Page 28 of Sanctuary

If you have no other choice, you make do.

That happens to be true of all of life. I’ve learned that better than most.

The afternoon is long and uneventful.

Once he’s warmed, Aidan gets up to make a more thorough search of the church. On the lower floor, there’s a small meeting room and a kitchen and bathroom. He finds an unopened pack of two paper towel rolls and a few stray cans of food in the cabinets. Beans and stewed tomatoes, like they were left over from making a big pot of chili. They’re extra food for us, however, so he brings them up.

He breaks up a couple of straight back wood chairs for extra wood for the fire.

He also finds a big pot for me to use the bathroom in.

It’s definitely embarrassing, but at least he leaves the room without me asking. If I could walk on my own, it wouldn’t be a problem because I could dispose of it outside myself, but I can’t. So Aidan has to.

The whole thing makes me want to cringe.

I get over it. He doesn’t complain or act like it bothers him. And we absolutely have no other choice.

Other than that, we have nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon. If I don’t move it the wrong way or try to put weight on it, my leg doesn’t hurt. The cushions Aidan found are a lot more comfortable than the hard floor. And the fire is blazing cozily now.

Aidan settles onto his own cushions several feet away from me. His robe is too short for him, and he’s obviously naked beneath it. Just like me. The incongruity of his appearance makes me want to snicker occasionally, but I refrain.

He’s been more than decent with me today. I’m not going to make fun of him.

With nothing else to divert my attention, I’m eventually so tired and comfortable I drift off to sleep.

It feels like I’ve slept for a long time when I become conscious of a voice. A light hand on my shoulder, shaking me gently. “Breanna. Breanna, love. Can you wake up?”

I try to pry my eyelids open. “Huh?”

“Can you wake up?”

It takes real effort, but I manage to blink several times and focus on Aidan’s face above me. He’s leaning over my makeshift bed. The green of his eyes look dark and deep. “Is somethin’ wrong?” I mumble.

“No. You were so sound asleep you wouldn’t wake up, and I got worried.”

“Oh.” I frown in confusion and rub my face. “You were worried?”

“It was touch and go with you earlier when you were half-frozen. Doesn’t take much in those conditions for someone to drift off and never wake up. So when you wouldn’t wake up just now, I figured I better check.” He sounds slightly wry. Rueful.

But I realize he was genuinely worried about me. That recognition overcomes any annoyance I might feel at being awakened unnecessarily.

“I’m okay.” I push myself into a sitting position as Aidan backs off. “I’m not sure what happened. I never sleep that deeply.”

“I didn’t think so. But it’s been a rough day.”

“That’s for sure.” I let out a sigh as I lean against the wall, pulling the table covering I’m using as a blanket up over my shoulders. I’m not cold anymore since the fire is still blazing, but I’d rather be covered fully.

I feel weirdly exposed with Aidan right now, and I’m not used to it.

Even when I was having to fuck men to survive, it didn’t feel like this.

“It’s getting late anyway,” he says in that casual voice he’s been using all afternoon. “We could have something for dinner if you’re hungry.”

“I am. Dinner sounds like a good idea to me.”

We heat up a can of beans and eat it with some bread and jerky. It’s nothing special, but the beans are hot and canned in chili sauce so they’re more flavorful than our regular food. The meal is filling. I drink a lot of water since we have extra.

It’s dark outside now. The only light is from the wood stove and several candles that Aidan must have found and lit while I was asleep.

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