Page 26 of Final Temptation
“Logan, help! We need to get them help!” I called out, but not before the bungee cord snapped. Except, it was Logan’s hands pulling me back. The pull he had on my sweatshirt yanked me backward, now feeling miles away from the crash site.
“HELP!” I continued to yell as my body convulsed.
“Myles! Myles!”I heard Sophie’s yell cutting off my callfor help. Her voice was frantic, like she was screaming for me to come save her. Desperate for my help.
Logan continued to pull me further away from the truck and closer to Sophie’s voice.
“Myles, WAKE UP!”I followed her voice, hoping it would save me from the hell I was living through inside my head.
My eyes flickered open, Sophie hovering over me, the pain evident on her face. It took me a few seconds to realize I was having another nightmare, and Sophie wasn’t in it. She was here, in my room, trying to wake me up. For what reason, I was unsure.
“Myles, I think you were having a nightmare,” she whispered, her hands still on my chest from shaking me awake.
“Water…” I gasped, looking around for the glass I left on my nightstand.
Sophie hadn’t been in my room before, at least while I had been living here. But her instincts led her to know exactly where I had my glass of water. She reached over my damp body, covered in a layer of sweat—something I’d gotten used to—and retrieved the water for me.
“Thank you,” my husky voice escaped my throat, begging for the water that shook in my hands.
I sat up in bed, getting a better look at Sophie’s face. Her forehead wrinkled, and a lone tear rolled down her cheek, causing my heart to break internally. “You were screaming for help in your sleep. It really scared me, Myles. Tell me everything’s okay.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry, Soph.” I ran my fingers through my damp hair.
“You must have been having a really bad dream.” She gazed into my eyes, searching for answers. I wanted to confide in Sophie. I craved talking to someone about all myissues—someone outside of AA. Fuck if the thought of opening up to someone about all this didn’t scare the shit out of me, though.
Going against my norm, I took a chance and started talking. “It’s not just any bad dream. I have the same nightmare almost every night. It’s pretty rare that I don’t wake up a sweaty mess in the middle of the night. I’m sorry if you heard me. I guess I never knew I yelled in my sleep. It could be the first time, or maybe my parents never heard me.” I took another sip of water.
“What happens in your nightmares?” she asked.
“It’s the night of the accident. Paige’s dad. For the first month or so, before I got sober, the dream rarely happened. I think it had to do with how drunk I’d get before bed. Sometimes I drank so much before I slept, that way I would pass out—drink away the pain or some shit.” I swallowed nervously.
God, it feels good to open up to her.
“Now that you’re sober, I assume the nightmares are more vivid?”
“Your assumption is correct.” I nodded.
Moments passed as I came down from the anxiety, Sophie’s presence calming me more than she knew.
“I’m sorry, again, for waking you up. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again?—”
“No. You don’t need to be sorry. I just feel horrible that you’re going through all this. I wish there was something I could do to help, anything.” There was pleading in her voice.
“Can you stay the night with me?” Having her around helped me. It was hard to explain, but something about her company comforted me. “Just sleep next to me for the rest of the night. Wake me up again if it starts to get bad,” Iadded, not wanting her to think I asked her to stay in my bed for any other reason.
“I can do that,” she agreed.
Relief washed over me as I turned onto my side, facing away from her, allowing her to crawl under the covers and get comfortable. “Thank you. Thank you for waking me up, for doing this. It really means a lot to me,” I whispered in the dark, releasing a sigh in reprieve.
Sophie was silent, her words non-existent. But when her arm snaked around my core, wrapping around my stomach like she was made for me, my problems seemed to fade away.
I reached my hand to meet her forearm, keeping it there for the rest of the night, sleeping in a comfortable silence I hadn’t felt in months.
Last night was unexpected.
I was terrified waking up to the sound of tortured screams and calls for help. My instincts took over when I ran into Myles’ room. The house could’ve been in the process of being robbed, and the cries from Myles could’ve been him being held at gunpoint. But I wasn’t the type of person to sit back in fear.
When I saw the scared look on his face, the way his body was thrashing back and forth, and the sweat covering his body, I knew he was in the middle of a night terror. One I never wanted to live a day in.
