stay with me

Chapter 24

Grey:

I had a nightmare in front of him. He was holding me and telling me everything was ok, that I was safe and when I woke up I felt safe. I admit I was nervous when I realized I had a nightmare because I was afraid he was going to realize what a broken mess I am and bolt but he didn't. He stayed. I could tell it bothered him that I had nightmares every night but it seemed like he only cared because he cares about me, like he wants to protect me from everything that might hurt me even my dreams.

I'm not sure where the courage came from when I asked him to stay with me. I think it was my fear of being alone with my guilt and my nightmares that initially made me do it, but then when I thought about how I felt safe in his arms that solidified my decision. I want Hunter. I like him and care about him. Maybe everyone's right. I deserve to be happy and Jason even told me himself that he wanted me to find someone new one day. I think he would approve of Hunter. I think in another life they would have been friends.

As Hunter holds me in his arms I listen to his heartbeat and the steady beat soothes me. I say a silent prayer as I feel myself begin to fall asleep that Hunter lives a long full life and that hopefully I'm a part of it.

I wake the next morning and I'm surprised when I don't wake screaming. My heart is racing a little and I'm breathing a little heavy but I feel steadied by Hunter's strong arm wrapped around me. He rubs a small circle on my back I look up and see he's awake.

"Morning" he says with an adorable smile on his face and I decide that I like waking up to his beautiful bright blue eyes.

"Morning" I say back sleepily. "How long have you been up?" I ask.

"Not long" he says but I have a feeling he's lying. He looks tired and I'm worried now that he stayed up half the night worrying about me.

"How many times did I wake you?" I ask and I cringe to hear the answer. The man is a saint for staying the whole night.

"You didn't wake me at all" he says and he rubs my back again. "Relax, I slept perfectly fine with you next to me. In fact I haven't slept that good in a while."

His words are sweet but I have a hard time believing them. I look over at the clock and see that it is after seven in the morning and I'm shocked that I have slept this long.

"Is it really that late?" I ask assuming that my clock has to somehow be wrong.

"Late?" Hunter asks puzzled. "It's only a little after seven."

"Right" I say brushing it off because I don't want to admit that I normally wake up at four or five every morning.

"Grey, what time do you normally wake up?" he asks catching on and for a moment I hate how well he can read me.

"Around five" I say quietly like it will make a difference. "I have hard time sleeping because of the nightmares so I usually wake up early and go for a run, but I guess I felt safe with you here" I explain.

"Do you want to talk about them?" he asks. "Your nightmares I mean."

I pause for a moment and think. Do I tell him now or do I wait? I'm not sure I'm ready to tell him everything. I'm scared to.

I shake my head no. "That's ok" he says calmingly. "You don't have to but if you ever want to I'm here to listen." I hear the meaning behind his words. I'm here for you, whatever you need. I see it in his eyes. He really was so sweet and kind and caring. People may not think so when they first look at him because he's so tall and muscular and usually brooding but underneath that tough exterior he was wonderful.