To Trust a Giant

Chapter 24

A sharp cry awoke Jason from his slumber. He looked at the clock on his phone: Three-thirty AM. The room was almost pitch black, with only the window above him to dimly light up the room. The sounds of crying filled his room. It was Stella! He quickly crawled out of bed and over to her aid.

Stella sat up on the couch, with her face buried in her hands as she sobbed. She looked so scared and helpless. It pained Jason to see her like this. Without thinking, Jason’s hand wrapped around her protectively.

Big mistake. Stella immediately started to kick and punch at his hand while screaming like a banshee! He tried soothing her by telling her it was all right, while trying to restrain her arms from attacking him further, but the moment he tried to pin her left arm to her side, she went even more ballistic. She shrieked louder and thrashed around in his hand, trying to get far away from him!

“NO STOP, IT HURTS! IT HURTS!”

Jason gasped and withdrew his hand. She scurried to the backrest of the couch and clutched her arm tightly. Jason stared at the tiny girl in shock. He hardly put any pressure on her arm, but she screamed out as if she just broke her arm! Did he really just hurt her? He squinted to try to get a better look at her arm but with her sleeves hid any signs of potential damage.

“Stella, what happened to your arm?”

“C…Cut open.”

“Was this a dream?”

“No.”

“When did this happen?”

“Every night.”

Jason looked at her confused. Although, she always wore long sleeves, she never showed any signs of her arms being cut. “May I see your arm?” He reached out and tried to gently nudge her arm away with his finger but Stella let out a distressed whine.

“Okay, okay, I won't do that again.” He said, backing off. “But can you tell me how you got your arm cut?”

“M...M…Mike.” The tone in her voice trembled as she said the name.

“Stella, you were having a dream.” He reassured. “There's no Mike here to hurt you.”

Stella's breath began to quicken and her face twisted in anguish. “He's coming for me! He's gonna get me!”

“No he's not, Stella!”

“Yes, he is! He's gonna punish me again!” Tears began pouring out of her eyes and Jason gave her a pitiful look. Her distressed cries were a grim nostalgia for him as he used to get them all the time. But his mom was always there to hum to him when he was scared. Would humming work for Stella?

Very slowly, Jason extended his arm out to Stella and brushed his finger tips against her back. She gasped but Jason politely shushed her.

“It’s okay, I won't touch your arms.” He reassured. He began humming a familiar tune and gently rubbing her back to calm her down.

Within a few moments, Stella stopped trembling and her body became less tense. Slowly, but surely, she came back to reality.

“J...Jason?”

“Feeling better, kiddo?”

Stella gave a sleepy nod. He could see her eyes growing heavy and her head started to drop, the poor girl must've worn herself out from all the screaming. Hopefully, she'll have better dreams.

Jason let out a soft yawn and figured it was time for him to go to bed too. He stopped rubbing her back and started to slip his hand away, but before he completely withdrew it, Stella grabbed onto his index finger.
“Don’t go…” She murmured.
Warmness spread through his chest. Never did Jason think Stella would seek comfort by clinging to his finger like a small child.

Smiling, Jason scooped Stella up in his hands. “I'm not going anywhere, kiddo.” He strolled back to his bed, and laid on his back, letting the human curl up on his chest. Soon her breathing grew heavier and that's when Jason knew she was peacefully sleeping.

Jason closed his eyes and laid his hand on top of Stella, protecting her from any ‘Mike’ who would dare disturb her sleep.