Acting like Parents

“I’m fine. There’s nothing for you to worry about,” I replied before smiling bravely at him.

“I’m going to keep you away from fires from now on,” he said with a disapproving shake of his head.

“Sorry. I should have told you before…” I murmured apologetically.

Honestly, I just didn’t know that my reactions would be this severe. I thought that I had gotten over my fear and it had been a while since something like this happened to me. In the end, I was probably just fooling myself that my condition had improved.

“Stop apologizing. You’re making me feel guiltier than I already feel,” Adrian told me with a kind smile.

He gave my hand a comforting squeeze. His presence next to me always helped to calm me down. He didn’t even have to say anything much at all. Just seeing and feeling him close to me made me feel strangely reassured. It felt like everything will somehow work itself out if he was by my side.

“Are you free today?” Adrian asked.