Chapter 10: Say My Name

I stood in the dark hall with my arms loose and my eyes half open, and let my head tilt toward his voice.

"Mm," I said.

Byron pushed away from the wall.

He came toward me slowly.

"You're sleepwalking," he said. "You do that sometimes. I'll take you back."

I had never walked in my sleep in my life.

He put his hand on my arm, and every nerve in me turned toward it.

It was the first time he had touched me in the dark with nobody else in the room.

His palm was warm through my sleeve, and it did not move.

"Come on, Rox."

I took one step, and the hall tilted, and I let myself sag against his chest.

He caught me.

His arms closed around me automatically, big and sure, and I felt his heart slam against my cheek.

He smelled of cedar and varnish and the soap he had used every day for four years.

"Byron," I said, slurred and soft.

He went still.

"Byron," I said again, and slid my arms around his neck.

"Rox. Don't."

"Don't go."

I felt the breath leave him.

It came out of him as a low, helpless sound.

His hands tightened on my back, and for one second I felt every inch of him pressed against me, hard and shaking.

He lifted me.

He carried me down the hall without effort.

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