Page 104 of No Strings

“Rhys, she seems heartbroken.”

Yeah well, she brought that on herself too. If she wasn’t so stubborn. If I wasn’t so stubborn. “She just misses everyone here. Give her a couple days, she’ll be right.”

I don’t believe the words, and neither does he. “Look, thanks for looking out for her while she was there. Bet you’re happy to get back to normal.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

We wrap up the conversation and I decide to have a shower and have an early night. When I walk past what was her bedroom, I close the door, not bothering to look in it.

Chapter Thirty

RHYS

One week.

One whole week she’s been gone, and I hate it.

I’ve barely been able to sleep, always waking up at the time her nightmares would take hold of her. And just like every other morning, I lay in my bed waiting for my alarm to go off. But this time it’s my ring tone.

“Morgan?” I answer, I probably should have checked who was calling, and probably should have not been thinking about her, because it’s fucking Shane.

“Why the fuck would my sister be calling you?”

“Sorry, sleep deprivation.”

“Yeah, that’s happening here, too.”

She must be having nightmares again. I don’t even know because when the whole friends with benefits agreement started, we were always in each other's bed, so they became infrequent and almost non-existent.

“Why are you sleep deprived? Thought you would be living your best life with Morgan being gone?”

Yeah, I thought that as well.“Just am, is Morgan still having nightmares?”

He sighs a ‘yeah’. “How did you sleep through them?”

How the fuck do I answer that?

I must hesitate for too long.

“Rhys?”

“Yes?”

“How did you get through my sister’s nightmares?” He sounds sceptical. Rightfully so.

I rest my forearm over my eyes. “You’re not going to like that answer.”

“Fucking tell me!” he bellows down the phone.

Well, nothing like ripping the band-aid off, and it’s not like I’m telling him I slept with her… well not that way, not then. Plus, what is he going to do? Come here and kick my ass? “Hold her.”

“You held Morgan while she had a nightmare?” He doesn’t sound all that angry, maybe more puzzled. “Did she know?”

“Yeah, I found that lying next to her and holding her helped the nightmare ebb away.” No point hiding it. But I make it a point of not telling him that no, she didn’t know.

“Did. She. Know?”

I don’t reply.