Carnal

Chapter Twenty-Five - Breakdown

Cain bent down and began to pick up logs he had chopped before tucking them under one arm. With the other hand, he still held the axe.

I shifted nervously from one foot to the other as he began to walk up to the porch.

"Good morning," he said, setting the axe down to lean against the porch railing.

Cain turned around and looked at the setting sun before turning back to me.

"Or should I say good evening?"

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Kashmir," he said, moving around me to walk inside. "You're looking at Himalayan mountains."

I looked at the mountains in the distance once more before following him inside.

"How long have we been here?" I asked him, closing the cabin door behind me.

"Just over eight hours," he said, stooping down in front of the fire place.

He threw the freshly-chopped logs into the dying fire that burned in the hearth.

I watched as the fire regained strength and the flames began to climb higher against the stone that contained them.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

Cain stood to his feet and wiped his hands off on his pants before looking at the watch on his wrist.

"Almost seventeen hours."

My eyes widened.

"And you didn't think to take me to a neurologist or something?" I asked.

He chuckled before sitting down on the edge of the large leather chair in front of the fireplace.

"I knew you were just tired."

Tired? Maybe. Traumatized? Definitely.

I looked around and noticed for the first time that it was only the two of us in the small cabin.

"Where is everyone?"

Cain leaned forward and clasped his hands together in front of him, placing his elbows on his knees.

"Jai and Daniel each went into neighboring towns to restock supplies and to send a few letters for me," he answered. "They'll be back early tomorrow morning."

So we'll be alone for the night? I thought. I wonder what argument we'll get into this time.

At that moment, I caught a whiff of the delicious smell that wafted across the living room and I turned my attention to the kitchen.

"What is that?" I asked, beginning to walk over to the stove where something was brewing.

I pulled the lid off of the pot and saw the beef stew that was being cooked. Almost immediately, my stomach began to growl.

"Daniel made that before he left," Cain said. "He figured you'd be hungry when you woke up."

God bless Daniel.

I opened a few of the cabinets looking for bowls before I finally found one.

"Want some?" I asked Cain, getting them out.

"No," he answered.

I turned around to see him standing only a few feet away. I caught him checking me out in an unabashed way and awkwardly turned back around to focus my attention on the contents of the pot.

I used a ladle to pour the stew into my bowl and grabbed a spoon from the utensil drawer.

There was no seating in the kitchen area so I pulled myself up onto the countertop and took a seat there.