A Deceiving Passion

Overwhelmed

Hours had gone by; Stevie had been sleeping for hours---as soon as she had shut her eyes that early afternoon.

Like any time, in their real life, Lindsey stayed at her bedside; moving around every so often if needed, although he too took a short nap, he mostly stayed awake that day watching her to make sure she was comfortable.

When it was getting later in the day, he decided that he needed to wake her, not because he wanted to, but because he knew she would have been upset if he wouldn't have.

"Hey, honey...?" he allowed for his hand to creep up her arm, rubbing her shoulder ever so gently as he attempted to wake her. "It's going on four, you wanna get up?"

She stayed completely comatose, nearly hugging herself in her sleep.

"Brace yourselves, it's gonna crash!"

Lindsey had an innate desire to protect his wife, so naturally, he wrapped his arm around her neck, tucking her into himself as tightly as he could while using his opposite arm to wrap around her waist.

He did so in order to break her fall, knowing whatever their hit was going to be was going to be hard; especially if they were landing in the ocean.

"Stevie, I got you, calm down... You're gonna be okay," he whispered in her ear.

"Lindsey," she panicked, mostly feeling very claustrophobic as he held her so tight, she felt like hyperventilating.

"It's gonna be okay, baby," he kissed her head.

He looked at her, watching her discomfort as she slept---her breathing was becoming labored. "Steph?" he said her name, giving her one more nudge to wake her.

She gasped suddenly, opening her eyes as she flew forward, "What's wrong?" she asked, bringing her hand up in order to shield the light from the window.

"No, nothing, baby... I was just tryna wake you... Are you okay?" he then asked, bringing his hand to hers.

"I just had another dream about the crash... It was like a deja vú thing; I dream and it happens over and over again, sometimes out of my control like how it happened but then sometimes I'm able to slow things down and..." she trailed, shaking her head.

He nodded lightly, knowing well the trauma it must have left on her considering her circumstances. "It's all over now, honey. We're both okay... Everything is okay."

She nodded, glancing outside to try and make out the time of day. "What time is it?"

"Almost four..."

"Oh, God... I gotta get home. I promised the kids I would be there when they got back from school," she sighed, bringing her hand to her head.

"I'm sure all is well... Do you feel better?" he wondered. "You were exhausted, Stevie."

She nodded gently. "I feel better... I don't feel great but I could be worse," she added.

"Is there anything I can do for you? Once I take you back, I can't stay... At least, I shouldn't."

She looked at him and she shook her head. "I'm just trying to gain back my knowledge of everything. I feel like I'm dreaming and then awoken every few seconds. I have these kids on my mind when I'm with you but then I have you guys on my mind when I'm with them. I really need to center myself."

He nodded in agreement.

"It's all so overwhelming. I don't know what I should take care of first... I'm sorry to be so distant from you but I'm still recovering from everything that has been in the back of my mind. I'm married to you and I feel like I'm in the middle of a divorce with Brian and he and I aren't even married."