Page 9 of Blossoming Dahlia

Hunter taking the car left me in an awkward position. I needed to stay with Dahlia to make sure she was safe, but thanks to the horrible room situation I had nowhere to sleep. I sipped on the warm soda Hunter had given me, forcing my eyes to stay open while I read over the files for the third time, looking for anything that could lead us to this creep. Dahlia was not having a restful sleep, and it made concentrating on the work difficult. She hadn’t been like this in the hospital, but I guessed that might’ve been from the drugs they were giving her. Tonight, she was making little sounds, almost like gasps, and she’d shift every so often, twisting and pulling on the covers.

I closed my notebook and walked over to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and wake myself up. If I had to, I could sleep a couple hours in the car tomorrow, it would be fine. I looked in the mirror and saw I’d gotten more pen on my face, and I grimaced, scrubbing at it with a towel.

“Help, please!” I froze, dropping the towel on the counter. I pulled my gun and crept back into the room, my blood coursing through my veins. I looked around the small space, but there was no danger, maybe I’d hallucinated the words? I put my gun back in its holster, heading back to my chair. “Please!” That one was as clear as day. I whirled on Dahlia, whose eyes were shut tight—she was clearly still asleep. Her mouth was twisted like she was in pain, her knuckles white as she gripped onto the blankets, her legs kicking out as she fought an imaginary assailant. Shit,shit,what was I supposed to do? My first instinct was to wake her up, but that could scare her even more. Shedidn’t really know me after all, it was basically waking up to a stranger in your room. I hovered beside the bed, my fists clenching and unclenching as I weighed my options. Would it scare her more to wake up or to stay in the dream?

A sob made its way out of her lips, tears running down her cheeks, and that made my decision for me. “Dahlia!” I called loudly, leaning over her but trying not to get too close. “Dahlia you’re safe, wake up.” I reached out and touched her hand, still balled into a fist in her covers. I rubbed my fingers over her knuckles as she thrashed, her mouth opening in a silent scream. “Dahlia, please wake up!” I called again, trying to break her grip on the sheet.

Her eyes shot open, but they were unseeing, full of panic and rage. I jerked back, trying to give her some space so I wouldn’t scare her further. Her hands latched onto my upper arms with a surprising amount of strength. She caught me off balance, thanks to the way I’d been hovering over her, and when she jerked my arms forward I toppled over her, landing across her legs. I rolled immediately to get my weight off of her, and she pounced on me, swatting at my face as she cursed at me. “Dahlia, it’s okay! It’s just Asher, you were having a nightmare!” I told her, shielding my face as she swung at me. She was straddling me, pinning me down, and I didn’t want to throw her off and risk hurting her. I waited until she drew back and uncovered my face, watching for another strike. “It’s just me, it’s alright, you’re safe,” I said soothingly, and she halted her attack, recognition sparking in her eyes.

“Oh, oh no,” she murmured, and her hands came down again, but gently this time. Her fingers brushed my cheek where my skin stung from one of her well aimed hits. “Shit, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, covering her face with her hands.

“It’s alright, you’re safe,” I repeated quietly. I could feel her shaking above me, probably the adrenaline coming down nowthat she was fully awake. I waited as she took a couple deep breaths, her chest rising and falling under her tee shirt. I was uncomfortably aware of her body pressing against mine, basically trapped between her thighs. I didn’t know where to put my hands, or if I should move, or wait for her to calm down more first. I settled for laying very still and tucked my hands under my head in a facsimile of relaxed calm, pushing my mind to think of innocuous things, like storm clouds and the components of an engine.

“It felt so real,” Dahlia murmured. “I thought he’d found me again.” Her hands dropped to my chest, and she had a far-away look in her eyes, like she still wasn’t quite present. “I was so scared, I just wanted to kill him.” She gripped my shirt with her hands, and I took a breath to steady myself, trying not to startle her with any sudden movements.

“He’s not here, you’re still in the motel room,” I told her steadily. “He’s not going to hurt you again, I promise.” That was a big rule I’d just broken—don’t make promises to people, especially if we aren’t sure we can keep them. But she needed to hear that, I could tell. She focused on me, listening to my voice, and I felt some of the tension leave as she shook off the last bits of the dream. Her thighs shifted, pressing down on my hips, and my heart stuttered as I fought the physical reactions my body was having to her closeness. She seemed to finally notice the position we were in, and her cheeks flushed scarlet. She slid off of me, crawling back over to her side of the bed, tucking her knees up to her chest.

“I can’t believe I attacked you, I’m really sorry,” she mumbled, resting her forehead on her knees. I sat up and quickly adjusted myself, giving Dahlia plenty of space on the bed. “Next time, just splash some water on my face or something, I don’t want you to lose an eye.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m not going to dump water on you if you have another nightmare,” I replied gently. “You can’t hurt me, don’t worry about it.” She looked up at me incredulously, her eyes looking a little red. “Nightmares and night terrors are common after trauma, they will fade with time,” I told her softly. “I’ll take the occasional punch in the nose if it’s to help you. And when we’re back home, I’ll find someone who you can talk to about it, a professional who can help.” She laughed quietly and rubbed her eyes a bit. “You should try and get some more sleep if you can, it’s still pretty early,” I suggested and she grimaced, rubbing her arms.

