WILD

fifty

Ever since Lorena got rid of those pills she was taking, Orion kept a close eye on her to make sure she was doing okay.

They were basically inseparable except for Orion's meetings with Carter, and Lorena seemed to be taking her new lifestyle in stride. She ate healthily, but in bigger portions to get her weight back up, and she trained with the other girls in her pack that were around her age.

Unbeknownst to Orion, Lorena tried to be there for him as much as she could without annoying or angering him.

To help him sleep better, she started to diffuse lavender and other relaxing oils into the room, and she would lay the bed every night, throwing the sheets in the dryer beforehand so that the bed was warm. She would also make herbal tea for the both of them before they slept, which she didn't exactly prefer, just so Orion didn't feel like she was coddling him. And when Orion started fidgeting in his sleep or mumbling, she would shake him very gently, enough to wake him up just so his brain didn't throw him deep into a nightmare.

It was somewhat exhausting, but Lorena was happy to do it, especially when he told her he wasn't having as many nightmares as before and he seemed more relaxed.

One night before Orion came home, she gathered her sheets up from the bed to wash them so that hopefully when Orion came home, she could take them from the dryer while he was showering and he would have nice warm sheets.

Her father entered the house just as she was coming down the stairs and he took his glasses off, looking at her in annoyance. "Again? So are you going to start paying the water and electricity bill, or what?"

Lorena rolled her eyes. "I don't have a real job, Papa. But yes, I have to do this for Orion."

"Is he gonna pay the bills?" He asked, somewhat playfully.

"I could ask," Lorena offered, not really paying attention and making her way to the laundry room.

Her father followed her. "Its a joke, Lorena."

"Oh."

"But seriously, why are you doing this so often? Is Orion asking you to clean the sheets?" He stood there for a moment while Lorena shoved the sheets into the washing machine. "Wait. Are you guys having...you know-?"

Lorena rolled her eyes. "No, Papa. Orion just has trouble sleeping. So I figured that doing this and making sure he has clean and dry sheets every night would help him."

Her father frowned. "Well, that's sweet and all, but the boy is royalty. He doesn't have a sleep therapist or a doctor or something?"

Lorena sighed. "He takes pills, Papa. But listen," she stepped a bit closer to her father in case her mother was trying to listen in because she didn't want her to worry, "it's really bad. He says it only happens sometimes, but I don't think he really knows how often it happens. He's had a nightmare every night he's been here."

Her dad half frowned and then crossed his arms. "I don't know what I can offer you, but this: ask him to talk to you about it. Maybe if he talks it out and gets it out in the open, he'll feel a lot better."

She let out a frustrated huff. "You don't think I've tried that already?" She felt as if Orion didn't trust her the way she trusted him, and it hurt. "He won't speak to me!"

The front door opened and Lorena started the washing machine just as Orion walked over.

He looked up at her father and gave him a nod. "Hello, sir." He looked at Lorena and his whole demeanor lit up even more. "Lorena. What are you two up to?"

Lorena's father crossed his arms. "Um, I think you and Lorena need to talk."

"Dad!"

Orion frowned and looked at Lorena, who was flushed red and refused to make eye contact with anyone and anything but the ground.