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Chapter Sixteen

MACKENZIE

In the middle of the night I was awoken by a loud scream. I quickly sat up and listened a second longer. It sounded like it was in my apartment and I gasped.

“Fallon?” I whispered.

I threw my covers off and ran to the living room. Was someone breaking in? Were they hurting her? If something happened to her—no. I couldn’t think like that.

When I got to the living room, she was still on the couch—thankfully alone and not with a burglar.

I turned on the light and saw her sitting up, breathing heavily. She was rocking back and forth with tears streaming down her cheeks. I hurried to the couch and sat beside her.

“Fallon?” I said, furrowing my brow in concern.

She kept crying and rocking on the couch, not looking my way. Her trembling cracked something inside me, and my heart ached at the sight of her like that.

I reached out, trying to steady my shaking hand as I gently touched her leg. The instant contact made her flinch, and she jumped, her body recoiling as if my touch had burned her.

“Hey,” I spoke softly so I didn’t startle her further. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m sorry, Fallon. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She was still rocking, looking around and trying to figure out where she was. Her eyes finally landed on me and she opened and closed her mouth.

“Sunshine.” It was all I could get out before she wrapped herself around me, and started crying again. I held her, not speaking or moving. I wanted her to know she was safe.

After a few minutes, she finally stopped crying, but she didn’t pull away. Our bodies stayed connected when she seemed to have found her voice. “Every so often, I have this dream, Mackenzie. It’s always the same one.” She paused, and I slowly pulled us apart so I could look at her. I didn’t say anything, just waited for her to continue.

“I haven’t had it in a few months, but…” She paused again. “I guess talking about him brought it back.”

I didn’t need to ask. I knew who she was talking about. I’d asked about her parents earlier. The fear I felt when I heard her screaming, the concern when I saw her crying—all of that faded and twisted into guilt.

“I’m sorry I asked about your parents. It wasn’t my place, and it wasn’t my business. We aren’t…” I didn’t let myself finish. We couldn’t be anything.

She looked at me, and a faint smile touched her lips before disappearing. “I know. You couldn’t have known, and I agreed to tell you, so you have nothing to apologize for.”

She took a breath, and I watched her struggle for a moment. “The dreams started after my mom filed for divorce. I was so afraid he was going to come back and do something far worse than he ever had before. Almost every night, I had the same dream. The exact same one.” Her trembling grew more noticeable as she went on with her story. “I’m laying in bed, sleeping. My bedroom door swings open, and a man is standing there.”

Her eyes welled with tears, and I softly caressed her hand as she spoke.

She looked down and continued, her voice barely above a whisper. “He… my dad is holding an ax. He doesn’t say anything as he slowly walks toward me. I try to move, try to scream, but I just… can’t. I’m paralyzed with fear. I always thought it was the house. I thought it was all the horrible memories of him there. After the second night in a row, I asked to sleep at my friend’s house. But I still had the nightmare. It was the same scenario, except it wasn’t my room anymore. It was hers. No matter where I go, the dream follows me. The only thing that changes is the room I’m in.” I just looked at her, unable to find the right words.

“Even if I end up sleeping on a couch, too, apparently,” she continued, her voice wavering slightly. “I can’t move or scream, not until he’s inches from my face. I can’t even turn my head until I hear the swing of the ax and wake up, screaming.”

She started crying harder and threw herself onto me. I held her tight, drawing delicate circles on her back, whispering, “Shh… it’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here. Nothing is going to hurt you, okay?”

I sat there, holding her, not saying anything. I didn’t know what to say in that moment. I barely knew her, and yet, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have done to find the man who had caused her so much pain.

After a few minutes, I gently pulled away and stood up, my eyes lingering on her as I did.

“Mackenzie, what—” She gasped as I scooped her up, carrying her toward my room.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“You just had a nightmare. I’m not letting you sleep alone out here.”

Our eyes locked, and she formed a sad smile, wrapping her arms around me. She caressed the back of my neck and whispered softly, “Thank you.”

When we got to my room, I kicked the door closed behind me and put her on the bed. She got under the covers and sat up. I got in next to her, hating the way she sat so stiffly. I felt like we were making progress, but now I wasn’t so sure.

“I promise I won’t… just please try and get some sleep, okay?” I said.

“Okay,” she replied, her voice soft. She sat quietly for a moment before letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry for being such a blubbering mess.”