“I don’t know if I can relax again after that,” Dahlia muttered. I bit my lip, thinking it over.

“Why don’t we put a movie on for a bit?” I offered, and she nodded. I grabbed the remote off the dresser and turned on the TV; it was still on the movie channel we’d been watching earlier. It took me a minute to recognize the movie, and I winced when I did.

“Oh, I like theShining.” Dahlia smiled, and my eyebrows shot up. She settled in, seemingly unbothered by the concept of a horror movie after a night terror. I sat back against the wall, making sure to give her plenty of space, and watched it with her. After a little while, Dahlia curled up on her side, still focused on the TV, but her eyelids were starting to droop. Eventually, she was able to drift off again, and I left the TV on, hoping the noise might help keep her from any more night terrors tonight. I meant to get back up and work some more but I stayed on the bed for a bit to see the end.

At some point, I must’ve nodded off by accident, and it turned into a full blown sleep, my body exhausted from the tiny power naps I’d been having the last few weeks. I woke up to find the sun shining through the gap in the curtains, and felt amazingly refreshed, although somewhat chilly. Sometime during thenight, the heat must’ve turned off. I felt something brush my arm and froze, finally noticing Dahlia curled up against me. Neither of us had bothered with the covers last night, she must’ve gravitated over to my side seeking warmth. I lifted my head up to peak at her face, and thankfully she was still asleep, but she had effectively trapped my arm underneath her. Fuck, this wasn’t good at all.

I tugged my arm, trying to remove it without waking her up. She let out a tiny sigh, and I froze again as her ass brushed against me, causing my brain to misfire. Oh, this was not good, I needed to get out of here before I got fired. Innocent mistake or not, this did not look good from any perspective. I shifted my arm again, and she made another little sound that had parts of me standing at attention. I tried to move my hips away from her, wishing that this was just my version of a nightmare that I could wake up from.

The door creaked as it opened, and my heart jumped into my throat as Hunter poked his head inside. He took in the scene, Dahlia sleeping soundly in my arms on the bed, and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

“This isn’t what it looks like!” I mouthed, and his lips pursed. I swore under my breath and gave my arm one last quick tug, slipping out from her grasp and practically throwing myself off the bed. We both looked at Dahlia, but she just readjusted herself and continued to sleep. Hunter jerked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing for me to follow him. I stumbled to my feet and headed after him, shutting the door quietly behind me.

“Care to explain what that was back there?” he asked me, but his tone was surprisingly calm.

“I know it looks bad. Dahlia woke up having a night terror, so we put on a movie to help her calm down. She fell asleep, and I guess I did too, and...” I held up my hands. “I guess she sort of rolled into me during the night?” It sounded completely insanewhen I explained it like that, maybe I was losing my mind. Hunter snorted a laugh and slapped me on the arm.

“Of course that’s what happened, because I know you.” He smiled. “It’s good that she’s comfortable with you because until we catch this guy, she is going to be stuck with us as babysitters, and it’s easier when they don’t actively hate us.” I nodded quickly, smoothing out my shirt and tucking it back into my pants. “Just, maybe try to avoid cuddling her.” He smirked, and I shot him a glare as he slipped back inside the room.

I followed Hunter inside and shut the door as he wandered to the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on and sat down at the table, not willing to go near the bed after the last two incidents. Dahlia was a witness—hell, the sole survivor of a twisted serial killer—that we were assigned to protect. I was not allowed to think about her in any capacity other than as a work assignment, and I especially shouldn’t be touching her. Although she was the one who touched me first, but that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I had to remain objective and detached, keep my thoughts clinical. I looked over at her, asleep on the bed, and startled when I realized that Dahlia was staring back at me.

“Oh, hey.” I smiled, clearing my throat. “Sorry, did the shower wake you up?” She nodded and sat up, pushing her hair out of her face.

“Yeah, but it’s fine, we need to get going soon, right?” she asked, and it was my turn to nod. She moved to stand and winced, her hand going to her back. I was out of my seat in a heartbeat, steadying her before she could fall.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” I frowned as she sank back to sit on the bed.

“I’m fine, I just twisted funny and it tweaked the stitches or something,” she muttered, hissing out a breath through her teeth as she straightened.

“Lay down, I’ll check and make sure you didn’t pop a stitch,” I ordered, and she gave me a look. I prepared for an argument, but to my surprise she listened to me, moving slowly until she was laying on her stomach. “I’m going to lift up your shirt a bit, is that okay?” I asked, and she laughed lightly.

“I figured you’d have to,Doc. It’s fine,” she replied, and I smirked, tugging her shirt up to uncover the bandages on her back. I lifted them gently, checking each line of stitches littering her back. Nothing screamed infection or torn stitches, so I replaced the bandages carefully and pulled her shirt down, my fingers brushing against her lower back briefly before I pulled away again.

“I think it’s just a bit of stiffness from it beginning to heal,” I explained as she sat up, her face pinched with pain. “Do you still have those meds the doctor gave you?” She glared at me with a surprising amount of anger.

“They make me feel fuzzy, I don’t like it,” she bit out, and I held up my hands in surrender.

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