~ ASH ~
We'd been keeping odd hours, our schedule slowly moving more and more towards nocturnal. I felt less secure at night—the woods more likely to hide eyes I couldn't see, or activity I couldn't detect.
Slowly over the course of the week, we'd slept more and more during the day, until we were eating breakfast at dusk, lunch at midnight, and dinner before dawn. And without speaking it, I'd become her Defender. A role that she seemed relieved to let me fill.
Lizbeth had been particularly tired this morning when the sun finally rose and we both moved to the bedroom for sleep. I wasn't even pretending to keep the separate bedroom anymore. I'd pulled a cot out of the closet in this place and set it up on the floor next to her bed. Because Lizbeth didn't sleep unless I was near and watching.
