After a while in the water, I lost Hael. His eyes were on me, but they had lost focus. A tell-tale that he had retreated to the confines of his mind. Something I said—something I did had sent him there. Perhaps within his own mind was the only place he felt safe.
He looked exceptionally vulnerable this way. With his eyes clouded over and his expression blank. Like I could touch him, and he would startle and run. It only added fuel to my need to protect him.
I touched his hand tentatively beneath the water, relieved when he curled his fingers around mine. He followed me distractedly to shore. The first brush of wind was cold on my damp skin, and my stomach retracted with a hiss. But neither of us could dress until our bodies had dried.
So, we lay in the grass, me on my back and Hael on his side. His eyes cleared quickly and softened. He'd come back.
