She started crying again, and it nearly gutted me.
Jeff knelt down at the edge of the sofa. He glanced up to me. “I know you would never hurt her. I just walked in, and she was crying.”
I nodded.
Turning his attention to Ellie, he said, “Ellie, honey, what’s going on? Why are you so upset? Is this about Ryan?”
His name had me balling my fists. Ellie’s face quickly lifted, and her blue eyes met mine. She looked confused and upset. My stomach was in my throat, and for some reason, I felt like I was going to be sick.
“I’m stepping outside for a minute. I need some fresh air.” I moved toward the front door.
“No!” Ellie cried out, causing me to turn back to her.
“This . . . this is not about Ryan. I haven’t even thought about him hardly at all. It was just, it was, I guess it was just a nightmare. I really don’t even remember it. I only remember waking up and being scared that I was all alone and had lost . . . I had lost . . .”
Her gaze lifted back to me, and her tears flowed again.
She had lost me. She was crying out for me.
“What did you lose, honey?” Jeff asked, holding a sobbing Ellie in his arms. Her eyes never left mine, and they were filled with so much sadness.
What in the hell is going on in her head?
Drawing back, she wiped her tears away and shook her head. “I don’t remember. I just want to take a pain pill and go back to sleep. Maybe that’s why I had a weird dream. It was the medicine.
“Gunner, will you grab her meds in the kitchen?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Jeff walked Ellie back to his bedroom, and my mind raced. What in the hell was she dreaming about? I thought back to my own dreams where the girl was calling out for me to save her. There was no doubt in my mind Ellie was the woman in my dreams.
I let out a frustrated breath. Maybe I just needed to ask her what the dream was about. After all, it was pretty damn clear I was in that dream.
Stopping at the door, I heard Jeff telling Ellie not to let their mother’s hateful words dictate her life. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
A surge of jealousy zipped through my body. I wanted to be the one to comfort her. Christ, now I was jealous of my best friend for trying to make his sister feel safe.
“Here is your pain pill and a fresh bottle of water,” I said, smiling at her. When she returned it with a smile that nearly brought me to my knees, I had to fight to remember to breathe.
“Thank you so much, Gunner. I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me when I woke up. Did I, um, say anything while I was asleep?”
Shit. Do I tell her she called out my name or act like I never heard it?
“Yes, sweetheart, you did. You kept calling out my name and something about someone being wrong, but that’s all you said.”
Watching my face as I spoke, she then looked away toward the window. “I’m sure it was probably because you’ve been so attentive this evening. I don’t really even remember what I was dreaming about, so . . .”
When she looked back at me, tears filled her eyes.
She was lying. Why wouldn’t she tell me the truth? What in the world was she afraid of?
“It doesn’t matter, Ellie. You need to get some rest, sweetheart. You need anything else?”
She shook her head. “Thank you again, Gunner. For everything. I really do appreciate it. I’m sorry to keep you up so late at night. I’m going to try and get back to sleep.”
I walked over to the light and switched it off.
“Good night, Ellie.”