When Joey woke in the morning, he listened for any sound that Lauren might be up, but got nothing. That wasn't a surprise, but he still crept down the hall quietly to be sure. She was curled up on the couch, her face barely visible, not that he looked for too long. It reminded him too much of their last morning together in Michigan, which still brought him pain even now she was no longer thousands of miles away.
He went into the kitchen to make breakfast for them, being as quiet as possible. With bacon cooking, he made coffee to bring out to her. As he did so, he heard noise and thought she was waking up. But when he got closer to the couch, he saw that she was lying in the same spot, but was now whimpering. He put the coffee on the table and knelt in front of her. Her face was screwed up, and the sight sent pain through Joey's chest. A nightmare, he guessed. He shook her shoulder gently, and a moment later she shot upright, panting.
"Shh, it's okay," he said, keeping his hand on her shoulder for reassurance.
She gulped in air. "You're here."
"I'm here."
She rubbed her eyes, returning to the present moment. "Sorry," she smiled weakly.
"A nightmare?" he asked, sitting down beside her as she curled her legs underneath her. He handed her the mug of coffee and she wrapped her hands around it before taking a tiny sip.
"Yeah."
"You can tell me about it, if you want." He wanted to be there for her, as her best friend, but there was an undeniable awkwardness between them this morning, and that was before they'd even discussed what recollection she had of the night before, if any.
She sighed, mulling it over. "I've had them ever since you left," she said after an eternity, biting her lip.
A fist squeezed his heart. "Nightmares?"
She nodded, closing her eyes. "Sometimes just about being on my own. Sometimes... sometimes something happening to you."
He wanted nothing more than to pull her to him and never let go, but he could tell she was feeling vulnerable revealing that to him, and he worried that holding her would make it worse. She took a deep breath, and then smiled at him.
"Sorry, that's really weird."
He shook his head, at a loss for words. "It's my fault," he said numbly.
"No," she said forcefully. "I encouraged you to go, okay? And you're doing great out here."
"I guess."
"They're already better, you know," she said softly. "The night after I saw you again? That was the first night in a while that I didn't have one."
Joey put a hand on hers, squeezing it gently. "I'm not going anywhere this time."
She nodded, and Joey was sad to have to get up to finish breakfast before it burned. She took the plate he brought her gratefully.
"Thank you," she said. "And thank you for letting me stay here."
"You remember how you got here?"
She shook her head, but she looked more amused than concerned or even scared, and Joey was grateful she still trusted him that much.
"You couldn't remember your new address," he said, grinning.
She laughed. "Figures."
"You remember it now?" he teased.
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll get out of your hair."
"No, that's not what I-"
"Kidding, JoJo."
