Falling From Disgrace

"That's what I said." Jack was relieved Adrianna hadn't tried to make excuses for his sister. He would not have handled that well.

Jack suddenly became aware again that Adrianna was still virtually naked and he grabbed his dress shirt from the floor to cover her with. Adrianna threaded her arms through the sleeves and let Jack lead her upstairs to the bedroom they would share. It was just as bare as the living room, with only a double bed and a tall chest of drawers but it would do just fine. Adrianna used the bathroom to clean up, taking a quick shower without washing her hair. When she returned to the bedroom in her night clothes, Jack was already asleep on the bed. Adrianna removed his black dress shoes and distinguished the lights, and then curled up on the bed at Jack's side.

The sun was just beginning to rise when Jack woke up the next morning. Exhausted from the little sleep he had, he rubbed at his eyes and then closed them again, trying unsuccessfully to get a few more hours of rest. He rolled over and his stomach tightened in guilt when he saw Adrianna lying there. When she returned to their bedroom the night before, he had actually pretended to be sleeping. He knew it was a shitty thing to do and he rightfully felt shitty about it, but he really didn’t want to do any talking last night. It was barely evening when they went to bed and so he listened while Adrianna tossed and turned and then finally pulled out her phone to play with. When she did fall asleep, he got up, showered, and then tossed and turned himself for most of the night. Turning towards Adrianna again, he fixed his bleary eyes on her and reached out to smooth his thumb across her cheek. She looked like a dark haired angel with cheeks pink with warmth and black lashes fanned across them. She was wearing a new piece of lingerie she had purchased for herself after they started spending the night together. The lavender camisole and shorts with black lace trim looked lovely against her pale skin. God, he really loved her.

In slumber, Adrianna’s eyes scrunched up with a fearful expression and her breathing became erratic. Trying to ease her from the nightmare she must have been having, Jack scooted closer and put his arm around her, lightly rubbing her back. His action had the opposite effect though, and upon being touched Adrianna’s body jerked and she curled inwardly on herself with an incoherent cry. Jack rubbed her back with more pressure and tried to wake her by calling her name quietly, but Adrianna was too deeply involved in her dream. Her body trembled more violently and she clawed at the sheets, crying out once again in distress. It finally took Jack grabbing her wrists and shouting out, “Adrianna!” for her eyes to shoot open and then search wildly around the room.

Adrianna pulled herself up into a sitting position and struggled to breathe while hot tears burned her cheeks. She wiped at her face hastily and then brought her knees up to rest her forehead against them while she gasped for breath.

“You’re okay,” Jack repeated over and over while he sat up next to her and continued to stroke her back. Adrianna nodded against her knees and then let Jack pull her so she was enveloped in his arms.

“It was just a nightmare,” she said out loud though she was really reassuring herself. Her tears had stopped but she wiped at her eyes again anyway to wake herself up more.

“What was it about?” Jack tickled the exposed skin between her shoulder blades with his fingers.

“It was nothing,” Adrianna whispered, not wanting to disturb Jack with what her subconscious had drawn up.

“Tell me,” Jack insisted. “You might feel better.”

With a sigh Adrianna shared, “We were walking, outside on the street or something. Then all of a sudden the ground opened up, like a sinkhole, only it was gushing this thick, black liquid; like tar. You were safe at the edge but I started drowning in it and you tried to pull me free but you couldn’t.” She shuddered with the memory of being engulfed by the suffocating goo.

Hearing about Adrianna’s dream reminded Jack of his sister’s accusations the night before and he felt his mood plummet. Damn, Gillian. His fingers continued to caress Adrianna’s back but he said nothing, too lost in his own thoughts. When he was quiet for too long, Adrianna shifted and brought her head up to look at Jack. She saw the look on his far away face and she didn’t like it. This was why she didn’t want to share her dream with him. He didn’t need something else to worry about.