“Me too,” she whispered.
“I have an idea. Anytime you start thinking negative thoughts or overthinking things, you come find me and I’ll kiss you until you can’t think, all right?”
Her breathing quickened. “I think I can deal with that.”
“Best deal I ever made.”
She smiled shyly.
“Anytime you want to talk to me. About anything, I’m here.”
She was grateful he wasn’t pushing her for more. At the same time, she got that it was a reprieve and he wouldn’t let her get away with it forever.
He opened up the bottle of water and shook it. “So if you weren’t feeling ill then how come all of this isn’t drunk? And you’ve barely eaten anything.”
“Umm. I fell asleep.”
He picked up her phone and looked at it. “And is that why you didn’t turn your phone on?”
She grimaced. Shoot.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “What did I tell you before leaving the house?”
“To drink the water, eat some food, get some rest, and turn on my phone.”
“And did you do any of that?”
“I did some of it!”
“Not good enough.” He turned her phone over and went to hit the button to turn it on.
“No, wait, don’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“I’m just not ready to face the rest of the world. Not yet.”
His face softened. “All right. But you’re going to have to turn it on sometime soon. If I have to go out again, I want to know that you have a way to contact me. Not that I’m likely to leave you on your own again anytime soon.”
“You’re overreacting.”
He scowled. Then pointed at the water. “I want all of that drunk down while I unpack your stuff. Do you want to brush your teeth?”
“Desperately.”
“Okay, I’ll unpack your toothbrush first.”
“I’m going to have a shower too, so I’ll grab some fresh clothes.”
“Nope.”
“Nope? What do you mean, nope?” she asked.
“I mean that you’re not having a shower. It will get hot in there. You might feel light-headed and faint. Unless you want me to shower with you?”
“I want to shower on my own,” she said in a high-pitched voice which was kind of embarrassing.
“That’s disappointing.”