Page 77 of Pain
"Do you want me to get your dad?" He leaned against the door.
"No, but can you sit with me for a bit?" She turned, hugging her zebra to her chest.
"Sure." He stepped farther into the room, sliding down the wall across from her bed so he could see her without getting too close.
She still hadn't let anyone touch her besides Matt, and Xander respected that. He kept his distance and hoped in time she would come to him. He'd spent several nights with Matt since she'd caught them kissing, and seemed to be accepting the fact that they were fairly well.
"Bad dream again?"
She nodded. "I tried to count Zee's stripes like I usually do, but then my mind got thinking about other things, then I got scared again."
"Do you want to go sleep with your dad?" Xander was more than happy to move to the guest room or the couch if he needed to.
"No, I'm trying to be brave." She reached for a tissue and wiped her nose.
"Want to talk about it?"
Faith shrugged.
"Sometimes it helps."
"I don't want to make Dad mad." She fisted her hand into the pink blanket that was over her.
"Why would he get mad?" Xander brought his knees to his chest, holding his arms around them.
"Because he wants things to get back to normal, but I can't do that. I've tried."
Xander smiled. "When he says he wants things back to normal, that doesn't mean they have to go back to the way they were before. I think he knows that some things will never be the same. He just wants you comfortable and happy."
"But I can't. I've tried." Faith sniffed again.
"Tried being comfortable or happy?"
"Comfortable."
Again, Xander wished Matt was here to help with the conversation. He was always so scared that he would say something wrong to Faith, yet, she always seemed to find him when she needed to talk, not her dad. "What makes you uncomfortable?"
"I don't like it here, but it's Dad's house, and if I tell him that looking out the window, looking at the place where that guy grabbed me freaks me out, I'm afraid he'll be mad at me." Faith wiped her eyes.
Xander watched her from where he was sitting on the floor, his back against her bedroom wall. She looked so tiny in her bed, curled up with her blanket around her, the small stuffed zebra in her arms. "Your dad would understand. Is that why you're having a hard time sleeping at night?"
"Some of it, but not all."
"Would you sleep better somewhere else?"
"I think so." Faith looked nervously at him. "But I don't want Dad to have to leave his house."
Xander noticed that not once had she called it her house or their house, it was always Matt's. Hoping that Matt understood, and wouldn't be upset with him, leaned forward just a bit. "Would you like me to talk to your dad? I have a big house with extra rooms. If you want, I'll see if your dad is okay if we go stay at my place instead of here."
"The bad guys don't know where you live?"
"Nope, I promise you'd be safe there if you want to go. The choice is yours."
"What if Dad doesn't want to leave?"
"You know what? I'm pretty sure that your dad would be happy anywhere as long as the two of you are together. His home is anywhere you are." He wanted to move closer and pull her into his arms, give her a sense of security, but because of his own past, he was pretty sure that the last thing she needed right now was anyone holding her. She needed to come to them on her own terms. "How about I go talk to your dad and see if we can head over to my place and see if you like it? If you don't, we can come back here or even get a hotel room for a while, but I know that your dad isn't going to want you to stay somewhere you're not comfortable."
"Did you stay in the same place it happened?"
