Safe & Sound

23

Amena didn't expect being home alone to be so difficult. She typically spent any normal day at home working, but knowing Cyfrin wasn't near made her feel isolated and unnerved.

By the time night rolled around, it felt even worse. She doubled checked all of the locks, and got into bed by herself. She and Cyfrin usually read part of their book together before they went to sleep, so she was unsure of what to do with herself.

Cyfrin had called her this afternoon when his plane had landed, but it was quick.

Just as she was getting under her blankets, her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She was excited to see it was Cyfrin.

"Hi, baby," he greeted.

She smiled, feeling ten times better already.

"Hi," she said back.

"Getting ready for bed?"

She gave him a hum as an answer, sinking down into her sheets.

"I hope you didn't read our book without me," he said, and she could practically see his handsome smile.

"No way," she said. "How is the conference?"

"Good. We had two meetings this afternoon and tomorrow is my presentation."

"Good luck," she whispered.

"Thank you, pretty girl. I miss you lots."

"I miss you more."

Her eyes started to get heavy, and she pulled the blankets up high around her.

"Did you eat dinner?"

Amena nodded, even though he couldn't see.  "Breakfast, lunch and dinner."

Cyfrin had made her several meals ahead of time, even though she could cook. It was nice to have that already taken care of, and very thoughtful.

"Good," Cyfrin said. "I hope everything else is okay."

"Yup," she confirmed. "You should probably get to bed."

He sighed. "I know, but I can't sleep without you."

"It'll be nice not to have to share the blankets with you," Amena teased.

He gave a playful scoff that made her giggle. Their conversation lapsed.

"Call me if you need me tomorrow, okay?" he said. "I'll call when I can."

She wished him a good night and a soft love you before the call ended.

The sheets felt cool around her, and she shivered.

She didn't have too much trouble falling asleep, but that didn't last long.

She woke up with a yell. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was soaked in sweat. The tears came next, flooding her face. She couldn't even remember most of the dream, but it was horrible. She sobbed miserably, reaching over for Cyfrin only to realize he wasn't there.

The tears didn't lessen, and she struggled to catch her breath as her throat tightened painfully.

It took several minutes until she finally fully came to, and she was able to reach over to turn on the bedside lamp, easing the feeling of danger that had surrounded her.

A few tears still lingered, especially as she began to miss Cyfrin even more. He would have known exactly what to say to have made her feel better.

She didn't sleep the rest of the night, and she was miserable. She felt like she could hear every creak of the house, and she didn't dare shut her eyes after what she had experienced.

It felt like a lifetime before the sun started to appear over the horizon, exploding into a bright array of pink and orange.

Amena didn't feel up to eating breakfast, so she had some juice and went to sit outside. The air was damp and cool against her heated skin, but it wouldn't be long before the summer heat worked its way back through.

She didn't work on her commissioned art. Instead, she sat in the same spot outside, sketching random things in her book as they appeared in her head.

She finally felt motivated enough to take a shower. She spotted her phone on the nightstand, but she left it while she went into the bathroom.

After that, she made her bed and finally felt like a normal person. She didn't realize how late in the afternoon it was, and she had two missed calls from Cyfrin. She didn't want him to worry about her, not with his presentation. He would immediately know something was wrong.

I got caught up with my art. Good luck today ❤️

Besides, that wasn't a lie at all.