Humming, Theo nods. “Just sleepy.”
I bite my lip while I decide if I should ask my next question. It seemed to go over well last time, though. “Percentage?”
Theo opens his eyes, and his lips curl into a small smile. “I’m okay. Just truly tired. Maybe forty.”
Considering he said his baseline is rarely fifty, that feels like a win. I nod. “Okay, lie down then, and I’ll be back shortly.”
I nearly hold my breath while waiting to see what he’s gonna do. He could always use this time to go back to his own room. He’s awake. There’s no reason he couldn’t. I don’t think he came in here last night with the purpose of falling asleep.
He surprises me by lying back on the pillow and pulling the blanket up around his face, nearly burying it. Letting out a quiet breath, he closes his eyes.
My heart thumps hard, butterflies taking over my stomach.
Ignoring that, I climb out of bed carefully so I don’t disturb Theo and slip a pair of sweats on over my shorts, then pull on a pair of socks and head downstairs.
I make Lila’s bottle in the dark, yawning my head off the entire time. I’ll be glad to go back to bed. This shit is for the birds. I love Lila, but this is wearing me down. I feel bad for my mom, but she won’t be getting any grandkids from me. Pass.
The walk to the barn is quick, and when I step inside and go into Lila’s enclosure, she greets me with a headbutt to the shin. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m late.”
She headbutts me again, and even though I’m tired, I can’t help but laugh. When I drop into the hay, she makes quick workof crawling into my lap, and I pop the bottle into her mouth just as quickly.
She devours it in almost record time. “Yes, you’re such a hungry girl, huh? So mistreated.”
She stares up at me, her little goat eyes taking me in, and I grin as I rub her ear between my finger and thumb. “Sweet girl. I love you, but I’ll be glad when you’re done with bottle feeds.”
Her ears twitch in what I’ve got to assume is agreement. When she’s curled up in the hay, her belly full, I go back inside. After rinsing the bottle, I trudge my way up the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky step halfway up.
Pushing the door to my room open, I’m relieved to see Theo asleep right where I left him, still curled into my blankets. He looks cozy and warm and safe.
I’m not stupid. I know there’s nothing I can do for his depression. And I know that he’s leaving soon. But I enjoy having him in my bed and at my home; at least I can make sure he’s eating and drinking.
Fuck. I’m so in over my head. I barely know him. It makes absolutely no sense. Not even a little bit. I’m not usually the type to believe in fate, but something in me feels like my soul already knows his.
Slipping my sweats back down my legs, I crawl into bed beside him, moving slowly so I don’t jostle him. It doesn’t matter. When the bed shifts, he whimpers in what sounds like fear, his eyebrows drawing together, creating the most adorable little worry line between them.
“Shhh,” I whisper. “Just me.”
His body relaxes at the sound of my voice, and my heart pounds against my rib cage. “Okay.”
I roll onto my side to face him, and when I’m settled, one of his eyes opens for just a second before closing again. His handcomes out from under the blanket, and he wraps it around my wrist where it’s resting on the bed between us.
I don’t move. Hell, I barely even breathe. Shifting just enough to get comfortable without pulling my arm from his grasp, I close my eyes and try to fall back asleep.
WhenIwakeup,the sun is shining through my windows, and I sit up in a panic. Fuck, I guess I forgot to set an alarm. Lila must be starving.
I damn near jump out of bed, pausing only when Theo says my name. My breath catches when I look at him. He’s sleep-mussed and beautiful, his dark hair sticking up in seven different directions and his eyes sleepy and warm.
“I’ve gotta feed Lila,” I say, so I don’t fuck up and say something stupid instead.
“She’s okay. I took care of her already.” He shrugs, looking away from me. “I mean, she needs her morning feed, but I did the 3:00 a.m. one.”
“You…” I cock my head. “You did what?”
He goes pale. “Was I not supposed to?”
Fuck. “No, I mean… Yes. You’re fine. You can definitely feed her. I just—” I stop talking, at a loss for words.
He shrugs, lips turning up in a smile. “Your alarm was going off, and it woke me, so I got up and fed her.”
