Hold My Heart

Chapter Six

**Hey guys! So this chapter is a little crazy.. and I can promise you that none of you are expecting ANY of it.. try not to hate me too much? PLEASE comment at the end and tell me what you thought of it!! If y'all like it then you guys can expect more crazy plot twists later on, if you guys hate it then I'll tame down the plot a bit.. ENJOY!!**

I lunge up into a sitting position, screaming, as I choke back tears. The sheets are tangled tightly around me, like snakes coiling all around my body, and I feel like I’m suffocating; like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs. I look around wildly, my vision blurred by the tears in my eyes.

“Moose! Moose, it okay baby, I’ve got you,” A voice say in my ear, whispering soothingly, as Connor wraps his arms protectively me around me. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

I shake my head, my throat still feeling too choked up to speak. Connor doesn’t press me for details, letting me just melt into his embrace instead. He notices that I’m shivering, so he tugs the blanket he got me towards us, I must have kicked it off at sometime during the night, and wraps it tightly around me. Kissing me on the forehead, he rests his chin on the top of my head and I nuzzle my head into the crook of his neck as I take a deep breath.

“It’s always the same dream every time,” I say, whispering because I don’t want my voice to waver under the weight of my tears. “I just keep dreaming about the night of the accident. It was bad enough to live through it the first time, why do I have to keep going through it night after night?”

“You have this nightmare every night?” He asks me, his voice sounding concerned and I can tell by the tone of his voice that his lips have pulled into a slight frown. I nod my head, pulling my blankets closer to me and he tightens his arms around me. “You haven’t woken up screaming any other night I’ve been in here.” He tells me softly and I shrug.

“Some nights it’s worse than others, I haven’t woken up in the middle of the night in months, but I don’t think it’s ever been this bad before,” I say with a sniffle and I bury my face in his chest.

“It’ll be okay Moose, I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

“You don’t know that,” I whisper, “What if something happens to you? We don’t get to choose when we leave, Connor. No one can; they’re just here one second and the next they’re gone.”

His hand is under my chin, and he tilts my face up so that he can look me in the eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, Moose. The world can do its best, but whoever or whatever that tries to take me from you is going to be seriously fucked. I am never going to leave you.”

I look at him, my eyes searching his face for some sort of insincerity, but all there is in his face is absolute seriousness, determination, and something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. I can feel myself soften a bit, as my heart starts to slow back down to a normal rate. I lean up towards him and kiss him softly before pulling away. He gently kisses me on the top of my head before nuzzling my nose with his and leaning his forehead against mine.

“Why don’t you lay back down, Moose,” He says quietly, his voice soft and caring and I nod my head as I lie back down.

He makes sure my moose blanket is wrapped tightly around me, and then he pulls the covers up over me; tucking me in. He pulls me close to him, my head on his chest and I relax a bit more as I listen to the steady rhythm of his heart beat. When I eventually fall asleep again, I don’t dream about anything this time.

When I open my eyes, the room is bright. I turn towards Connor to see if he’d awake, but the space in the bed next to me is empty. I reach my hand out, feeling the sheets, and they’re cold to my touch. My heart is pounding painfully in my chest and my stomach clenches uncomfortably; I feel nauseous. He’s gone, he promised he wouldn’t leave, that he’d always be here, but he’s gone. Just like that he’s up and left.