Part III

When Kaylee woke the next morning, Simon was gone and her pillow was wet where she had, unknowingly, cried in her sleep. In a moment of panic, she glanced around the room, fearing she would find all of his belongings gone. But that fear subsided when she found everything in its proper place. Nothing had been moved. She sank weakly back into the mattress, staring at the ceiling.

Tears crept out of the corner of her eyes as she thought about what had happened yesterday and how she had nearly lost the best thing she had ever found in her life. Something was still wrong this morning. She could feel it. Even though she and Simon had talked last night about what she’d done, there was still a sliver of hesitation. She knew he tried to cover it but it had been there and she didn’t know what it meant.

Kaylee rolled over and trailed her fingers over his pillow, closing her eyes and taking in his scent that still lingered there. She lay still for a few more minutes and then with a sigh, pushed herself out of bed and dressed slowly, really not wanting to leave the room. She wanted to bury herself in the blankets and not come out until everything was back to normal, back to the way it was when Simon had held her in his arms yesterday morning.

As she moved to the door, it slid open, revealing Simon holding plate full of food.

“Morning bao bei.” His expression changed when he noticed her bloodshot eyes and her wet cheeks. He led her back into the room and shut the door, eyes narrowing in concern. “Kaylee?”

“You don’t forgive me.”

Simon set the plate down on the small table in the corner of the room and then guided Kaylee to the bed, pulling her down to sit with him. “That’s not it.”

Kaylee stared down at their joined hands. “You didn’t want to – last night. You didn’t –“

“I love you, Kaylee.” Simon pulled on her hands and she slid closer to him. “I just – “ he looked around the room, at the items sitting on the small desk in the corner that belonged to them. “I need some time.”

“Cause of