Bryce woke up to find Hera's side of the bed completely empty. The last thing he remembered was curling up on her thighs until he drifted off to sleep, so where did she go? They had slept together and he was sure of it. There was no way in hell that she'd leave him to sleep somewhere else. The possibility of that happening was one in a hundred, but he was hoping that she didn't. Just then, she walked into the room holding a tray containing a breakfast of different sorts.
"Good morning," she greeted, and a smile lit up on his face. He was genuinely happy to see her. She didn't leave.
"You didn't leave." It was more of a statement than a question. He thought that telling her his past had maybe scared her off, or maybe he had thought that his presence had scared her away from her own bedroom, but he was wrong. He didn't want her to feel scared or threatened by him. He was hoping that they had crossed that bridge. He was really hoping that she didn't consider him a monster like he'd feared.
"I made you breakfast." She held up the tray for him to see. "Mariam mentioned that you barely touched your food last night, and I was worried. Why didn't you eat? You could fall sick, you know." She chided him. Her words made him feel warm. She was genuinely worried about him.
"Because someone was making me worry about her in more ways than one. How did you expect me to eat when you were barely talking to me? I hated it." He tilted his head to the side with a grin on his face. "Come here." He opened his arms wide and as if being controlled by a gaming pad, she placed the food on the bed and walked right into them.
There was something incredibly soothing and comforting when he hugged her. He couldn't tell if it was the lavender fragrance or the fact that she always carried this aura of positivity around her. Either way, he found it comforting. It always seemed to calm his nerves.
"The smell of lavender." He sniffed and pulled away. "It's faint. Why is it faint?"
She pulled away. "I haven't washed my hair, Bryce. And how is it that you can always tell when I haven't used the shampoo anymore? Are you some sort of detective?" She arched a brow at him.