“I’m going to put the compression wrap back on your leg, but I think you can do without the sling tonight or are you a mover while you sleep?”
“Um. . .I don’t know,” she told him bashfully. Alexis had never been one to share her bed with anyone, so she was unable to answer that question truthfully. She liked her privacy and never felt a special connection with someone to bring them to her apartment.
“Okay. Well, how about we go without it at first, but if I think you need it when I check on you, we’ll put it back on.”
She ignored his suggestion, instead Alexis focused on the fact that he was laying her down in his bed, tucking the duvet that smelled like him under her chin. “I feel terrible kicking you out of your bed.”
“Don’t be. I never get much sleep anyway.”
Curious, Alexis asked, “Why is that? Nightmares?” She had heard some horror stories of men struggling with PTSD after the war. To her, it made perfect sense that Cliff would experience those same tormenting thoughts.
“No.”
“Then why?” she pressed.
His chest heaved with a sigh as he stepped toward the door; the only light in the space was that from the bathroom down the way, his large body now blocking it. She wished that she could see his expression.
“Loneliness.”
“Thank you, Cliff.”
He grunted in response, closing the door behind him. The room was bathed in darkness and Alexis hated not having the opportunity to look around the room. She wanted to know more about Cliff. What made him tick? What made him smile? Did he keep things to remind himself of a memory? Alexis wanted to know it all. But the weight of her eyelids became too heavy and she could no longer fight against the desire to give into sleep. She always had tomorrow.
A scream startled her from sleep and her eyes popped open looking around the room in horror. Until she realized the noise was coming from her own throat. Unexpectedly the door to the bedroom opened and Cliff rushed inside. Without any light, Alexis couldn’t see the fear in his expression, but she knew that it was there. It was the way he gently caressed her arms and face to make sure nothing on her was harmed. His thumb wiped away wetness from her cheek and it was the first time Alexis realized that she has been crying.
“Bad dream?” he asked in a hushed voice, and Alexis nodded not knowing if he could see her.
“I keep seeing images of faceless girls being taken away by men, men like my father. And I couldn’t stop him.”
“We can and we will. Don’t worry, we’re going to solve this and keep you safe at the same time.”
“Seems impossible,” she grumbled as she settled back against the pillow.
“It is not, trust me. I’ve dealt with men like this before.”
“Probably not when the stakes are this high, or you have something he wanted.”
“And what’s that?”
“Me.”
Cliff grew silent then, Alexis wondered if he finally realized the weight of what she had brought to all of them. If she was of a better mind, she would up and leave first thing in the morning, but something inside her screamed that Cliff wasn’t going to let that happen on his watch.
Trust him, he had asked and Alexis wondered if that was something she could do at all. Trust.
Cliff turned his body and sat on the edge of the bed, one of his hands weaving through his hair. She wanted to do the same, offer him comfort by the stroke of her hand, but she knew she wasn’t in that position. She assumed he planned on going back out to the bedroom, but after a minute passed with his gaze trained down the hall, Alexis’ curiosity piqued.
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you to fall asleep,” his strained voice replied.
“You could. . .ugh. . .sleep here with me. I mean, it is silly for you to sleep on the couch at your own home.”
Cliff’s head jerked her way and Alexis almost jumped at the feral gaze in his eyes. Even in the blackness, she could make out the ferocity in the irises.
“I haven’t shared a bed with someone in a very very long time.” His voice was pained as if remembering a nightmare of his own – one from his past.
“That’s okay. Neither have I. Please? It may keep the dreams away.” She knew she was throwing out the big punches. Cliff was the kind of man that would bend over backward for someone that he cared about – she knew this about him already. She remembered how he came out, literally guns locked and loaded when they first met. He was prepared to do whatever he needed to save someone he considered a friend.