Survived Me: a Shatter Me fan-fiction (Warnette)

Chapter 60 - Hot Bath

⚠️TW⚠️
Mention of insomnia
Trauma
Nightmares
Mention of memory loss due to trauma
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JULIETTE'S POV:
Everyone is back on base, we all decided to discuss matters in the morning. I showed Annie and Leo to two separate guest rooms on base, that's where they'll be settled for the foreseeable future.

I open the door to me and Aaron's bedroom, he is laying, half sat up against the headboard, on the bed. "Hey love." He smiled. "Did you settle your brother and sister in?"
"Yes," I slump down next to him, laying my head on his chest. "I didn't know it was possible to be this confused between reality and what I've been forced to think is reality." I sigh.
He rubs circles on my back "it's going to come back to you". He kisses the top of my head. "It's just a matter of waiting for the memories to remember themselves, decipher from fact and not fiction."
I gently nod, "yeah".
"Are you tired, love?" He asked, I am, very much so - but I don't want to sleep - knowing what the probability of me having a bad nightmare is.
"I'm not that tired. I just feel stressed overall."
He lightly chuckled, kissing my forehead, and said; "you're such a bad liar".

I sit up and grab a pillow, gently bumping the top of his head with it. "What makes you think I'm lying?"

He cups my face, "you look exhausted, and I heard you yawn before I asked".

I chuckled and hit my face in my hands out of embarrassment. "Oh my gosh."
"It's because you think you're going to have a nightmare, right?" He asked, of course he would figure that much out. I mean, if the roles were reversed I'd know that that's what was wrong with him. It's a pretty obvious thing for me to be worried about.

"Yeah, I don't want to have a bad dream." I admit, flopping back down on the bed.
"Would you like me to run you a nice hot bath?"
I breathe in, a sharp inhale. "That sounds wonderful." I smile.

He stands up, walks to the bathroom and I hear the bath taps start running. I think I'm starting to take on some of Aaron's habits, like - for one - feeling the unexplainable relaxation of sinking into the water of a steaming tub of water known as a bath. The smells of soap and the popping of bubbles. It's like the most luxurious form of pleasure I've ever experienced. In the asylum there were only showers, no baths - and the water that came pouring down from said showers was always freezing. Furthermore, I now can appreciate the hygienic soak.
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Word count: 446