The Winding Road

Chapter 10

I climb into James' bed and lie under the puffy white duvet. It's warm under here and the smell of his deodorant drowns me as I lift the blanket. James walks in, dragging a mattress behind him.

"Comfy?" He says, still not making eye contact.

"Yeah."

He drops the mattress at the end of the bed and gets a blanket down from his cupboard. He then makes his way into his bathroom where he gets into his pajamas and brushes his teeth. He walks out of the bathroom shirtless. His torso is tanned to perfection and his six pack is defined. He walks to his cupboard and slips a thin white vest top over his head. I finally understand why all the girls at school are crazy about him.

"Night Sam." He says, climbing under the blanket on the mattress at my feet.

"Night James." I say quietly, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

#DREAM#

"Come here sugar plum." My dad hobbles towards me. I turn to run but he grabs my arm and pulls me back. "I've missed you."he says, liking his lips and pushing me against the wall of our kitchen.

"Dad stop." I say crying as he begins touching me where I don't want to be touched. "Stop it!" I scream and slap him across his left cheek.

"I promise you'll enjoy this sweet." He murmurs, bringing his body closer to me.

"Stop!!!"

#END OF DREAM#

I shoot up in bed and open my eyes in panic. Realizing where I am, I begin to cry softly not wanting to wake James. Visions of the dream come flashing back to me and I begin to cry louder. It's 23:56 and James is out cold but I can't sleep. I keep seeing my dad. I climb slowly out of bed and make my way to the end of the bed where James is sleeping on the mattress. I kneel down next to him and put my hand on his arm. He opens his eyes sleepily, he's a very light sleeper. James sees my tears and sits up.

"Sam, are you ok? What happened?"

I begin to cry and he pulls me closer to him. He holds me in his arms and rubs my back as I cry on his shoulder...again. He lifts the blanket and moves up. I climb under and we lie down under the covers. It's warm and again it smells like him. He holds me close and I slowly stop crying. When my tears are gone I just lie with my head on his arm and my eyes closed.

"Bad dream?" He says softly looking into my eyes.

The cold light of the crescent moon reflects off the blueness of his eyes and he looks like an angel.

"Yeah." I say. "Sorry, I'll go now."

"You really don't have to Sam, I don't mind you being here with me."

I feel uncomfortable and think of my dream again. "No, it's fine."

"I won't hurt you Sam. I know what you're thinking and I'm sorry for what I did earlier. It was inappropriate and I'm really sorry...it won't happen again."

"It's fine James." I say softly. I feel more at ease now and lie down again. I close my eyes and turn around. James puts his arm around me and we fall asleep quickly. The rest of the night is peaceful. I don't have anymore bad dreams. I feel safe with James and I sleep through the night till morning.