OFF LIMITS

T.H.R.E.E

Ellery said goodnight to her brothers and smiled at Amelia and her brothers before leaving the lounge and making her way up to her room.

Ellery had no intention of sleeping anytime soon, but she enjoyed time to herself. Ellery had a mug of steaming caffeinated coffee in her hands and settled onto her large bed. She hoped this coffee would keep her awake until the early hours of the morning, and then maybe she'd have a few hours of sleep.

Nightmare free.

She could nap peacefully, but as soon as she settled into a deep sleep it all went downhill. It was literally a nightmare for her.

Ellery played some music in the background and picked up her Harry Potter book and opened it up. Most of her evenings at home were spent reading. It calmed her.

Not long after her coffee disappeared she started to doze off. Ellery cursed under breath when she struggled to keep her eyes open. "So much for the coffee," she huffed and rubbed her eyes as she turned a page. "Come on, perk up, Elle."

Ellery didn't sleep much, but it was extremely hard for her to stay awake sometimes. She had to force herself to keep awake.

Today was not a successful day for her because a few hours later she was screaming. Cursing. Crying. But she didn't wake up.

Cameron's room was across from hers and he always heard when she had nightmares. He was awake immediately and rushed into Ellery's room where she was thrashing about on her bed. Her sheets were tangled around her legs and she was a sweaty mess.

"Ellery!" He yelled and grabbed Ellery's shoulders, trying to shake her away.

Her words were inaudible, lost in cries and shouts, but they heartbreaking to listen to.

"Ellery, wake the fuck up!" Cameron shouted, but he couldn't get through to her.

He yelled, shouted and pleaded but she wouldn't wake.

After a while he sighed and gripped Ellery firmly. "Sorry, Elle." He shook her roughly, not caring to be gentle and her eyes flew open and the screaming and shouting stopped.

"Cameron," Ellery gasped. "I... I-"

"Nightmare," Cameron said and pushed Ellery's sweaty hair away from her face. "You're okay. You're okay."

Ellery sat up and covered her face with her hands, taking deep breaths to try and calm her breathing. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't apologise," Cameron said sharply. "Are you okay?"

Ellery sighed and shook her head. "I went four days without sleeping, Cam," she said. "I tried to stay awake earlier, but I didn't. I tried to stay awake, I-"

"Shh," Cameron said and wrapped his arms around Ellery, hugging her tightly. "You need to talk to us about this."

"You all worry too much," Ellery sniffed. "I'm used to not having much sleep. Most of the time I can handle it."

"Most of the time you have nightmares, Elle. You lock your door, so a lot of the time I can't get in and wake you. A lot of the time you wake up in the morning and don't even remember you've had nightmares. You don't remember so we don't tell you."

"I'm fed up," Ellery whispered. "I'm fed up of them! I'm sick of it! I can't ever sleep for more than a few hours because when I do this bloody happens!"

"Hey," Cameron said. "You're awake now. It's over."

"Until tonight," Ellery whimpered. "Cam, what if they never stop?"

Cameron gritted his teeth and rested his chin on Ellery's head. "They will," he whispered and Ellery cuddled up to him. Cameron was cold. He was shut off to people and very blunt, but Ellery was the only person who would ever see his soft side. "I promise you, Elle."