Stay with me, always.

Chapter 79. The Archer

I'm beginning to regret waking Soarynn up.

Don't get me wrong, it's been great getting her back, especially for the children's sake. But I don't remember her being this...annoying the first time we went through this.

I did have the family doctor come look at her and prescribe her about four different medications to recover. I had pulled the man aside once he left the room to tell him that drugs and Soarynn did not mix well. He simply told me that if I wanted her ready for the Reaping ceremony, then this was the only way. He had yet to mention the ever-lasting side effects of these medications, some of which include hallucinations, extreme night terrors, and extreme clinginess.

The night terrors were nothing new. I started sleeping in our room again the day she woke up, figuring it was best to act as normal as possible.

She was doing okay, she had seen the children a few times before I put them to bed, and they were so excited for her to be back. Mother was her usual self, hovering around us while I coaxed Soarynn into washing off with a damp towel. Eventually, Mother left and we went to bed. I didn't know if she'd want to sleep right on top of me or have some space, we had, after all, slept in separate rooms for a good two months. A sure sign that one's marriage was going downhill, but we were back and better than ever.

Kind of.

She fell asleep rather quickly, the doctor said she'd be pretty tired for about a week, but that was nothing new. But after a few hours of peaceful slumber, I heard the whimpers I had grown accustomed to so long ago. I jolted up, looking over at Soarynn who was twitching in her sleep, whimpering, flinching. I gently grabbed her waist, shaking her, trying to wake her up from whatever was tormenting her.

"Soarynn, Soarynn, wake up," I whispered.

Her whimpers grew louder and louder, and her breath rapidly increased. Then she let out an ear-piercing scream that scared the shit out of me. Her eyes flew open as she frantically sat up, pushing me away, gasping for air. "No, no, no," she whimpered, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. I hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder, to provide her with some physical contact to maybe help ground her back to reality.

She flinched, pulling away from my touch, "He's coming," she whispered, staring into the dark corner of the room, "he's coming to get me, he's coming to hurt me."

I sighed, carding my fingers through my hair, would Jessup torment her thoughts forever?

"No one is coming, Soarynn," I assured her, "you're safe, you're alive and you're safe."

Soarynn shook her head, her hands beginning to wander from her knees and to her hair, pulling at it. I began to grow frustrated, usually, I could break her out of these tormented mindsets rather quickly and efficiently, but this was taking forever, and I needed to get some sleep. I grabbed her hand, "Soarynn you're fine, it was a bad dream."

She finally looked over at me, and the glazed-over look that was once in her eyes disappeared the moment she saw me. She let out a scream, and nearly fell off the bed, "NO!" She screamed, "NO GO AWAY!"

I immediately let go of her hand, not wanting her to lash out at me in fear. Was I the monster in her dreams?

If that was the case, I needed to fix this immediately. I couldn't afford for her subconscious to fear me on her behalf, not when she didn't remember what I'd done to her. I pulled her in by her waist, refusing to let go as I held her close to me, "Soarynn you're okay, Jessup is the man who hurt you and he's gone remember?"

Soarynn let out a sob as she tried to escape my grip, but I simply held her tighter, resting my chin on the top of her head as I began to rock us back and forth, "You're okay, you're with me and I always protect you right?" I felt her body slightly relax, "Everything you've ever wanted is right here, you have your family and your husband, no monsters can hurt you as long as I'm here."