Page 43 of Only ever you-Ana & Byron
Tomos squealed with delight, grabbing at Ana's braid and bringing it to his mouth. Then his face turned red and a whimper escaped his rosebud lips.
Ana sniffed, recoiled. "Oh. My dear god. That is foul. What is that, who farted?"
She glanced around. "Not you..." she said to Tomos, but her eyes were incredulous and accusing. Gray swooped in. "Nappy change time, I guess." He plucked Tomos away with exaggerated care. "My turn, I guess"
Cadi followed, distracted, but not before she mouthed 'later' to Ana.
Byron didn't move. His eyes were locked on Ana.
Then, with a swift, angry move, he grabbed her wrist with his massive paw.
"Out."
"What?"
"Garden. Now."
Ana stumbled as he tugged her through the back door and into the small, overgrown patch behind the house.
"Sit," he ordered, pointing to the bench.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not a bloody dog."
"Sit."
Surprisingly, she did.
Byron paced in front of her like a caged animal. His jaw ticked.
"Stay," he snapped when she made to stand.
"Byron-"
"Not a word. You didn't message for two months. Not once. You knew I was worried. I begged.You could have died!"
She looked down. "It wasn't safe-"
"You could have contacted one of us."
"I didn't want you to worry."
He laughed bitterly as he looked up at the sky, hands on his hips, as if asking for divine deliverance. "Too late for that."
There was silence.
Finally, she whispered, "It was a landmine. I wasn't that close, but the shrapnel hit me. It sliced through my leg, grazed my head. And then I hit my head and I passed out. I woke up in a hospital in Riyadh two weeks later. Couldn't remember my own name for a week."
Byron closed his eyes.
She added, quietly, "I lost my phone. And I couldn't remember anyone's number. The newspaper was about to contact my dad, but I told them not to. "
He sat beside her, finally. And in a sudden move, he pulled her onto his lap. She could feel his hard thighs under hers. He turned her head to face his and touched her forehead to his. Then, before she could stop him, he placed a soft, close-mouthed kiss on her mouth. His lips were as soft as she remembered, with the brush of his beard against her chin.
"I had a bad feeling when you stopped messaging. I had nightmares of you dying."
"I almost did," whispered Ana
They sat like that for a while. Ana's hands drifted over his shoulders, up his neck to comb through his short curls. Byron just let her. She could feel him hardening under her thigh.
