“Are you sure?”
“I said I was fine.” Ethan threw back the covers and disappeared into the bathroom.
William considered leaving. He’d crossed a line somewhere, but Ethan’s panic when he woke him stopped him. He fell asleep waiting for him, half-aware of Ethan returning and curling up beside him.
“I’m sorry for how I acted.”
William’s eyes fluttered open, surprised by Ethan’s vulnerability. “I’m here if you want to talk.”
Ethan clung to him like a frightened child. “I told you I grew up in foster care, right?” William stroked Ethan’s back as he talked. “Well, they were all bad. But one of them liked to use his fists too much. I dream about him sometimes, and…other things.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ve never told anyone about that before.”
How different Ethan seemed now from the confident man W
