Over the Phone

Chapter Seven

Something woke Chloe out of a solid sleep and she rolled over to blearily look at the clock. 4:15 a.m. She groaned and rolled back onto her stomach when the sound that woke her came again from the living room.

Adam!  her thoughts screamed as she heard it again. He sounded like he was in a lot of pain; his gasps and groans came fast between jagged breaths. Chloe launched herself at the door, praying to God she hadn't slept through him being attacked. She ran to the living room and stopped short when she saw him in the low light. He was thrashing on the couch like he was on fire.

"Adam?" He didn't acknowledge her at all.

He must be having one hell of a nightmare, she realized. She went to him, sitting on the edge of the couch and trying to wake him up.

"Adam! Please wake up," she said, but he didn't respond again. Her heart rate picked up and she was nearly frantic as she heard him groan loudly again. She put a hand to his chest and the other on his shoulder, but where she expected his skin to be smooth, it was rough and knotted. She looked down at his chest and gasped, nearly falling off the couch. His right shoulder and chest, from his collar bone down to the bottom of his sternum was broken by rope-like scars, extending around his ribs, not unlike the one on his cheek. She reached a hand out to his face, hoping to wake him, but as she did she realized her hand was shaking. The second she touched him, he jerked up into a sitting position and screamed; a full out bone-chilling scream. The sound finally choked off in his throat and his eyes opened and focused on Chloe. He was panting and there was a film of sweat on his skin.

"Chloe," he whispered and smothered her to his chest, "Chloe, are you okay? God, I hope I didn't scare you." His fingers were tangled in her hair as he clung to her like a child to its mother. She wrapped her arms around him, offering the support he was asking for. Little by little, Adam’s body relaxed, but he never let her go. He leaned back on the couch, pulling Chloe across his lap. He ran a hand over his face and rested an arm over his eyes while clutching a handful of the shirt she was wearing.

"Chloe, are you okay," he asked again, all seriousness in his voice. She nodded my head.

"I'm fine. Are you alright," she asked quietly, her eyes again drawn to the scars gleaming silver against his chest in the soft moonlight coming through the window. Adam's breathing was a little jagged.

"Not really, but I'm not dead, so I guess it's a trade-off," he said, his normal carefree tone gone. He pulled her close and hid his face in her shoulder. She ran her fingers into his hair, trying to comfort him and wondering what was wrong.

"Adam?" He shifted a bit, but didn't look up.

"I know what you want to know, but I don't feel like talking about it," he said flatly. She stroked his hair still and sighed.

"I wasn't going to ask about it. I was going to ask if you wanted anything... my mom used to make me a snack after I woke from a nightmare to help me fall back to sleep again." He sat back a little, still holding her close, and chuckled softly.

"Will you just stay with me?" He looked calmer now, but his voice was nearly pleading. She held his face gently between her hands and kissed his cheek.

"If that's what you need," she said and rested her head on his shoulder.

Adam hadn't had a night terror in over a year; he had started to think he was over them, but once it had started, he was powerless to stop it. It was the same as always, but he could never tell it wasn't real until he woke up screaming with the remembered pain of his injuries. It had taken so long or the wounds to heal physically, but he didn't think he’d ever be able to forget the pain.

Adam clung to Chloe, not just because she was letting him, but because he wanted her to be there, even if it meant she saw all the scars and the nightmares. She snuggled against him, her fingers tracing the scars on his chest like she was making patterns.

"You don't mind," he asked her quietly. She tilted her head up toward his face.

"Mind what?" She continued to trace his skin in swirls and circles.

"The scars," he said slowly, almost afraid of her answer. She smiled against his chest and shook her head before she raised up her leg and lifted her shirt farther up her thigh to show him a long scar that went around the side of her leg. It was thin and years old, but prominent on her pale skin, the jagged shape now standing out in the moonlight.

"Scars don't scare me," she said, smiling. He could hear sleep crawling into her voice.

"Can I lie down on the couch? I'm about to fall asleep." He held her tightly as he stood up and started toward the bedroom.

"Where are you going?"

"To put you to bed, Chlo; you're exhausted." She shook her head sleepily.

"You asked me to stay with you." she said sadly, "I have to stay." He smiled a little. She sounded like a child, but he really didn't want to be alone when he fell back to sleep after the night terror…

"How about I stay with you then," he asked. She nodded.

"Okay," she said, already nearly asleep as he laid her in bed, then laid beside her, pulling the blankets over their bodies. She rolled over and laid her head on his chest, her small hand coming to rest on his shoulder. She looked up and kissed his collarbone softly.

"Adam..." she said as she fell asleep, leaving her thought unfinished.