My Gay Roommate (L.S)

Thirty One

There's a whimper that comes piercing through the shadows of the night, making me jolt awake. My heart hammers, hoping that it isn't a demon trying to lure me out of bed.

It happens again, this time, mumbling follows with it. I press my ear against the wall, the cold seeping into my skin, making me shiver a little. I brush my finger over the wall, feeling the texture of it dip under the pad of my finger.

"I'm not! Please, leave me alone. Please," Louis' voice begs quietly, and my brows knit together.

I peel the duvet off from me, the cold chasing the warmth, even through this ridiculous onesie. I place my feet into the slippers, shuffling out the room as quiet as possible. I open Louis' door slowly, poking my head through the gap to see that the room is still pooled in the dark of the night.

I move closer to him, his silhouette laying in his bed, covers screwed up over his torso, as he tosses and turns.

"I don't need it, I'm fine," he grumbles, his arms flailing in a dream he cannot get out of.

"Lou," I whisper gently. "Lou, wake up."

He flinches in his sleep, whimpers. "You can't force me," he says, his voice shaky more than ever, and I'm pretty sure I see the glint of a tear on his cheek from the alarm clock's light. "You can't. I'm being punished, this is God. I'm being punished."

My brows crease downward, confusion swirling through my body, heart thumping. I go to touch his arm, but it comes out on its own accord, and his fist connects with my jaw, making me yelp.

"Louis!" I say louder, trying to get him to listen through his dream.

His body jolts and thrashes, picking up a fight with someone in his mind. "Let go of me!" he screams.

I take a step back, and someone lays a hand on my shoulder, making me jump. My head whips round to see Zayn standing there in his red wooly pyjama set.

"It's alright, Lou," he says gently, he gives me an apologetic look, and moves closer to dreaming Louis. He turns on Louis' fairy lights to bring a soft dim glow to the room.

He frantically grabs onto Louis' arms, pushing them to his side. Louis fights against him, eyes glued stuck, but they move beneath his eyelids.

Zayn rocks them side to side, humming, all the while Louis screams in his sleep.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask, placing my hands protectively over myself.

Zayn looks up to me, kisses Louis' hair. "He's having a nightmare. But he hasn't had them in ages, I don't know what's triggered it this time."

I tilt my head, stepping closer. "They come due to triggers?" I ponder.

Zayn nods. "When he was younger, they came every night. Then he- well, he went into therapy, as you know, and they slowly started to stop. Only when something triggering has happened, do they seem to resurface. They've been trying to help sort it out, but it's not worked yet." He turns back to Louis, rocking side to side, as Louis begins to cry in his sleep, begging to be let go.

And shit. I didn't know it was this bad. My poor Lou, is laying there, trapped in his own mind, having a really bad dream, and I can't do anything to help. I feel useless, like a burden to him. Zayn knows what to do, I don't, I have no experience in this. That should be me comforting him, as his boyfriend. But instead, I'm standing here like a lemon, waiting for his next move.

"Louis, darling, I need you to wake up for me. Listen to my voice, Lou, you're in a dream, wake up, bubs," Zayn says against Louis' ear, the hair swooping down toward his ear fluttering slightly.