Painful Reminders

Chapter Five: Vague Warnings

It was insane. I knew it was insane, and I could've listed a dozen right off the top of my head. Still, I watched him expectantly, praying that a man I had no business trusting wouldn't leave me here. Alone. He pulled the keycard from my grasp and unlocked the door, turning the handle and pushing it inward.

"Did you even bring a change of clothes?"

I bit my lip and shook my head sheepishly. "Tonight didn't exactly go as planned." Rolling his eyes, he began to unbutton the faded blue undershirt he wore, exposing the plain white tee beneath it. I struggled to swallow. "What...what are you doing?"

Ignoring me, he dropped the shirt onto a chair before beginning to lift the hem of the white tee and pulling it up over his head. Tossing it at me, I scrambled to catch the shirt, blinking rapidly to clear my head as he wordlessly picked up the first shirt and began to slip it back on. "It would be uncomfortable to sleep in a dress that tight."

"Thanks."

Turning away from me, he moved further into the hotel room and I turned toward the bathroom to change. Folding the dress into quarters, I set it gently on the lip of the tub and tugged self-consciously at the hem of the shirt. Truthfully, it wasn't much shorter than the dress had been, but wearing a man's shirt held much different connotations.

"I raised you better than this."

"You left me like this."

Forcing my lips back up into a smile, I let out a breath and opened the door, stepping back out into the main hotel room. He stood by the window, looking down at the street. Pulling the covers up, I slipped into the bed and sat cross-legged before tucking the comforter around myself. "Have somewhere to be?"

"The sun will be up in three hours."

"Enjoy watching the sunrise?"

"No," he responded flatly, half turning back toward me and looking me over with his usual stoic expression. "You should go to sleep."
"My grandfather died of a heart attack."

Cassian didn't react to the news, his face never changing as he returned my gaze without so much as an ounce of surprise. Or sympathy. "People die. It's the cycle of mortality."

"Have you ever lost someone close to you?"

He looked back out the window. "Yes."

"The nightmares only come around when something triggers it."

"Nightmares are just that; nightmares. You're still perfectly safe when you wake up."

I sighed and looked away. He didn't get it. Shimmying further down onto the bed, I laid down and rolled to my side, giving him my back. "Thanks for driving me here, and for coming in. You can leave now."

***

She wanted reassurances. I studied the curve of her back uncomfortably. Uncertainly, I took a step toward her. "Amya—"

"We aren't friends, we aren't family, we aren't even co-workers. Honestly, I have no idea what our connection is at all, and I don't need you here."

She'd gone back to hostile. "You asked me to stay."

"I've been drinking," she replied without bothering to look at me. "Intoxicated individuals aren't known for their rational thinking."

"Would you like me to call someone?"

"No, I'd like you to walk out that door and never bother me again. You or your friend Zeke. I want to be left alone."