Page 150 of As the World Falls

“I said I’m fine, James. I just need a good soak, and I’ll be brand new again for the day.”

I tilt my head as I watch her. “You don’t have any more plans for the day, right?”

She shrugs. “I wanted to go to the hiking trails behind my apartment and get a workout in. I used to walk there a lot back when I moved in.”

“Are you serious? No. You’re not in any shape to work out, let alone walk trails in the cold. You’ll lose your breath.”

“I don’t remember asking you,” she sternly challenges.

“I don’t remember either, which is funny because you should be. You just had surgery two weeks ago. You’re not even approved to work out yet.”

“It’s just a walk. I’ll be fine. I want to be out in nature. It’s healing for me.”

“We’ll take a walk in the maze then.”

She tears her gaze away. “I don’t want to go in there right now.”

I nod in understanding. “Wait at least one more week, and I’ll take you to the trails myself for a walk. Just not today. Please.”

She sighs. “Fine. Whatever.”

I nod again, still not feeling satisfied even though she agreed. “I’m going to head back downstairs. I have a little bit of work to catch up on. Do you need anything?”

“Nope,” she says with a bite to her tone.

I press my lips together hard, then leave. I head back downstairs, sit back on the sofa, and open my book again, but I don't read it. Anxiety slams into me full force again like I knew it would, and I sit just there and fight against it like I’ve been doing every day for the last two weeks.

An hour later, I head back upstairs to check on her when I don’t hear her come back down or make any noise of life, for that matter.

When I walked into the room, I found her passed out in bed with just her bath towel wrapped around her body.

I shut the door quietly and go to her, gently pulling the towel from her body and then dragging the blankets over her. I can’t help but look at her, but when I do, my eyes immediately snag onto her injury once more. I finish covering her with the blanket just as she starts squirming in the bed, making inaudible sounds of distress.

Was she having a nightmare?

She all but confirms it when she starts violently kicking her feet in the bed like she’s trying to run away and starts murmuring full words likestopandplease.

“Cecilia,” I say gently, leaning down to shake her shoulders. She doesn’t wake, so I call her name again and shake her a little harder until her eyes finally pop open.

She stares at me like she doesn’t know if I’m real until finally, she leans up and lets out a heavy breath.

“You were having a nightmare,” I tell her.

“I gathered that,” she says, her voice sounding exhausted.

“Are you alright?”

“God, I wish you’d quit asking me that,” she groans.

“I never will so get over it,” I say with an edge to my tone. I didn’t understand why my concern annoyed her so badly, but she needed to deal with it already.

She pulls the blanket higher up her chest like a shield from me, and the act raises my defenses. “What is it?” I ask her.

“I don’t know. Things just… don’t feel right between us lately.”

“Well, just two weeks ago, a lot of things got screwed up. You almost died. It’s not going to feel normal right away.”

“I know that, but I guess I just thought we’d be closer or something, but it feels like you’re so far away anymore.”

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