Sage
I have just put Jonah to bed, and Andrei still hasn’t returned home yet. He left early this morning before I was fully awake, and now, it is nearly 11 pm already. I’m starting to worry. He rarely spends that much time away from me and Jonah.
He has been in and out all day, and we have barely spoken a word today. That fact alone makes me feel more uneasy. I don’t enjoy staying apart for so long or simply accepting that we’re not talking. At this point, I feel like we are having a massive argument and are giving each other the cold shoulder, even though it’s not like that.
And to make everything even worse, Derrick left around lunchtime to go to Kat’s. I know that he wants to help her and her mates with the kids, but the lack of his presence in the house makes me feel a little lonely.
I can’t prioritize my feelings over Kat’s need for help, though. Apparently, the twins are teething badly, and Marge has been sick with flu, so all of them have had no sleep at all. The lack of rest also results in Kat’s inability to shift. That fact worries me because we all know how important it is for her to shift regularly.
Derrick is going over there to give Kat’s mates a reason to force her to shift.
I close the door to Jonah’s bedroom and walk into the bedroom to flop on the bed.
It is so quiet; the bed feels too big with no one in it, and I debate whether to climb in Jonah’s with him so I can try to sleep. As I walk into the room, my eyes feel dry, like sandpaper, and I give up on any thoughts just to flop on the bed, face down.
I don’t notice when I fall asleep, but when I feel the bed shift next to me and hands grip under my arms, I startle awake.
Apparently, I’m more exhausted than I realized as the scent of soap and Andrei wafts under my nose.
“You’re home finally,” I mutter as he maneuvers me around the bed and tugs the blankets up.
“Sorry I was busy. It took longer than I thought,” he says, wrapping his body around mine before I drift back off.
It is early when I wake up. The sun isn’t even out yet. Something unnerves me, and I have no reason to wake yet. Andrei is sleeping soundly, but dread washes over me, and I am unsure why. This feeling has been appearing since Jonah came home, like something bad will happen.
“It’s nothing, go back to sleep,” Sierra says, but I can’t help it. Instead of listening, I force myself up to go check on him. Paranoia always creeps in – it makes me wonder if the windows are locked, the door is locked, and if he is still in bed.
As I walk down the hall, I open the door to find him safely tucked in his bed, nothing out of place.
“See, told you.” Sierra says, and she is right, as always when I wake up time and time again. Climbing back in bed, Andrei rolls on his back.
“Go back to sleep,” he mutters. He has become used to my nightly walks to check on Jonah. My mind is alert, though, and I am unable to go back to sleep. As I look at the alarm clock, I see it is a little after 4:30 AM.
“Sage, please sleep,” Andrei mutters as he turns to face me and tucks me closer. My nose presses against his chest. His scent calms me and makes the tension leave.
“Please don’t make me get up. I can feel how awake you are, and it will keep me awake,” he mutters. “Sleep,” he says, and I sigh, trying to close my eyes and fight the urge to check Jonah again.
“No one will take him,” Andrei says, pulling away and opening one eye to look at me.
“You’re going to make me get up, aren’t you?”
“Can you just check the border cameras, please?” He sighs.
“You know I can feel if intruders step over, right?”
“Yeah, but sometimes they still slip through,” I tell him, and he groans.
“This is the third time since I got home,” he mutters.
“I just woke up.” I tell him.
“That doesn’t stop you from waking me to get up to check the cameras while you’re sleeping. You know what it is? You are so used to something going wrong, Sage. So when you find a sliver of peace, you are waiting for something to go wrong,” he says, and I know he is right, but the feeling of unease is unsettling.
“Fine, I am going, but this is the last time, though. I need more than four hours of broken sleep at night,” he says, tossing the blanket back and walking out of the room.
I hear him go downstairs and into the office. About five minutes later, he returns, but instead of climbing back into bed, he walks into the bathroom and turns the shower on. Tossing the blankets off, I follow him into the bathroom.
“I thought you were coming back to bed.” I mutter.
“Well, I can’t now. If I go back to sleep and get up in an hour, I will be more tired,” he says, stripping his boxer shorts off.
“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but hopefully, I won’t be long today. I just need to go meet some people, and if all goes well, I will be home by lunch,” he says before stepping into the shower. Then he glances at me and flashes me a gentle smile. “Shower with me?” I nod, strip my clothes off, climb in, and shut the shower screen.
“Where have you been going?” I ask him.
“The caves where Jonah was found.”
“Why?”
“We found a rogue camp there, and Zane and I have been watching them.”
“You aren’t going to hurt them, are you?”
“What? No, just observing them. Most of them are women and children. There are a few men, but mostly women and children.” Andrei explains.