"HOW did you know I was in pain?" I asked Ash, who was now cleaning my wounds with alcohol.

I winced every time the cotton touched my wounds, but I couldn’t help but smile when I saw him blow on each wound as if that would make the pain disappear.

I couldn’t believe I had failed to appreciate this side of him before.

"I’m observant when it comes to you," he replied briefly, applying band-aids to my wounds.

There were so many that I thought he might use up the entire first-aid kit. I ...