Always On My Mind (Sequel to Always In My Heart)

Chapter 4- Keeper

My senses slowly come to as I blink out of the darkness that is my eyelids, only opening my eyes to more darkness. I listen as I hear quiet cries coming from the other side of the bed. My heart beats fast in my chest, my consciousness slowly coming back to me as I sit up in bed, looking over at the bright, city lights outside of the glass wall. I listen closely as Harry whimpers quietly in his sleep, his breathing quickly becoming irregular.

Sometimes, Harry only cries slightly in his sleep, so there is no need for me to wake him up. But other times, it turns into a full-out, screaming fit in the middle of the night. I anxiously wait, my heartbeat loud in my ears as I listen to make sure he is going to be okay. He continues to whimper, shifting around a bit in bed. I yawn, rubbing my left eye aimlessly before allowing my hand to drop back down to the bed. I close my eyes as I sit there, still drowsy from just waking up.

I jump in terror when Harry lets out a blood-curling scream, his body tensing in the sheets. My heart races wildly as I put my hand on my chest, trying to calm down. I swallow hard as Harry continues to scream, sobbing loudly in his sleep. Usually, he doesn't form any words through his sobs, but tonight, he's beginning to mumble half-coherent words in his sleep.

"LOUEH!" he sobs loudly, really enunciating my name. "PLEASE, I CAN'T!" he screams in a slur, sounding as if he were drunk. "PLEASE, IT HURTS, DAVID!" he shrieks so loudly that my eardrums rattle, causing them to ring a bit as I quickly stumble out of bed to perform the usual routine.

Every night that Harry has bad nightmares, I do the exact, same thing to make sure he wakes up in a comfortable environment. This routine was developed and modified over time to fit Harry's needs, and I always watch carefully to see if anything needs to be added or taken away from the routine.

I walk over to Harry's side of the bed, quickly turning the bedside lamp on its lowest setting, just enough to fill the room with dim light. I look down to see Harry covered in sweat, still naked from earlier, tears running down his face as he grips onto the sheets with white knuckles. I swallow hard and carefully lean down, holding his forearms down on the bed so when he wakes he does not swing at me. The reason why I know it is necessary to do this is because I learned it the hard way.

A few weeks after Harry was released from the hospital, I woke him up from a nightmare and received a strong fist to the side of my jaw, causing me to bite my tongue so hard it bled. Harry felt so awful about it when he awoke that he didn't speak or come near for almost a week.

I hold his strong arms down with my small force, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on his lips, beginning to talk to him.

"Harry, I need you to wake up, baby," I say against his lips, in a tone that is a bit louder than a normal speaking voice. He continues to squirm and cry loudly, tears rolling down his cheeks. I continue kissing him, talking in between kisses.

"Come on, I need you to wake up for me," I say a bit louder, shaking his forearms gently in my grip. I continue to leave small pecks on his lips as he sobs.

"Harry," I say in the loudest tone yet, kissing the corner of his mouth as he jolts awake with a scream, shaking wildly underneath of my tight grip on his arms. He breathes hard, staring up at me in terror, more tears flooding his eyes.

"Louis," he manages to croak out, before the tears cruelly rip his voice away from him. I continue to kiss his lips lovingly, pushing sweaty locks of hair out of his face.

"I've got you," I whisper, kissing him once more before I stand up straight. I reach over and unlock Harry's phone on the nightstand, immediately beginning to play his favorite playlist of relaxing songs; another crucial part of the routine. Harry works to get his frantic breathing under control, covering his face with his hands.