Dolonia

Daniella Benton 15: Nightmares

I nod. "I'll stay."

Sebastian smiles a sweet grin, but I can see from here that he's tired. I move closer to him, and into the arm that was on my shoulder. "Your shirt?" I ask.

"It was hot in here." He nods to the morning sun streaming in.

I nod at his words, and snuggle closer into his arms. I let my hand rest on his bare chest, feeling it rise and fall slowly. He lets out a sigh, and lets his hand rest on my side right above my hip, being careful to avoid my bruised ribs.

If I was laying this close to a shirtless Sebastian a week ago, I would have been uncomfortable. I wouldn't even look at him without his shirt on before. It feels like that was years ago now. I've grown to know so much about him and vice versa. We've been here for each other. He helped me when I needed it the most, and now I'm helping him as much as I know how.

Being this close to him, I can almost feel how exhausted he is. He's not just a little sleepy; he's tired deep in his bones. "I'll be here when you wake up," I confess, "just relax and sleep."

I allow myself to relax after some time passes, and I can tell he's sleeping. I glance up and see his lips are parted slightly, and his breaths are slow and deep. I allow myself to truly relax. I've been propping my head in a way so it doesn't touch him. I give up on it now that my neck is starting to hurt.

I let my forehead rest against his warm chest, just below his chin. I hear him mumble something, and he moves his hand to the small of my back, pulling my torso closer to him.

I relax more, and my breathing syncs with his. I feel myself starting to fall asleep too, when Seb's body jerks slightly in a flinch or maybe it's a twitch. He remains asleep, but I can hear his heart beat has quickened.

I snuggle back to where I was, and try to relax again. He mumbles something else, but I can't make it out. I lay my arm across his side, hoping he'll relax some, and I can breathe a bit better.

The word that comes out of his mouth is very low, but it's clear. "No."

I lean back some and look up at his face. He looks uncomfortable. I feel my heart drop to my gut. I quickly scan him over to make sure I'm not hurting him. I'm not, and my heart sinks deeper as I remember Jackson saying that he sleep talks.

My brain goes into a panic as mine and Jackson's old conversation comes back to my memory. He said it's always the same thing. He thought Seb could be having the same reoccurring dream.

I move my hand back to his chest and I feel his heart rate has accelerated. His forehead starts to glisten with sweat. His face slightly contorts. It's low, but I can hear what he says.

"Stop."

I start to shake him awake. "Seb." I say.

He jerks, flinching away. "Sebastian. Wake up." I say a bit louder. "Wake up."

Thankfully, he does. His eyes flicker open, and scan over my panicked, worried face. His breathing has picked up, and his hands are shaking.

He doesn't say anything, he just pulls me into a hug. It's silent for a moment as we both relax into each other's arms.

"I'm sorry." He says, pulling away and wiping his forehead. "Did I wake you up?"

I shake my head. "Bad dream?" I ask lightly.

"Yeah. Thanks for waking me."

I smile sadly, and rub my hand up and down over his ribs, soothingly. "I'm sorry."