Chapter 454
[ 492 words ]
Chapter 454:
“I’m exhausted, Jarrod,” she cut him off, her voice raw. She used the simplest, most undeniable truth as her first line of defense. “I feel like my bones are made of glass.”
Her voice softened, shifting from defense to an appeal. “And you,” she continued, her gaze sweeping over his haggard face, “you’re worse off than I am. You haven’t slept in three days. You’re burning yourself out from the inside.”
She needed him to understand. This wasn’t a rejection of him; it was a desperate act of preservation for both of them.
Her words, filled with genuine, aching concern, seemed to find a crack in his icy armor. The rigid line of his jaw relaxed infinitesimally. He looked at her, at her pale, determined face, and the fire in his eyes dimmed.
Some rational part of him, buried deep beneath the layers of trauma and adrenaline, knew she was right. But the sting of rejection, the primal need to claim and possess what he had almost lost, fought against that logic.
Finally, the fight seemed to drain out of him. The anger was replaced by a profound, crushing weariness. With a long, ragged sigh, he leaned back, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing a hand over his face.
Seeing him finally stand down, Caroline felt a wave of relief wash over her. The immediate danger had passed.
She carefully pushed herself into a sitting position. On the small table beside the cot was a metal cup of lukewarm water that Brenna had left. She picked it up and held it to his lips.
“Drink,” she said softly. “Then you need to eat something.”
𝘈d𝘥𝗂с𝘵іv𝗲 ѕ𝘵𝗼𝘳𝗂е𝘴 𝗈n 𝗴𝘢𝘭n𝗼𝗏𝘦𝘭ѕ.𝗰𝗈𝗆
He stared at the cup, his eyes unfocused, but didn’t move.
She held it steady, her arm starting to ache from the effort. Her voice took on a new tone—crisp, no-nonsense, the voice she used with stubborn patients. “That’s a medical order, Colonel.”
The title, used in this context, was so unexpected, so absurdly professional, that it broke the spell. A faint flicker of his old self, a hint of amusement, softened the hard lines around his mouth. He leaned forward and took a few sips of the water.
She then reached for an energy bar from the tray he’d brought earlier, tearing the wrapper with her teeth. “Eat this.”
He took it from her, his gaze never leaving her face. He chewed mechanically, the movements slow and detached, as if he were an automaton following a program.
Once the food and water were in his system, the last of his adrenaline-fueled energy reserves gave out. A wave of exhaustion so powerful it was almost a physical blow washed over him. His eyelids drooped.
Caroline pointed to the empty space on the narrow cot beside her. “Lie down. Sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”
He looked at her, then at the small space, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, she thought he would refuse, that his pride wouldn’t allow it. But he was too tired to fight anymore.
.
.
.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.