Page 72 of Drawn Together

I took one last look at the boxes of clothes and waited for my fate to arrive tomorrow.

I woke up in the middle of the night, tormented by my usual nightmares: the car I was riding in lost control, crashing into all the people I loved, killing them. It took me a few seconds to realize I was safe at home.

I replaced my jeans with the nightgown from under my pillow, then put on my robe and went downstairs to find some food in the kitchen. The entire house was asleep, so I was surprised to find someone up so early, leaning on the kitchen counter, drinking coffee, as per usual.

Sebastian stood up straight as soon as he saw me.

“I came to get something to eat,” I explained, hoping he wouldn’t notice I’d been crying.

“Were you able to get some rest?” he asked, concerned.

“Some… but my head hurts, and I had a horrible nightmare.”

Sebastian moved closer under the pretext of setting his cupin the sink. “Do you want to tell me about it?” He had stopped in front of me, his eyes examining me distractedly, studying each of my injuries.

“Never talk about nightmares before breakfast,” I answered, looking at the wound on his eyebrow and his injured arm. We both could’ve died… because of me.

Sebastian smiled. “Why is that?”

“Because they’ll come true if you do.”

We stared at each other for a few seconds.

“I wasn’t aware of that infallible science.”

“That’s because you’re too close-minded,” I answered, moving away from him, needing space to think clearly.

I took out some milk from the fridge, then stretched toward the upper cabinet in an attempt to get the honey, which some idiot had stowed way out of reach.

I felt his chest against my back as his arm reached over my head. He grabbed the honey and placed it on the counter, but he didn’t move, still pressed up against me.

I closed my eyes for an instant…

Despite everything that happened, my body yearned to be close to him… to feel his warmth, inhale his scent like a soothing balm. I forgot about everything else with him there beside me, simply letting the seconds pass.

“I didn’t say it yesterday, but you were very brave.” He ran a hand over the sleeve of my white silk robe, instantly giving me chills. “Even though you were scared, you were able to keep calm and handle the car… Things could’ve gone much worse,” he said, his fingers gently caressing my arm.

“I just did what you told me to,” I answered in a whisper.

“For once,” he replied, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“My father wants me to go with him to the racecourse,” I confessed, and I was aware how confused I sounded when I said it.

“I know,” he answered, halting his caress.

I turned around, and we stood face-to-face. His hair was messy, having just gotten out of bed, and I was dying to smooth it down with my fingers. “Will you be there?”

He nodded, and I felt somewhat relieved. He must’ve noticed because, without thinking, he put his hand in my hair and brushed his thumb across my cheek.

“I should’ve checked the car… I’m sorry.” He sighed.

Sebastian Moore, apologizing?

“You’re not the one to blame for what happened, Sebastian,” I said. He removed his thumb from my cheek and gently brushed my lower lip. “That, at least, wasn’t your fault.”

His eyes met mine, and I knew that my last comment hadn’t escaped him.

“It won’t happen again,” he said very somberly, and I didn’t know if he was talking about the car or our encounter two nights before.