Page 20 of Shooting his Shot

"No, Mommy! No! Don't let them take me!" she repeatedly screamed.

I rushed to turn on the light, seeing her fighting in her sleep. I knew she was having a nightmare, but I didn't know what to do in this situation. How would I get her to come out of what she was in? I had to think fast since I didn't like seeing her like this. I ran a hand down my face before I went back to bed.

"Avani," I called her name, trying to get her attention. Something was telling me that wouldn't work. I didn't want to touch her, not knowing if she was going to hit me.

"Mommy, please!" she screamed out again and started sobbing. Tears fell from her closed eyes, causing my heart to ache.

I had to stop this and didn't know how I was going to, but I would. "Avani!" I called her name with a little more force. I reached out and grasped one of her arms and shook the other one. "Avani!" I yelled.

Her eyes snapped open as more tears rolled down her face. She peered around the room, and scooted up in the bed, wrapping her arms around her legs. She sobbed into her knees. I didn't know what to do, but I grabbed her and held her against my chest.

"Everything is going to be okay. Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head against my chest. "Not right now. Just hold me."

I did just that. I held Avani until her cries turned into soft whimpers. Soon, I had rocked her back to sleep. If only she knew how scary that was to see. I hoped when she woke up, she'd be ready to talk to me.

I openedmy eyes when I felt movement on the bed. Avani was getting out of it. I hoped she didn't think we weren't going to talk about this morning. I removed the blanket from my body and got out of bed after her. She turned to face me, her eyes red.

That broke my heart. "Wassup? Are you good?"

She nodded slowly, but her lips trembled. "I didn't bring my medication with me."

I lifted an eyebrow. "You've got to talk to me. Last night nearly scared the hell out of me."

She came back to sit on the edge of the bed and ran a hand down her face. "I didn't mean to scare you. Since my mother basically turned her back on me, I've been having the same dreams since I was ten years old. It'd gotten so bad that I had to be put on medication. Sometimes I took it, and other times I didn't. I didn't bring it with me on this trip. I felt like I didn't need it since I hadn't had a dream in over a week. They come and go, but I am tired of having them."

Damn, I hated the number her birth mother did on her. Why the hell would she put her only daughter through what she did? Now, Avani was paying the price, and I hated that.

"It scared the hell out of me. Then I was afraid you might hit me when you were going through that. I am going to make sure you take your medication. I never want you to cry like that again. It had hurt me, man."

She gave me a sad smile. "I'm sorry. My sister has been telling me to take it, but I thought I had a handle on it."

I shook my head. "Nah, you don't have a handle on that. Don't worry about it. I got you."

Avani glanced at me with uncertainty. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Nah, you have my word. I got you. Now let's go brush our teeth and wash our faces. Plus, take a shower together. My chef is about to come and prepare us some breakfast."

"Ohhh, yummy. I love his cooking."

I got up from the bed and pulled her up with me. Avani was my girl, and I would do all I could to make sure she was super straight. I was putting my life on that.

I smiledas I got ready to attend a family function with Akari. He was due to pick me up soon, and I couldn't wait to lay eyes on him. It had been a week since I saw him face-to-face. We only Facetimed since he was on the road traveling for his games. I was missing him like crazy. He made sure he called me no matter the time he got in from a game.

Akari had told me we were in a relationship now and had been doing everything a man in a relationship did for me. He had been so caring since I had a nightmare when we were in Cali. That was two weeks ago. He made sure I was taking my medication every day, too. It was thoughtful of him. Then, this man bought me a teddy bear and sprayed it with cologne. He told me if he wasn't there with me, to make sure I slept with theteddy bear. That was his way of being close to me. Akari Gardner was making me fall in love with him.

I told my adopted family all about Akari, and my father was waiting on free tickets from him. If Akari could get some, I was going to make sure I got him some, too. Whenever he had a home game, he made sure I was there with him and his family. He was always doing things to make sure others knew I was with him. He sent me winks during the game. It was crazy, yet romantic.

A knock came at my door, followed by the doorbell ringing. Akari was here early. I hadn't expected him to be here until later. I rushed to let him in. He had a bag in one hand and flowers in the other. I happily beamed as I eyed the items in his hands.

I moved aside to let him in. "I told you plenty of times that you didn't have to get me anything every time you go out of town." I accepted the kiss he laid on my lips.

"Hey, to you, too. What did I tell you about making a big fuss about me buying you things? Just accept it and be happy."

I closed the door with a sigh. "I am happy, very much so, but what about me not giving you anything in return?"

Akari set the things down on the coffee table and looked at me. "But you do give me things in return. You give me your time and come to my games. Just by you being around me, spending quality time with me is all I need."

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