Page 68 of Hearts on the Mend

Cassie

The wind has died down when I wake up on the floor beside the couch. There aren’t enough blankets in the world to make up for the fact I’ve been sleeping on the floor for the past…

Well, I don’t know how long. The clock beneath the TV is still off, and everything is dark. I was paranoid about sleeping with candles burning, so Nolan made an emergency light with a flashlight and a gallon of water. It’s sitting out in the hallway, just beside the doorway in case Ruby wakes up and needs to pee.

Then I hear it… that soft, unsettling sound that must have woken me.

I swallow, my pulse racing. Wrapping a blanket around me, I tiptoe down the hallway, stopping in the kitchen to be sure. The steady warmth of the woodstove leaks into the spare room. His door is cracked, so I push through.

“Nolan,” I whisper.

His body is unnaturally stiff, his fists clenched into the blankets as a pained whimper escapes his throat.

“Hey,” I say a little louder this time.

His breathing is labored. I creep closer. Sweat beads along his forehead.

“Nolan, baby, wake up.”

His eyes snap open before the blush rises to my cheeks. Baby?

He tries to sit up but falls back against his pillow, his body still stiff, probably half stuck in reality.

“It’s okay. Everything is okay.” I sit down on the edge of the mattress. My hand hovers above the blanket, but I’m too chicken to touch him. “You were having a nightmare.”

He coughs, clearing his throat, and twists, attempting to sit up again. “Why… you’re okay?”

I press my lips into a tight line, nodding. I’m falling apart into a thousand pieces, ready to throw myself at the feet of this man. But I’m not ready to share that. Not sure what’s next or what he needs, but for right now, I can sit here.

The kitten butts its head against my shin, its long tail curling around my calf. I scoop it up, then nuzzle it close. Sure, I’m using it as a shield, but it’s cute. No one’s going to hold that against me.

It’s inky black in his small room, the only light leaking is in from the hallway. The corner of the bed sags where I sit. His feet hang over the edge, too tall to fit on the mattress, I guess.

He shifts, and the blanket slides off his shoulder.

A maze of twisted flesh, some pink and angry-red mottled scars lining his otherwise smooth back. A year ago, there was nothing there

My hand moves before I tell it to, halfway to his shoulder before I catch myself and snap it back into my lap.

He’s never said a word. Never complained. Guilt twists in my stomach. I should have figured it out.

Nolan blinks a few times, then scrubs his hands over his face before he twists, hiding his back once again.

“Fine,” he grunts. He clears his throat. “I’m fine. You’re warm?”

The kitten squirms, leaps from my hands, and lands on the mattress before it scurries up to perch on Nolan’s head.

“Get down, Ember.”

I arch an eyebrow. “A name?”

“Can’t keep calling it cat,” he says defensively, plucking the kitten off his head and placing it back on the ground. I pretend my gaze isn’t locked on his scars as he twists around again, but he knows. “Reason I’m here in Merritt Point,” he says gruffly.

Nolan collapses against his pillow, slamming his eyes shut.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean… if you’re not comfortable talking about it.”

“It’s hard to talk about.” He swallows. “I probably should have shared earlier, it’s just…I made a bad call and should have trusted my gut. The wind changed too fast and my crew was getting surrounded on this hillside. A friend of mine fell into some ash, and I tried to help. He didn’t make it.”