Page 83 of Captivated

“No!” Nate sat upright, his chest damp with sweat, clutching the sheet. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, snapped the lamp on, and sat there trembling, his hands dangling between his knees. A waft of cool night air through the open window above his head only made him shiver harder.

He stiffened at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Then he remembered.

I’m not alone.

“You okay, Nate?” Zeeb’s voice was low and rough with sleep. He stood at the foot of the bed, bleary-eyed, wearing a pair of shorts, his hair rumpled. His expression shifted from confusion to concern. “No, you’re not okay, are ya?”

Nate swallowed. His throat still burned from the dream-screams that hadn’t made it out.

“I… had a nightmare,” he rasped. His fingers twisted in the sheet once more. He averted his gaze. “From… back then.”

Zeeb stepped closer, and the silence between them was soft.

Nate picked at a loose thread on the sheet’s hem. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Not now, at any rate. Maybe in daylight.”

When the sun would rob his memories of terror.

Zeeb’s mouth tightened, and Nate knew instinctively that anger wasn’t directed at him, but at whatever images he saw in his head. He didn’t move.

“I’m sorry, Nate,” Zeeb said in a quiet voice. “No kid shoulda gone through that. No one.”

Nate blinked fast. His throat ached.

“I couldn’t wake up,” he whispered. “Iknewit was a dream, and I still couldn’t get out.”

Zeeb nodded, his expression steady, grounding. “That’s what trauma does. It traps you, even when you’re safe. It’s not your fault.”

For a moment, Nate concentrated on breathing in and out, ragged, broken breaths, but breaths all the same. Zeeb didn’t push. He just sat there, a solid, real thing Nate could hold onto in a world that still tilted sometimes without warning.

Finally Zeeb sighed. “Lie down.”

Nate slid under the sheet, and to his surprise, Zeeb got onto the bed, lying on top of the covers. “I’m gonna stay with you until you fall asleep,” he announced, his voice warm but casual, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Nate hesitated, a battle of pride, shame, and fear taking place within him. In the end, he nodded.

“You sure you don’t mind?” he croaked.

Zeeb gave a tired chuckle. “Mind? I’m honored. You’re letting me help. That’s huge, Nate.” He put his arm over Nate’s waist, his body a warm, welcome weight spooned around him. Nate hesitated for a moment, then covered Zeeb’s hand with his.

The cabin creaked and whispered around them, but the nightmare stayed gone.

For the first time ever, Nate drifted off into sleep, not alone, but anchored.

Tethered to something solid in the dark.

Chapter Twenty-Four

July 23, 2024

Zeeb openedhis eyes and blinked.

Something is different.

Then he caught the sound of steady breathing. A weight on his chest. Warmth. His arm around someone.

Nate.