章 455: Soothe

~ SASHA ~

He hadn't explained what he'd meant. When he talked about getting ready that morning, she thought he'd meant they were going out that day. But he'd just kept them at the camp, eating and resting—even sleeping some, though he never seemed to sleep for more than forty-five minutes at a time. They were going to be up late, and moving around at night, he said. And it was a long hike, so he wanted her fed and rested.

She touched him as much as she could, and he always responded, turning to look at her when she brushed his arm, or squeezing her hand when she grabbed his.

He hadn't gone cold. He'd just… shut off. It was as if he did everything because it was instinct. The right response to the stimulus provided.

But his mind was always elsewhere, and his eyes were often clouded.

When he woke her from yet another nap in the now pitch-dark cave, she startled and he clapped a hand over her mouth.