Don't Touch Her

Chapter Eighteen

I woke up some time in the night, breathing hard. I looked across to Katie, who slept facing away from me.

I got up, feeling panicked, and rushed to the upstairs bathroom. I grabbed the counter edges, trying to take control of my breathing and calm down.

My heart raced, and I felt almost lightheaded, the feeling alone made me want to cry.

I breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. Tears came rushing to my eyes.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Violet?"

Slowly, Dominic pushed it open.

"Hey, what's wrong?" His voice was gentle. "Violet, it's okay." He came closer, his hands hovering near my shoulder. "I'm going to touch you, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."

Gently, he placed his hands around me and pulled me into his chest. I tried pushing him back, wanting distance, wanting to get away from him.

"Have you been reading anything new lately?" He asked, trying to make me focus on something, trying to distract me.

I shook my head.

"I saw a book on the table. What was that?" He asked.

"... Pollyanna," I said. My hands shook as I tried to move them away from his bare chest.

"Mmm, Pollyanna. I haven't heard of that. Wanna tell me about it?"

I struggled, trying to breathe normally and speak. "Hey, hey, it's okay, just breathe okay. Follow me." He breathed in deeply and then slowly exhaled, "just follow me," he said.

I followed along the best I could as he tried talking to me.
"Well, tell me something, your favorite books. Tell me why you like them."

"... Alice... Alice in Wonderland."

"Okay, why is it your favorite?"

"... Um... it's whimsical..." My breathing started to slow. "The Mad Hatter... he's my favorite."

"Why is he your favorite?" He asked.

"He's fun... I love how he's obsessed with tea parties... and his eccentric personality."

"Yeah, anything else you like about him?"

"I, um... his unique fashion sense," I giggled softly.

He smiled, "Yeah, he's got an interesting wardrobe. Have you seen the movies?"

"No... I haven't."

"Mmm, we're going to have to see them sometime then. The old ones and the live action. Violet, you'll love them."

"Yeah," I smiled.

His hands rubbed my arms as he slightly pulled away. "You okay?"

I nodded, "thank you."

He nodded, smiling softly as he took me in. "You're so little, how tall are you? I wasn't expecting you to reach only like mid chest area."

I looked down sheepishly, "4'8."
Heat rushed to my face.

He laughed softly, "really? Now, that's adorable."
My face boiled.

"Hey," he said. His hands were on my elbows now, warm and large. "You sure you're okay? If you need anything, I'm here. Wake me up if you have to, I won't mind."

"I'm okay... Thank you."

He stared at me, his blue eyes intent on mine. "Okay," he finally said. "I'm going to bed now, but if you need anything, I'm just right here, okay?"

I nodded.

"Okay... Goodnight Violet."