The Alpha's Broken Runt

Chapter Twenty-Four

-Panic-

Who would have thought that Nightly wouldn't take what happened between us as an invitation to do as he likes.
I truly thought he would try to hold my hand or something, but he has kept his distance, I haven't had skin contact with him since last night.
I sit with my legs crossed at the end of my bed in the pack house, my gaze focused on my window that looks out over the forest.
A knock rings through my room and my head whips to look at my door as it opens, just a crack. "Can I come in?" Nightly's quiet voice crawls through the space.
"Sure.." I turn my head back to my window, ignoring is presence that is growing ever closer.
"I brought you some food... thought you might be hungry." I nod my head, my eyes flickering to him for a moment.
"Can I sit?" He questions, and I nod again, feeling the bed dip slightly as he sits next to me, keeping a space between us.
"You okay?" He asks, and I turn to him for a moment. "Yeah... why wouldn't I be?" He doesn't speak for a moment. "I don't know... you just seem out of it."
"Just thinking is all."
He stays quiet, but I know he wants to know more.
"Not about anything in particular... just kind of.. everything." He nods, "Okay, just wanted to make sure you weren't upset." My eyes glance over to the clock on my bedside table, which tells me that it is fifteen past two.
"I thought you normally went to bed early?" I glance to him, cocking my head slightly.
"Oh... well, I just.." He trails off, glancing away towards my door, which was closed.
"How's Alex?" I notice the change in subject but don't comment on it. "He's fine... I suppose... Wait, why do you care?" That's not like him, I thought he hated Alex.
"I mean, you care about him, and I care about you, so..." I nod, looking down at my hands.
"I don't know, really. He seems off, but, I don't think he would tell me if something was bothering him, he'd want to protect me, he always has. It ticks me off." I growl, and I feel Nightly shift next to me.
"Do you.... do you feel everything now? I mean... do you have all of your emotions back?" I roll my eyes and sigh. "I don't... I guess? I mean, how do you really know?" He nods, "right."
"Why aren't you asleep?" He questions, "Well..."
He shakes his head. "It's fine, I'm sure you have your reasons and I don't expect you to tell me everything of your past." The bed shifts next to me as he stands.
"I'll be in my office if you need anything... Why don't you try and get some sleep? If you're not hungry." I glance at the food he brought me, which consisted of a sandwich, some chips, and a canned soda.
"Please?" He questions, and I sigh before nodding. "Yeah, sure..." You run a hard bargain. He hesitates for a moment before he turns and exits my room. He's acting sort of weird.
He's probably trying to respect you... But he probably has questions.
I stare at the tray of food for a moment. Eat, I know you need to.
But. No, I know you're used to hardly eating, but you're not there anymore, you need to start eating more.
I sigh before I eat some of the food, not finishing it. I take the tray off of my bed before laying down and staring out of the window.

I jolt awake, a cold layer of sweat covering my body as my breathing comes out in uneven breaths.
My hand goes to my chest as I try to calm my breathing, but the images of my dream flash in my head, only causing my breathing to come out faster. My dream, my memories, I need to stop this, I need to be able to sleep properly.
A shaky breath escapes my lips as I get out of my bed, wobbling on my weak legs before I stumble to my door and exit it. My legs carry me in a random direction, my fuzzy vision unable to exactly see where that is.
I place my hand on a doorknob and enter the connected room.
"Eleanor?" A voice enters my head and I look up, my eyes landing on a worried Theodore, who begins making his way around his desk.
"Are you okay?" He makes his way to me, placing both of his hands on my shoulders.
"What's wrong? you're shaking."
"I uh... I don't...I don't know why I came here, I-I-"
"It's okay Eleanor, what happened?"
"I uh... I'm.." I shake my head.
"Come here, sit down."
He leads us over to a couch and sits down with me, leaving some distance between us.
"Did you sleep at all?"
The images replay in my head, forcing me to see my memories over and over.
"Um... I.. yes... I did." I squeeze my eyes shut, my fist clenching around the bottom of my top.
"I can't sleep. I-I can't fall asleep without seeing him."
"Your heart rate..." I hear him murmur next to me, and I open my eyes to look at him, feeling my heart thump rapidly in my chest. It feels like it's going to explode.
"Eleanor... can I try something?" I look up at him through watery eyes.
"What is it?" I ask quietly. "You... you can stop me at any time, I just want to see if it will help." I look at him for a moment, I can see the genuine concern in his eyes. I nod my head lightly.
I flinch and my whole body tenses when he suddenly moves closer to me.
He stops for a moment, but then I feel his hand on my arm, my body moves towards him, and a moment later my head is against his chest and his arms are across me in a protective manner.
I freeze, my entire body tenses, and I want to get away from him, all of me wants to get away from him.
I force myself to stay calm, to not push away. Ashley is calmer in my head, and I hear Nightly sigh.
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart beat is so much calmer than mine. My heart continues to beat at a fast pace, pounding against my chest.
I curl up more, my eyes squeezing shut, trying to force the images out of my mind.
I try to take a calming breath, and all I can smell when I do is Theodore's scent.
The tears that were filling my eyes are forced down my cheeks.
I focus on Ashley, who is calm and purring quietly at the contact with her mate, and Theodore's heart beat, which is calm, like a quiet echo through an empty chamber.
"It's okay Eleanor. You're safe here. He's never going to hurt you again."