Flashback ( PDFDrive )

Then again, wasn’t it better that he was getting to sleep through all
the angst and frustration she was currently living with?
She studied the relaxed lines of his features. The soft flutter of his
long, dark eyelashes. The adorable way his arms cradled Mr. Snuggles
against his bandaged chest.
I don’t know what to do.
She hadn’t meant to transmit the words, but . . . it felt good to say
them. And it wasn’t like he could hear her. He hadn’t flinched. His
breathing hadn’t changed rhythm.
So she told him, I really wish you were awake.
He let out a snuffly snore, which gave her the courage to ask, What
if I just want you to wake up because I’m tired of fighting the echoes all by
myself?
That wasn’t the right question, though.
What if I want you to wake up because I miss you?
She’d been trying to stay busy, trying not to look at the beautiful
boy sleeping over in the corner—the boy Umber had attacked in order
to make her cooperate.
But she hated having him so close and still so far away.
She watched his eyelids flutter a second longer. Then forced her
gaze elsewhere, realizing she’d taken wallowing to a whole new level.
And it was time to get back on track.
Tomorrow she’d return to her routine. More medicine. More
lessons. More—
A sharp intake of breath sliced through her planning.
And when she turned back to Fitz, his eyes were more than
fluttering.
One blink.