Protecting Them (Only His Series: Book 3) *NEW VERSION*

Chapter 17

Alex's P.O.V

~Two Nights Later~

I shot up at the sound of the twins crying. Throwing the covers off of me I sped into their nursery. They seemed to be ok, just cranky for being woken up at three am. Cordelia seemed to calm down a bit with my presence in the room, but Leo was screaming his head off. I went to pick him up to comfort him when I heard screaming. I sped to the source of the noise and saw it was coming from Elijah's room.

Opening up the door, I was met with the sight of Elijah thrashing around on his bed. I slowly made my way towards him as he mumbled in his sleep. His whole body seemed to have a layer of sweat covering it as he grabbed onto the sheets beneath him. When Elijah screamed, I immediately jumped back, before quickly making my way to his side.

I gently shook his shoulder as I said, "Elijah." He didn't wake up and I shook him harder and yelled, "Elijah!" The original's eyes shot open and I was pinned to the wall by my throat before I knew what was happening. Elijah's brown eyes were completely taken over by a blood-red sea, with dark purple and blue veins dancing under his eyes. "Elijah?" I coughed out and he only squeezed harder, raising me a bit so my feet barely touched the floor. I grabbed his wrist and began to pull it away. "Elijah. It's me...It's Alex."

Saying my name must have snapped him out of it because I watched red be replaced with brown as he cocked his head in confusion. When he looked down at his hand on my neck, he was stunned in shock and fear of himself. I dropped to the floor moments later and began to cough frantically while rubbing my throat. I could already feel the bruise healing. Looking up, I watched Elijah stumble backward until the back of his legs hit the bed. His eyes were welding with tears of horror as he looked between me and his hands.

"I-I-I'm sorry," He stuttered. "I'm so sorry."

"Elijah, it's-"

"Don't-!" Elijah stopped in the middle of his exclamation when he locked eyes with me. He seemed to be dialing down his anger. "I-I hurt you...so d-don't say it's fine," He finished, with a calm but shaky voice.

I pushed myself to my feet and sat next to him on the bed when Elijah dropped his head. His hands began to shake frantically and I placed mine on top of his, then gave them a small squeeze. I wish I knew the right words to bring him comfort, but I didn't. Sure I've had nightmares before, and daydreams that caused panic attacks, but nothing on this scale. Nonetheless, I promised him I'd be here when he needed me, and he needs me right now. I moved one of my arms and placed Elijah's head on my shoulder. My heart broke when I felt his tears seep through my shirt.

"I know you don't want to hear it," I began softly while rubbing circles on his wrists with the hand he was holding onto. "But I'm ok and this-" I gave his wrist a little squeeze. "Is all normal considering what you've been through. You might think you have to hide it all away, tuck it behind a door in your mind, but that doesn't always work. Some demons are stronger than others, which is why we rely on our family and friends to help us defeat them when we can't do it on our own."

Elijah pulled away slightly and looked up at me. I gave him a smile and wiped the tears from his eyes. His gaze was fixed on my neck, and he brushed his thumb over the bruise. "I-"

"-will heal," I cut him off and pulled his hands away.

Elijah turned his head when the twins' cries grew louder and he looked even more guilty. "I woke them up," He mumbled.

"They'll go back to sleep once I calm them down," I told him.

"Yeah," Elijah muttered and I looked at him in concern as he looked down at the floor again. We sat there for a few more moments. I was scared to leave him alone.