AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I must have dozedoff because I woke up some time later. It was quiet in the room. We were both on the couch. My head was on his shoulder, and the fire crackled gently in the fireplace. It was warm, and I wasn’t in much pain at that moment. Still, my neck was stiff from the angle I’d been sleeping.
Max made a noise, and it wasn’t a happy one. His face was scrunched up like he was himself in pain, and he shook his head back and forth several times before he cried out again. I sat up, realization dawning on me. He was having a bad dream, and it was a doozy.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Max.”
He didn’t open his eyes. If anything, he thrashed harder with his head. With no choice, I shook him gently but firmly. “Max. You’re having a bad dream. Wake up.” I kissed his cheek. “Come on, wake up.”
With a startle, he jerked awake. He breathed heavily, like he’d been running, and then threw his arms around me, pulling me against him. I winced but didn’t complain. It wasn’t the best hold for me right then, but I wasn’t going to complain when he needed me.
“Are you okay?” I whispered. It was hard to wake up suddenly, whether you needed to or not.
He nodded. “I’m okay. Bad dream. Thanks for waking me.”
“Seemed like a bad one.” I held on to him right back. “Want to talk about it?”
He shook his head. “No. Fuck no. I really don’t. Couldn’t if I wanted to. More of a memory than a dream. That year.”
The one he’d never tell me about, the one probably responsible for why he called himself fucked up when he had it together better than anyone I knew.
“Okay.”
He pulled back. “Sorry, wasn’t thinking.” Max let me go. “Just grabbed you like that. Not okay. It’s late. I guess we both dozed off on the couch. Want anything? Hungry?”
I didn’t. “No, I’m okay.”
“Tomorrow, I’m going to feed you really well.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to eat. “Kind of borderline nauseated all the time.”
“That’s because you don’t have food in your stomach. Tomorrow, we’ll get you settled. You’re going to need food if you’re going to make it through cold weather in Maine.”
I let him lead me toward his bedroom. “Am I going to be shoveling snow?”
“I wouldn’t put it past my sister to eventually decide that was part of your treatment.” He picked me up, and I yelped in surprise before I giggled. “So maybe hope really hard that it doesn’t actually snow.”
He was trying hard to be upbeat, but I could see the shadows in his gaze. Whatever he’d been dreaming had shaken him up.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“I will be. It’s been a while since that happened, but yeah, I’ll be fine.”
His bedroom was simple. A king sized bed. A bureau. Closed windows with drawn curtains. Max set me down on the bed. “I’m going to go deal with the fire downstairs.”
I rolled, carefully, off where he’d put me and made my way into the bathroom. I needed a shower, and I’d been given instructions on how to do that. It was tricky. I couldn’t let my wounds get wet, but I had to get clean, which meant sponge baths for the near future. I got busy getting the uncomfortable activity done and swore I would never take a bath for granted again. Every time I sank into the hot water, I’d feel grateful for the ability to do so.
When I was sure I was clean enough, I stuck my head in the shower to wash my hair and then wished I had waited until I could have had some help. Still, I got it done. I officially smelled better. Max hadn’t lied—I had everything I needed. Even a bathrobe hung on the back of the door, ready for me. I wrapped myself up in it and went back into the room. Max lay face-down on the bed, his head turned away from me, his shoes kicked off. He’d gone back to bed. The thought made me smile. Like me,when I wasn’t drugged, sleep was hard for him. It was nice to see him comfortable again.
As quietly as I could, I searched his drawers for my clothes. They were in the right part of the bureau, and I dressed myself as quietly as I could.
Finally done, it was a little bit like I’d just been to the gym. My whole body hurt. I climbed in next to Max. He lifted his head, his eyes opening. “You would have called out if you needed my help, right?”
“I would have.”
He nodded. “Good.”
We were warm, on the ground, and at least for now, no one was going to hurt us. That was enough.
17
