Ruin (Ruin 1)

“Yup.”

She sighed and bit her lip. Damn, how I wanted to hold her lips captive like her teeth were.

“I peed the bed once.”

Her eyes widened.

“I was four.”

“How life-altering.”

“It was.” I nodded. “My teddy bear didn’t make it.”

“Tragic.”

I shook my head. “I always wonder to myself, could I have done something different to save my bear?”

Her laugh made my heart skip a beat; in fact, it did a hell of a falter before going back to normal. “Thanks.”

“For what?” I brushed some hair away from her porcelain face.

“Making me feel better.”

“Well, I am your RA…”

“This probably isn’t in the job description.” She laughed. “And I know it wasn’t in the brochure.”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s in the description now. My new job description is making you laugh and chasing away the bad dreams.”

“I wish that was true.”

“Sleep.” I kissed her forehead. “And if you do any more crazy shit, can I be a part of it?”

“Sure, why?” Her eyelids fluttered closed.

Oh, you know, because I would murder anyone who touches you. “No reason, I just don’t like to think of you being all crazy without your partner in crime.”

“‘Kay.”

“Night.

“Night,” she whispered.

Chapter Fourteen

Maybe I didn’t dream because for once in my life I was living it.

Kiersten

“Morning, sunshine,” a gravelly male voice said next to my ear.

I jolted awake and almost knocked my forehead against his. It was a close call. Wes jerked back and laughed, putting his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. “So, no nightmares.”

“No nightmares.” He seriously couldn’t possibly know how life-altering it was to go through a full night without waking myself up screaming. Maybe it wasn’t a side effect of the drugs. Maybe it was just me. Maybe I was defective.

“Class?” He yawned again.

I looked at the clock next to the bed. “In two hours. I should go.”