Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Ben Wake

"Good night, my love..."

That is my cue that Ivy will be asleep within a minute. I keep reading for two more, just to be sure, before I put the book down. I continue to hold onto her for a while, until I feel her breathing shift as she falls into a deeper level of sleep. Only then do I carefully slip my arm out from under her head and slip out of bed.

A cold front moved through today, bringing rain with it. It's almost cold in the cabin. Something I barely notice, but she certainly has. Before I walk away from the bed, I pull the covers up to her chin and tuck her in. I stroke her hair one more time before I leave...

...And my sense shows me a moment in our lives. Ivy looking ill, pale. "I need you to turn me, Ben..."

I jerk my hand back, sudden enough to wake her.

"What?" she asks me.

"Sorry," I say. "I slipped while trying to sneak out without waking you."

"Really? And I wasn't awake to see it?"

"Apparently not," I say, puzzled.