Chapter 140

• LUCA
• I woke up the next morning with Veda sprawled across my chest and her hair tickling my nose. Even in sleep, I held her tight against me, my arms wrapped around her in a vice-like hold and one leg thrown over hers. Glancing over at my phone on the nightstand, I was surprised at the time. For the first time in weeks, I'd slept completely through the night.
• She sighed when I loosened my hold and rubbed my palms against the soft skin of her back, but didn't wake. So I gently moved her off of me and pulled the blankets up around her waist before I got out of bed. She laid on her stomach with her arms bent out from her body, her hands shoved under the pillows and her face turned toward me. Her lips were parted in sleep, and her soft wheat-blonde hair was spread across her bare shoulders and her pillow. I stared down at her for a moment, then I picked up my phone and took a picture. I wanted to hold this image of her forever.