~Evric's POV~
Zayn looked up at me, his eyes wide with concern, and asked, "Babe, are you sure everything is okay?"
I gave him a diminutive, reassuring smile. "Sure, baby." I asked, "Why do you ask?"
He said nothing, just studied my face for another moment, then sighed softly. "Okay, baby." He agreed to the two weeks of isolation.
I kissed him, a simple, firm kiss that sealed the decision.
I started stroking his back, rubbing small, circular patterns across his shoulder blades, trying to soothe him, but my mind wouldn't quiet. Everything he had said moments earlier replayed relentlessly in my head, the way he spoke about loving a woman with pride, and the stark contrast to the unspoken shame he seemed to attach to being seen after being intimate with a man.
I kept stroking his back until his breathing deepened and evened out, and he finally fell asleep.
