few times and her nighttime vision kicked in. “Barron.”
“I got you. You’re in our bed. You’re safe.”
She nodded as she forced her body to lie back down. She closed her eyes, and gripped the covers with her fists where they stretched across her hips. Her chest still moved visibly with the force of her breaths as she tried to calm herself.
“What scared you so much?” he asked, lying on his side and facing her.
She shook her head. “I just, I’m not used to feeling anyone lying beside me. I felt someone there and panicked.”
“I’m sorry. I should have awakened you when I brought you to bed.”
“It’s not your fault I’m so screwed up.”
“You’re not screwed up. Just stuck in fight or flight mode. You’ll move past it eventually.”
She nodded again.
“Tell you what, I’ll go sleep on the sofa. I don’t want to wake you like that again.”
Emmalyn reached out, her hand gripping his wrist. “Please don’t. I don’t want to be alone.”
