Through Her Eyes

Chapter 7

I knew something was wrong in the middle of the night. I had been sleeping when suddenly I was woken by the sound of muffled screaming. I jumped out of bed instantly and was out the door in the next second. As I threw open Dad's door, the sight I saw made me stop in my tracks. Dad was tossing and turning in his bed, the sheets twisted around his body like a straight jacket, sweat pouring down his face. It was contorted in pain and his screams were being muffled by his pillow.

After I got over my moment of shock, I was by his beside immediately.

"Dad! Dad!" I grabbed his shoulder and arm and began shaking him. All he did was groan and yell "Stick to the plan!"

It instantly clicked that he was reliving Afghanistan. I'd heard of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but I'd never imagine Dad would have it. I should have known he would. No one could go through that ordeal and come out fine.

"DAD!" I shook him even harder. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he sat up in his bed so quickly that I lost my grip on his arm and went crashing to the floor. I let out a yell of pain as a landed badly on my shoulder.

Tony sat there for a few moments, heaving in deep breaths, before he realized I was lying on the floor beside his bed.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry Morgan!" He swung his legs over the side of the bed and quickly helped me get to my feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Dad. Are you okay? You were screaming your head off," Instantly pain registered across his face. I sat down gently on the bed beside him and squeezed his hand.

"Yeah...just a nightmare," It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it.

"Dad...do you think you might...you know, need help? Like someone to help you get over the stress?" I was going into dangerous territory now.

"No, I'm fine! It was just a silly nightmare!" He sounded just a bit too forceful as he tried defending himself.

"Okay, it was just a suggestion. Just think about it, okay?"

He nodded encouragingly but I knew he would never take the advice and get help. I stood up from the bed, hiding the pain that shot threw my shoulder as I did. He stood up too, hugged me briefly then ushered me out of the room.

I knew this wouldn't be the last night this would happen.

I woke from a terrible nights sleep to the annoying sound of my alarm clock buzzing. After running into Dad's room at 1 in the morning, I'd had an extremely hard time getting back to sleep. Yawning, I managed to stumble my way out of my room and to the top of the stairs. I'd barley made it down two steps when I heard voices floating up from the living room.

"Be honest with me Pepper, how bad was she?" Frowning, I sat myself down on the step I'd been standing on and leaned in closer.

"Well...basically she shut down. She stayed in her room all day, didn't eat for days at a time, barely spoke at all," It suddenly registered that they were talking about me and what had happened in the months Dad was gone. "She was a completely different person. And it broke my heart...to see her so distraught like that."

Taking a deep breath, I had to steady myself. I didn't realise how much I had affect Pepper by the way I acted in those three months. I guess I eventually just forgot how much she really cared for me.

Dad must have done something because the next thing I heard was Pepper's clicking heels and her saying, "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. And it wasn't her fault either. She was just trying to deal with the loss of her father."

"Jarvis told me she had asked him about survival rates for Afghanistan. How could I do that to her? I left her here with her heart broken," Dad's voice cut through me like a knife. (I made a mental note to speak to Jarvis later, traitor.)