Hurt and confused, Summer curled up even tighter yet, bones creaking with how closely she wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t sleep, staring into the dark and twitching at each little sound. Despite knowing there was no one else besides the two of them in there, she didn’t feel safe — she wasn’t sure how she’d displeased Derek but clearly he wasn’t happy with her. So she looked at the dark and waited for daylight.
Derek slept soundly in his bed before the daylight hit his eyes and he was back up. He walked slowly to the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder at the woman who hadn’t moved an inch. “Want something for breakfast?” he asked softly, pulling things from the fridge for the both of them.
Everything ached. When she turned her head to look at him, her neck crackled. He seemed blurry, distant, and she blinked at him; the words were just sounds, with no meaning. It took effort to unlock her arms from round her knees, before putting her feet to the floor. After what seemed a long time, the sense of his words penetrated.
She nodded, slowly.