Learning Curve

Chapter 10 - Tender

Ericka is awakened midday to a sound of a sort of thrashing in the bed beside her.

She is bumped a couple of times from behind, the bed creaking and the sheets rustling around her in an agitated manner. She is stirred from sleep, groggily blinking her eyes open to the darkness of their bedroom. The woman is bumped again, more roughly than before, and she turned around to face her bedmate. The sight she is met with is all but alarming, making Ericka's heart sink to the depths of her stomach in dread.

Dracula is trapped in a distraught sleep, his fingers gripping the bedsheets tightly, his dark hair unruly and his limbs thrashing about. His eyes are screwed shut, an expression of utter anguish written on his features as he writhed and whimpered, mumbling something incoherent but very much distressed. Ericka recognized this behavior from previous instances - it didn't happen often, but whenever it did, she always felt her heart break. The nightmare was no doubt a vivid memory of his past, and she knew what to do whenever it chose to plague him.

She gripped his shoulders, shaking in a manner that was both firm and gentle. "Drac, honey, wake up!" Ericka called out to him softly.

He started at her touch, eyes still shut, and consiousness still trapped in the grasp of his terror. He gasped out, his words becoming a little more coherent as his voice began to raise.

"Oh my love... nono no, no!"

"Drac!" she called out a little louder, her shaking on his shoulders increasing slightly. "It's just a dream, please wake up!"

But the man continued to thrash, muttering desperately and moving fitfully.

"Oh no, no, please NO!"

"DRAC!"

She is stunned when he retaliates against her touch, jerking away from her with a cry before his eyes flew open, wild blue orbs filled with terror as they stared out blankly in an attempt to bear witness to reality. Heavy breaths rise and fall in his chest at a rapid pace, his face still wearing the mask of horror from whatever images had flashed before his eyes.

Unnerved, Ericka reached out for him. "Drac?" A tentative hand is placed on his shoulder. It reels him back with a jolt of shock as a result of which Ericka winces and retracts her hand quickly. He stares at her a moment, the petrified look dwindling down some as he gazed and blinked, seeming to notice her presence.

She tries again once he seems more lucid. "Drac, honeyfangs," she began slowly, "it's okay. It was just a dream. A bad one. You're safe, now. Everything is alright."

Dracula blinked again, seemingly a little slow at comprehending what she was saying. He looked confused. "E-Ericka?" he stammered, her name sounding more like a question.

"Yes, sweetie. It's me, I'm right here," she assured him gently.

She didn't expect him to answer her, but she most certainly didn't expect him to do what he did next. Ericka was taken completely off guard when tears pooled in his eyes and he suddenly burst into a sob, enveloping her in a tight desperate hug. His sobs shuddered against her body and she could feel his tears starting to soak through the shoulder of her thin nightgown.

The woman gasped, startled by his sudden outburst. Never had he acted like this from a nightmare, and it shocked her. But she did not wait too long to react. Her arms wrapped around his trembling frame, returning the embrace without hesitation.

"Shh, shh..." Ericka whispered, running a comforting hand through his silky hair as she attempted to calm him. He trembled beneath her touch, the sobs continuing unabated as he clung to her like a lifeline. She held onto him tighter in response, rubbing a soothing circle into his back with her other hand. "I'm here," she spoke, her voice soft and low, trying to keep her tone reassuring despite the growing anxiety within her. "Everything is alright now."