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You awoke with a scream.
Your night terrors had been getting worse and worse - but that one… it was definitely the most terrifying one you’d ever had. The amount of blood, how realistic it was… the feeling of being unable to escape, the mental anguish that you were experiencing all in one moment. It drove you to tears, and stressed you out so badly that blood dripped from your nose.
Your attention averted to Caleb, who was stirring beside you. He lifted his head, bed hair prominent, and his violet purple eyes met yours. Upon noticing your distressed and, quite frankly petrified state, he sat up and his hands flew to your cheeks.
“Pips? What happened to your nose? What’s the matter?” He questioned, trying to smear the blood away from your nose but only spreading it. You whimpered and placed your hands on his wrists.
“Caleb… they’re getting worse.” You managed to stammer as you cried. Tears dripped from your ducts down to his thumbs, and he caught them. His gaze softened.
“Oh, honey…” Caleb murmured and grabbed a tissue from the bedside table, immediately tending to your bloody nose. His hair was so messy, you noticed, and the charm on his necklace was somehow dangling over his shoulder. Yet he paid no mind to it, only to you. “They’re getting worse? How bad are they?”
Your lips quivered and you closed your eyes, more tears fell. However, you opened them just as quickly as the memories from the nightmare resurfaced.
“They’re getting more realistic and gory, I… I’m so afraid to sleep.” You admitted and wrapped your arms around Caleb’s neck. He reciprocated immediately and held you close.
“Pips, you should see a doctor…” He suggested, big arms lacing around your back and sides. He kissed your tears away and laid down with you still in his arms. “This isn’t normal.”
You nodded and tried to calm down. He helped by slowly caressing your back with his palm, occasionally pushing it up your shirt for you to feel his skin directly on yours.
“I just want to go to sleep…” You whispered and laid your head down on Caleb’s chest. He hummed.
“I know, honey. I know. Try and get some sleep now, alright? I’ll stay awake until you fall asleep, and I’ll hold you all through the night. Nothing will hurt you.” He mumbled into your ear, lips grazing against it.
You reached up and untangled his necklace, placing it back down on to his chest. He smiled faintly and placed a hand on the back of your head, before threading his fingers through your soft hair.
“I don’t know if I can.” You stated and looked into his tender eyes.
Caleb exhaled and brushed his thumb against your cheek. “Yes, you can. Come here — let’s get nice and cozy.”
He pulled you impossibly closer, snuggling you like the plushies you both fought over when you were young. He pulled the duvet over your bodies; dark blue, soft, and warm. His hands glided through your hair and against your back simultaneously, while his nose brushed occasionally against your head.
“Remember when we were little?” Caleb started, whispering lowly. “Whenever you had nightmares, you’d come into my room and climb into my bed. I always pretended not to notice, but it was hard; you always snuggled me just like this and I couldn’t help but hug you.”
You nodded and exhaled fondly at the sweet memory. “And you’d help me fall back asleep by making stupid shadow figures on the wall…” You recalled, to Caleb’s amusement.
“Stupid?” He laughed. “They were impressive.”
He switched on his phone’s torch and created a figure with his hand, the lack of light created a silhouette on the ceiling.
“That looks like a sock.”
“It’s not a sock, pipsqueak, it’s a snake. See?”
He stuck his finger out, to imitate its hissing tongue.
“Ohhh…”
“And this one?”
Caleb balled his fist, curled two of his fingers, and smiled proudly.
You looked at the silhouette, thinking.
“I can just see a spider.”
“Spi— no, pips! It’s a wolf. Your guessing game isn’t so good, is it?” He mumbled and ruffled your hair. You huffed.
“Mm, my turn.”
With your index and middle finger, you made the silhouette of one side of a heart. You glanced at Caleb expectantly.
“Is it a coat hanger?”
“No! Complete the heart!”
He laughed and put his two fingers against yours, making a heart project upon the ceiling.
Your hands instinctively intertwined. Caleb switched his phone torch off and held your hand, holding you at the same time.
“No nightmares will make my pips upset, you hear me? Now c’mon, let’s get some sleep together. I’ll make your favorite breakfast in the morning if you can sleep through the night.”
“Not fair!” You exclaimed.
“No excuses, pipsqueak. Next time you have a bad dream, I’ll beat up the bad guys until you only have dreams about me.”
“But that is a nightmare…”
“Goodnight, honey.”