Page 107 of Ex Somnis

“That’s it. That’s it, good man, I’ve got you.” He latches onto the frame, getting a better grip, and I finally allow myself a full breath. “Okay, on three, we’ll move together. One, two, three.”

He pulls, I pull, but he doesn’t budge.

For a terrifying moment, I imagine us trapped in place, him hanging over the void and me stretched across the window frame, holding onto him by stubbornness alone.

Sleep paralysis come to life.

But then Nevan’s jaw firms, and he pulls harder. His chest clears the ledge, then his stomach, his hips, and then we’re both falling backward onto the floor. At the very last second, I cradle his head with my hand to keep it from slamming into the hardwood.

Pain runs through my wrist as we collapse into a loud heap, and a breath of pain explodes from me.

Worth it.

Completely worth it if I don’t have to tell the love of my life that one of her boyfriends cracked his skull because of me.

Nevan lets out a sound of relief, somewhere between a laugh and a cry, and the realization hits me so hard I have to close my eyes.

Nevan is alive.

For a moment, I close my eyes and lie there, cataloging my injuries as the cold air pours through the open window while my pulse tries to punch its way out of my chest.

Holy shit.

I almost watched Nevan Shaw jump to his death. Here one moment, gone the next.

A hand grabs my sleeve. I open my eyes and find wide, gray eyes staring at me. Alive, breathing, but absolutely terrified.

I help him sit up, and we end up side by side against the wall beneath the open window. His hair blows in the breeze while somewhere below us, Ridge continues to yell.

I’m not sure he ever stopped.

I register that distantly, but what’s more important right now is that Nevan is shaking, and it’s not just fine tremors. His whole body convulses. It’s the full adrenaline crash that happens when danger is over, and the brain finally realizes how close it came. I recognize it because I’ve treated it, lived it.

I’m seconds away from it myself.

“You’re okay.” I slide a hand onto the back of his neck. “You’re safe. I’ve got you. It was a dream.”

Mostly true.

The fact that I’m also saying those things to myself remains between the universe and me.

Nevan drags in a ragged breath. “I almost died.”

“Yes, but you didn’t.”

His eyes squeeze shut. “I almost…” His voice breaks completely. “She was right.”

I frown.

She?

Then Nevan cracks, breaking out into deep chest-shaking sobs. The sound is pure agony, and one moment I’m beside him, the next I’m kneeling in front of him with both hands on his face. His eyes are bloodshot, and his breathing is a disaster.

“Nevan, you’re okay.”

He shakes his head, still sobbing.

I press my thumbs into his jaw. “Look at me.”