I looked at her, scowling. “Fallon, you are not a blubbering mess, do you hear me? You had a terrifying, traumatic nightmare. Your response is perfectly valid, and I don’t ever want to hear you talk about yourself like that again.”

“I’m sorry, I guess I’m still a little buzzed. I don’t know what I’m saying.” She laughed and shrugged it off.

“Fallon,” I finally said after a few moments of watching her play with a corner of the blanket, “please relax and get some sleep.” She smiled and settled into the bed.

I didn’t object when she rested her head on my chest. Instead, I reveled in it, gently running my fingers through her hair until she drifted off to sleep.

When she was asleep, I kissed the top of her head and lay there for a little while, feeling her chest rise and fall against mine. It was oddly easy, just being there with her, like I’d been doing it my whole life. It felt natural, like it was exactly what I was meant to be doing. I could’ve stayed there, listening to her breathe, forever.

After a while, I gently placed her head on the pillow. She stirred for a minute, before settling back into a deep sleep, and I rolled over, just watching her.

I wanted this moment to last for as long as possible. I wanted this vision of her, peaceful and safe, for as long as I could have it.

Eventually, I was comfortable enough to fall asleep next to Fallon. The warmth of her body so close to mine, was the best kind of sleep aid.

I woke up to feel a warm arm across my chest and a leg straddled between mine. I turned my head, opened my eyes, and grinned as the memories of last night came flooding back.

We didn’t do anything but kiss, but, God, did I want to. The heat I felt when she stared at me, holding my wine-stained shirt in her hand, was enough to set the room on fire.

I stayed in my room all night, lying next to her, not wanting to leave her side. Even though we eventually fell asleep, I couldn’t shake the need to be close, just in case the nightmare returned. Her screams terrified me, and I didn’t want to think of leaving her alone.

I tensed when I felt her stirring and groaning awake. She was smiling in her sleep, so beautifully, as only she knew how, but when she opened her eyes and looked at me, her smile disappeared and she jolted up, as if the bed somehow electrocuted her.

“Oh my God!” she screamed. I guess she wasn’t awake enough to see we were both still dressed, so nothing clearly happened. Still, I let her freak out and wake up.

“Did we…” She was frantic, running her hands through her hair and pacing across my room. I still hadn’t said anything, which was probably making it worse, but I figured she had to calm down eventually. Should I have been offended? She seemed to think something had happened, and judging by the way she was creating a tornado with her pacing, she clearly wasn’t thrilled about the possibility.

“Well, say something!” She looked at me, but before I could say anything, she gasped. “Oh my God, what were we thinking? I can’t believe?—”

“Fallon!” I yelled. She stopped and stared at me. “Please breathe. I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not, but look down.” I nodded to her fully clothed body. “Nothing happened. I told you nothing would, and I kept my word. Were you really that drunk?” I laughed.

She groaned, rubbing her face. “I mean, a little, but I remember last night. I remember waking up and… Oh God, I’m so sorry!” She covered her face, memories of last night seemingly coming back to her.

I got up and walked over to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Fallon. Fallon, look at me, please.”

She uncovered her face and our eyes met. “Your eyes are so beautiful in the morning.”

The words came out of nowhere, but they were true. She always had beautiful eyes, but honestly, everything about her was beautiful.

I cleared my throat when she furrowed her brows. “You had a nightmare, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Nothing happened and you have nothing to apologize for.” I smiled, hoping it would ease the worry from her face.

“Thank you, Mackenzie. I can’t believe I spent the night, and cried,” she said laughing.

“You better go get your keys. I promised no funny business yesterday, but today is a new day.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I better go.”

I rubbed her arm softly, and she gave me a faint smile before she headed for the door. “Please text me when you find your keys, okay? I’ll be at work, but I’ll have my phone on me all day.”

She turned around and smiled. “You got it.” And then she was gone.

About an hour later, Fallon texted me saying she’d found her keys. Apparently, she had dropped them in the bathroom, and luckily, no one had swiped them. They were waiting for her at the bar when she got there. I thanked her for letting me know and sent a sunshine emoji.

Ten seconds later another message came through:

Sunshine: I’m sorry I freaked out. Have a good day at work.

I smiled at the text, then put my phone down on the bed before hopping in the shower and getting ready for work.