He shivered. In a voice I could barely hear, he said, “I don’t know what’s happening to me, Sugar. I barely know myself. My thoughts are…dark.” He wrapped his arms around himself and turned away from me. “My dreams are worse.”
I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I knew I needed to support him, no matter what. I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and laid my head on his back. “So, will you please talk to someone?” He nodded, turned then leaned down to tilt my head up and kiss me gently.
When he pulled away, his face was wet with tears. I brushed them away. “We will get through this, Hon. No matter what is going on, I’ll be here for you, and so will Travis and Kait.”
“I know that. It just doesn’t feel like it. I feel like I am in a dark room, with no light, and no way out. Everywhere I look is darkness.”
I shivered. It sounded a lot like where I was in my mind for years after the abuse. “There is a light. I know. I’ve been there, and I found the light eventually.”
Resting his forehead on mine, he whispered, “You are the light, Sugar. You are the only reason I have to keep going.”
Kait was right. I needed to stay with David as much as possible. I pulled him over to the bed, then laid down, tugging him down next to me. “Lay down, Hon, and rest. I will stay here with you for as long as you need.”
He nodded as he laid down and pulled the covers up to his chin. His eyes looked lost as he gazed at me. For once, the grey in them was still and dark. There were black flecks in them that I didn’t remember seeing before. When I laid down next to him, he put his head on my shoulder. I ran my fingers through his hair and hummed an old lullaby my mother used to sing.
It wasn’t very long before he was snoring lightly. I studied his face as he slept. He looked like he had aged years in the last couple of days. There were stress lines around his mouth, and his color was off. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I was damned if I was going to let him go.
A whisper from the door drew my eyes to Kait. He gestured for me to come over, but I would wake David up if I moved, so I shook my head.
Good job with him, Princess. You’re going to have to watch him closely. There is something going on with his powers that I’ve never seen. Since I couldn’t come to the door, I guess Kait decided that the best way to talk was in my mind.
I glanced down at David. I asked, He can’t hear us? Kait shook his head. He said some pretty disturbing things. But he also said he would talk to someone. Can you still get them here?
Kait’s reply was swift. Yes, I can, but it’s gonna be a few days. I’ll bring you dinner. You can sleep in here with him.
I nodded. Kait left but returned quickly with a bowl of chili. I ate as best I could laying down as I was. When I was done, Kait kissed me lightly on the cheek before taking my empty bowl and leaving. He turned the light off and shut the door on his way out. Snuggling down, I pulled the covers over me as well, and drifted off to sleep.
The alarm blaring woke me up. When I rolled over, I discovered David was still asleep. He looked better than he did last night. The lines were gone, and his color was more normal. Now, he just looked young and vulnerable. I kissed his cheek and he made a kissy noise back as he rolled over.
As I left the room, I made sure to close the door quietly behind me. David needed his sleep. I found Kait in the kitchen, frowning as he stared pensively into his coffee. He was wearing only pajama pants, which were riding low on his hips. The muscles in his forearms corded as he squeezed the cup a little too tight. He held out his arms as I walked to him, inviting me in for a hug. I rested my head on his chest as my arms snaked around his waist. His Christmassy scent was almost overwhelming.
“What’s wrong, Kait?” I leaned back a bit so I could look into his eyes.
“Nothing to worry you, Princess. We have done what we can to mitigate the situation, so now we just have to wait and see how it plays out.”
I wasn’t sure what he was referring to there, but he was rubbing my back in a distracting way. He chuckled. Damn his mind reading!
Reluctantly, I moved away from him so I could search out some breakfast. Not because I was hungry, but because I needed to stop touching him, skin to skin. It made thinking extremely difficult. I shook my head. It was obvious that they sometimes took advantage of that, and I wondered if this was one of those times.
Kait grumbled to himself for a moment before he came over and snagged my arm. Pulling me in, he said, “Princess, I know why you think that, and I admit, I have used it to my advantage. But there are times, like right now, the only thing I want is to touch you. It calms me, as much as it calms you. And I need that right now. I’m not one to be all mushy and shit, but you are my anchor. Without you, I am adrift in an emotional sea where other people’s thoughts and emotions batter at me like a hurricane.”
Awww. “I don’t know
