Save Me? I'm Fine.

Chapter 8

That night, as usual, you were startled awake from your nightmare. You had broken into cold sweats, sitting up among the sheets twisted around your limbs probably because you were trashing in your sleep again. Your heart pounded against your chest as you looked around the room you were starting to get familiar with. You could hear the sound of the rain outside again, the storm was back but there was something else that caught your ear too.

Soft whines and whimpers, slight creaking of the sofa and you peered into the darkness to see Taehyung also moving slightly in the dull illumination of the candles. Swinging your legs off the bed you walked out of the room pushing the curtains aside as he started to visibly toss and turn almost moving frantically in the small width of the couch. You watched hesitatingly as it got worse. You didn't know what to do. You didn't know how to help.

When he almost fell of the couch, that was when you panicked and rushed to his side, quickly dropping to your knees by his head, pushing him back into the softness of the couch as subtly as you could. You gently pushed the hair falling into his face back, stroking his head to calm him down, whispering a string of 'it's okay' and 'It's not real.' You don't know if it was your touch or your voice but he slowly relaxed, his deep breathing becoming less obvious and more regular as you sat back on the heels of your ankles beside him, watching him. He was so beautiful, it was sad to see him in so much pain. It was sad to see a man like him in the same pain as a woman like you. You had both seen death, you both had regrets. You both were standing on the banks of a blood river but on opposite sides. You were on the parallel banks that will never and can never meet. He killed someone and someone died because of you.

You didn't know which was worse. You didn't know if one could be worse than another.

You slowly raised up back on your knees drawing your hand back when he turned to his side facing you, hand subconsciously reaching for yours as he tucked it under his head, sleeping on it. You opened your mouth in protest but couldn't bring yourself to say anything. Not when he was finally peaceful after so long, not when he was not feeling pain anymore. Hesitating, you settled down on the floor beside him, tapping his shoulder softly to put him back into a deep sleep, resting your head by his on your borrowed arm, hearing the faint pulse throbbing in your veins as the dull sound eventually lulled you to sleep.

When Taehyung woke up the next morning he was expecting himself to be drenched in sweat and perhaps even off the couch lying on the floor. What he was not expecting was holding your hand under his head and you sleeping upright by his side. When he turned his head after blinking multiple times he saw you leaning against the sofa sound asleep on the cold floor, for how long he didn't know. Sitting up, he slowly let your hand go and slid off the sofa, settling down against it across you as you slowly stirred awake. He watched as you raised your head, rubbed your eyes and finally noticed him sitting in front of you.

"Taehyung......" You sat up wincing as though your back hurt from the upright position you were sitting in.

"Are you okay? Does your back hurt?"

"I'm fine." You brushed his concerns aside simply. "Just a little stiff."

"I'm sorry." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I didn't know when and how I fell asleep like that and-.....Wait." He stopped realising something. "Why were you here? Weren't you sleeping in the room?"

"I-yeah yeah I was but I think you were having a bad dream so you sort of....."

"Woke you up?"

"No, not really. I myself had woken up from one. I thought I could at least help you sleep through one." You brought your knees up to your chest wrapping your arms around them.