Simon leaned forward and put a lock of hair that she missed behind her ear. “In some ways,” he said absently.
Nora shuddered at his touch, unsure of the mixed feelings it evoked and the arousal that started to happen.She looked away.Get a grip, Nora.
Simon picked up the water and the ration bar that he had placed on the nightstand when he first came in. He brought them close to her, hopeful as he held them up. “You need to eat, Nora.”
Nora frowned at the bar, stomach churning, but took the cup of water. She slowly started to sip it while the sun from the window outside shone behind Simon, lighting up the metal components on his arm. He never bothered to replace his shirt either after giving it to Tilly to use, sitting only in his skintight jumpsuit and the pants Nora had sewn for him.I’ll need to wash that shirt once I get up.Her nose wrinkled.Got a lot to wash, actually.
He was sitting so close to her, gazing at her so intently that she gulped the water, causing her to choke and briefly cough. Every angle of him, sculpted perfectly, was on display without his shirt on. Simon still held out the bar to her, and even shook it slightly.
Nora gently pushed it away. “Later, okay?”
She watched Simon’s brow furrow as his hand lowered to his side. He placed the bar on the nightstand and took the cup of water back into his hands for her instead.
His care for her, her illness, Tilly still singing the sweet nursery rhymes to herself in the other room, her confusing feelings toward him—it all made her take a deep shuddering breath and lean forward to tug on her hair with a shaky hand. That, plus telling him last night a bit about her past. Suddenly, it was all too much.It’s all too much. A tear began to roll down Nora’s cheek.
Chapter twenty-seven
Simon
SimonscootedclosertoNora. He put the water on the bedside table, the liquid splashing a bit in his haste. It startled him to see tears on Nora’s face.Why is she crying?It startled him even more that he cared about seeing tears on her face.
He was enjoying feeling her reactions to him touching her. The jolts of heat that came whenever he connected. Simon knew he wasn’t imagining her response anymore, as in tune with human arousal as he was. He loved making those feelings present in her. Which is why her tears now were even more startling. It pushed his small teasing touches and the satisfying reactions he was getting from her out of his mind.
He spoke in his most soothing tone, reaching for her, attempting to pull her frame into his arms. Was this what instincts were in humans? “What’s wrong, Nora? We got a lot done yesterday. That should make you happy.”
But Nora shook her head and seemed to cry even harder as she pushed away on his chest, breaking the contact. Simon let her go easily, even as his arms ached to comfort her.
Nora wiped at her eyes. “I’ll be okay Simon. I just need a moment. It’s just this stomach bug and on top of it I’m about to start my . . .” She shook her head and didn’t finish the sentence. “I’ll be better tomorrow.”
He resisted reaching for her again even as his neural net longed to hold her. “Why are you crying so hard?”
“I don’t know. I just . . . everything is just so unfair. I feel like I’m fighting nature and heaven’s will to just stay alive. And for what purpose? I don’t even know why I’m struggling so hard. If I didn’t have Tilly I . . . probably wouldn’t see the point in living at all.”
A sharp slice of fear coated his processors at her words. He moved to sit closer to her, taking her hand and holding it in his own. He put as much feeling into his words as he could. “Don’t say that, Nora. The world is better with you in it.”
Nora scoffed, her voice thick with tears as her broken brown eyes found his. “Is it really? Because Simon, I gotta tell you. To me, it really doesn’t seem like the world gives two shits if I’m here or not.”
Simon watched as the tears rolled down her cheeks. He tentatively reached out a hand and touched her knee. “My world is better with you in it. And so is Tilly’s.”
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Nora leaned forward, pulling her knees close, and began to sob into them even harder, muffling her noises in her arms. Simon was at a loss. He felt awful watching her. He wanted her sorrow to stop.What do I say?He awkwardly patted her back, resisting the instinct to pull her close again since she had pushed him away before.
“Mama? What’s wrong?” Tilly asked, coming into the room. Her eyes were open and worried. She was gripping one of her dolls close to her chest.
Simon watched as Nora seemed to compose herself almost immediately, wiping her eyes on her shirt and taking deep breaths before mustering a forced smile. “Just feeling crummy. You feeling better now?”
“Uh huh, but I’m not real hungry.”
She wiped her face again in her arms, her cheeks still a ruddy red. “Me neither. That’s okay; you drink some water?”
Tilly nodded, a frown still on her face. “You wanna color with me?”
“Yeah, baby.”
Simon watched Nora wipe her eyes again as Tilly left and brought back some coloring pages and her chalkboard to color on. Nora took one from her, a picture of a cat, and began to color it in orange patches to match Tatertot sitting on the edge of the bed.
He took one of the coloring pages as well, keeping his eyes trained on Nora, who took the blanket and rubbed the tears from her face even more thoroughly.
She eventually gave a half smile. “Actually, you’re right Simon, everything is looking up. I’m just being stupid. We got so much stuff that we should get a lot of credits for it all even with Max underpaying us.”
