Emotional

Chapter 2

Erin looked at her phone. They'd only been asleep for a couple of hours when she heard him mumbling. She was instantly awake. His face was scrunched in pain and he was mumbling incoherently.

"Jay… wake up," she tried but to no avail.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" he practically screamed in his sleep. Erin tried again to wake him. When she touched him, he flinched and her heart broke a little. She knew it was just reactionary because he was caught in his dream, but whatever was happening was bad and it hurt watching him struggle.

"Jay! Come on, wake up," she pleaded. She laid her hand on his chest and he jerked straight up. She pulled her hands back giving him a minute.

"Jay… it's ok. It's just me," she whispered sitting up with him. He wouldn't look at her and he was breathing hard. She crawled where she was facing him, "Jay… it's just me," she whispered as she moved towards him. He tried sinking into the headboard.

He hated how the dreams made him feel, like he was caught between reality and nonreality. He hated how they made him feel weak and vulnerable. He hated that she was having to see him break in two.

Erin crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around him as she felt him tremble. "Jay… it's ok baby. I'm here. You're safe. It was just a dream; you're safe here in our bed."

He laid his head on her shoulder as she ran her fingers through his hair. "It was a flash of different memories… you… you don't need to see this Er… you should go back to your apartment… so…"

She kissed him hard to shut him up. "I'm not leaving Jay. I told you earlier I'd be here no matter what and I meant that. I'm staying. End of story."

She heard him sigh as she continued to rub his head. In just a few minutes she heard his breathing even out. He'd fallen asleep sitting up with his head on her shoulder. She wasn't sure he was all that comfortable, but she didn't want to try and move him.

She slowly let her head move to rest on his shoulder as she felt herself drifting again. She had no idea if he'd have any more dreams, but she meant it when she said she wasn't leaving. She'd be there no matter what because he was always there for her.

It couldn't have been more than an hour when Erin felt herself jerked awake. He'd jerked in his sleep and it had woken her. His head was back against the headboard now, but he was still asleep. His brow was wrinkled and his hands were gripping her shoulders.

"Jay…. Stop. Wake up," she tried when she felt him start to squeeze them. She reached to touch his face and his eyes instantly opened. 'Hey… it's just me… it's Erin," she said quietly. His eyes were scanning the room not looking at her.

"Jay… you're safe. It's your apartment; it's just me and you." He pushed her to the bed and got up. Erin didn't know what to do. "Jay…. Stop. Get in bed," she tried seeing him walk around the room. She couldn't tell if he was awake or still asleep.

When she tried to get up, he stopped her. "Stay," he quietly demanded. He was kind of scaring her, but she nodded. When he stalked out to the living room, she grabbed her phone. She sent Mouse a text. "How many dreams a night? How can I make them stop?"

She wasn't expecting her phone to start ringing. "Hello?" she said quietly.

"Erin... how many has he had? What was he saying? What's he doing?" Erin couldn't help the quiet chuckle at how fast Mouse was talking.

"Ok... slow down… this is just the second. First, he was just saying stop; I got him awake. All he would say was that it was a flash of memories and that I should go. But I told him I wasn't leaving and he was almost right back asleep. This time, he pushed me onto the bed and he's walking around the apartment."