Page 5 of Messy AF
“Falling asleep suddenly and without control?”
That shy smile returned, and he dipped his head again. “Exactly.”
I mirrored his nod. Although inconvenient and frustrating, his symptoms sounded pretty standard. On their own, they wouldn’t hurt him. Instead, the danger exist in the unpredictability of the attacks, leading to falls at the wrong time or in the wrong place.
Judging by the fading bruise on his cheek and the abrasion near his hairline, that had already happened more than once.
“So, what can I do to help?” I asked.
Head bent, hands clutched together in his lap, he stayed quiet for a long time, but I didn’t interrupt or prompt him. He had been thorough about his expectations in his request form, but I wanted to hear it from him without the formal polish.
Eventually, he took a deep breath and lifted his head to meet my gaze. “Well, I mostly need someone here to make sure I don’t set the house on fire, or maybe call an ambulance if I accidentally break myself.”
I wondered if he realized he had just asked for the bare minimum. From the guilty look on his face, likely not.
“Okay, what else?”
“Maybe cooking?” He sank back into the cushions and bit his bottom lip. “I have a housekeeper who comes once a month, and I can manage picking up after myself,” he hurried to add. “Um, checking the mail hasn’t gone so well in the past. You don’t even have to stay overnight if that’s too much.”
Every word out of his mouth—coupled with a tone that suggested he considered his needs too selfish—broke my fucking heart. He was clearly struggling, barely holding it together, and at actual risk of serious injury, and he still worried he hadn’t met some imaginary threshold that warranted help.
“Do you sleepwalk?”
His eyes rounded, and his mouth dropped open into a little O. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so.”
“If you’re comfortable with me staying here, I think it would be better if you had someone with you around the clock until the effects wear off.”
“Yes, of course. That’s fine.” The words rushed out, tumbling over one another, and he sat up, leaning toward me. “I have a guestroom with a private ensuite. I promise I won’t bother you unless—”
“You can bother me for anything. Even if it’s just to bring you a glass of water.” I quirked one side of my mouth into a smile and gentled my voice. “That’s why I’m here. Got it?”
Gods, he looked so sweet when he smiled, and the uncertainty that tainted his fresh scent faded just a little.
“Got it. Thank you.”
“So, do we have a deal?”
He took another deep breath and let it out in a rush before shoving his hand toward me. “Deal.”
I hesitated briefly, a subtle pause he wouldn’t have noticed. Though braced this time, I still tensed as a wave of crackling heat rushed up my arm from the contact.
I believed in fate to a certain degree, but I also subscribed to the idea that everyone walked their own path, made their own choices. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think that his request landing in my inbox had been no accident or coincidence.
I didn’t know why or how, but instinct told me I had been led here for a reason. To this moment. To this person.
And instead of questioning it, I had the strangest conviction that I was exactly where I was meant to be.
three
~ Tobias ~
Seatedinmyfavoritespot on the sofa, laptop perched on my thighs, I reread the same sentence for the third time. And again, the words blended together, letters seemingly rearranging themselves into a jumble of nonsense.
Huffing in frustration, I rubbed my eyes and tapped my cheeks roughly, trying to shake myself out of the fog that had settled over me. It didn’t work. My brain still felt like scrambled eggs.
The constant fatigue probably didn’t help, but this particular problem didn’t stem from distractions or a lack of concentration. I literally couldn’t make sense of the words in front of me, as if my brain had hung an “Out to Lunch” sign and logged offline for the foreseeable future.
Closing my laptop with an irritated grunt, I set it aside and shoved to my feet. A mistake, and one I should have known better than to make.
