Curtis changed his shoes and walked over to her, his gaze softening as he tilted his head to examine her expression. "Have you been crying?"
Leanne wanted to deny it. She thought that the emotional surge from her nightmare earlier didn't count as crying.
Before she could respond, Curtis continued, "You were crying when you called me, weren't you?"
Despite her efforts to appear nonchalant, he had detected the subtle quiver in her voice.
People can deal with hardships; it's the comfort that really touches their heart. The unease Leanne had managed to quell found its way to the surface again. Uncharacteristically, she clung to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and nestling into his embrace.
Curtis was surprised. "Miss me that much?"
He often joked about his charm, and Leanne pinched him on the waist in response.
"I dreamed about my parents," she said, revealing her deep-seated trauma. The untimely death of her parents was a wound unlikely to ever fully heal.
"I'll stay with you tonight."
Curtis carried her back to bed. The cat, sprawled belly-up on the bed, lazily flicked its tail in greeting.
"Another little lazybones," Curtis chuckled as he scooped up the cat and placed it in its plush, seldom-used cat bed, saying to the puzzled feline, "You're a big kid now. Sleep on your own."
The bedroom was dimly lit. He shut the door, slipped under the covers, and Leanne curled into his arms.
She snuggled against his chest, the faint smell of cologne mixed with a hint of whiskey on him, "You haven't changed clothes."
What she was trying to say was that maybe tonight could be an exception, allowing him to taint her bed just this once.
Curtis, with a playful lift of his eyebrows, teased, "Should I take them off?"
"Never mind," Leanne said, preemptively inching away from him.
Curtis laughed at her defensive move, playfully accusing, "Let's just sleep tonight, no funny ideas."
Leanne was speechless.
Curtis glanced at her expression. "Of course, if you can't resist me and decide to make a move, I might just surrender. After all, I'm not that chaste." Leanne turned away, "I don't need you to stay."
"Alright, I'll stop teasing."
With a smile, Curtis pulled her back into his arms and held her tightly, his hand gently patting her back as if soothing a child, "Sleep now."
He truly harbored no ulterior motives, comforting her to sleep.
As soon as she closed her eyes, the suffocating darkness seemed to engulf her again, and Leanne quickly opened her eyes.
She looked up into Curtis' deep-set eyes, his muscles relaxing in the familiar scent.
Planting a soothing kiss on her forehead, Curtis blinked and whispered, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to protect you, okay?"
With that, all her fears were kept at bay in his embrace. Leanne calmed down, her breathing slowly evening out as she fell asleep, fully trusting in his arms.
She slept peacefully until dawn.
Leanne was awakened by the meowing at the door. Rubbing her eyes, she got out of bed to refill the cat's food and change its drinking water.
Alan delivered Curtis' clothes, and Leanne brought them in just as he was coming out of the shower.
His broad shoulders and narrow waist as well as the defined muscles tapering down into the towel caught her eye for a few seconds, reminding her of their entangled moments. "Where are you looking?" Curtis took the clothes from her hands.
Leanne drifted her gaze and then returned, lingering on the red rash below his collarbone.
"You're allergic again."
Curtis shrugged it off, "It's nothing, a bit of cream will do."
Leanne furrowed her brows as she circled him, checking his collarbone, the right side of his neck, his back...
She meticulously cleaned their bed of cat hair every day, but the presence of the little cat was pervasive. His allergy had worsened after spending the night.
Leanne applied cream to the rash without a word, then turned and left the room.
Once Curtis was dressed, he found her at the dining table, staring down at the wood grain in silence.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Curtis asked.
Leanne looked up.
"Let's move back," she said.
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