Chapter 151

• She Ran
• Curled in Colton’s arms in bed, my head laid on his chest as I listen to his heartbeat's steady rhythm. I doze in and out of peaceful and contented slumber. Something keeps waking me when I start to fall deeply, and I can’t seem to put my finger on it, like a dream or a feeling that’s just out of sight and appears to jump in to haul me back whenever my consciousness drifts away. An unease or a threatening nightmare, maybe, it’s a sense of wrong, and try as I might, I can’t seem to fall into blissful darkness for any length of time. It’s almost dawn, and I have barely dozed for more than twenty-minute slots at a time. I’m frustrated and exhausted, yet I can’t seem to rest.
• Colton, however, is completely out cold, wrapped up around me protectively, his face buried in my hair as he silently inhales and exhales so peacefully that it at least brings me a sense of calm. His preferred full-frontal body position wedged against my side as I lay on my back, held in his arms and using his bent lower as a pillow. He seems oblivious to my restlessness, and with that flawless, smooth expression showing a vulnerable snoozer, it at least soothes me a little.