𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙸 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 | 𝐃𝐔𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐑𝐊 [Collins]

Chapter 10 - Blissful day

(revised)

I opened my eyes shortly before noon and realised we had both fallen asleep in my bed. I could feel Andrew's arm resting on my waist and his warm body next to me. It was not a dream, the joy I felt was real. He was real. He looked very peaceful and sound asleep, lying on his stomach, his head buried in the pillow. I could look at him for hours. All of his innocence was there. No more uniform. No more planes. No more fighting. He was just a regular twenty-five-year-old man whom I loved very much. I smiled at the thought that I could now call him my boyfriend, and my boyfriend was lying naked in my bedsheets. I would have never thought that such a thing would happen so soon, but in my heart, I knew we had done nothing wrong. I knew it when looking at him.

I intended to get up, carefully removing Andrew's arm from my body, trying not to wake him up, but he was too exhausted to care. He grumbled softly but did not move an inch. I kissed his salty cheek and got out of bed. I collected my clothes that had ended up on the floor and began to dress up. It took me some time to find my skirt but I managed to be presentable again in case my father decided to come back home. I had been reckless enough already.

I wrote a note to Andrew to let him know that he was free to go take a shower if he woke up while I was downstairs. I put the piece of paper on the bedside table and looked at my soldier one more time. I noticed that he had tensed in his sleep and that his body was now twitching, but I assumed he was dreaming, so I decided to leave the room to let him rest. I had only just reached the end of the staircase when I heard him groan and shout, and I knew that it was not just a regular dream. I hurried to my bedroom to find him sitting in my bed, panting, with a distressed look on his face. It worried me to see him like that, so I sat on the edge of the mattress, feeling like I had to do something to ease him, but scared that I would trigger something worse. Helpless, I carefully stroke his arm to bring him back to me. Fear had filled his eyes when he turned to me.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I thought I was there again."

I did not ask any questions. I had to let him speak, I had to listen and not put pressure on him.

"I was stuck in my plane again and I couldn't open the canopy. It wouldn't slide open and water was flooding in. I couldn't breathe. I was stuck. I couldn't breathe and I was thinking of you and how I was going to die in the middle of the sea. And this time nobody came to save me. I was going to die, Freya."

I took him into my arms to stop him from shaking and I stroke his back to comfort him.

"It's over. It was just a nightmare. You came back. You're safe now. You're with me," I whispered.

"I really thought I would die there. That I would never see you again..."

"It looks like God wanted to give us a chance."

He finally relaxed and apologised one more time.

I wanted to protect him from all of this. He hadn't fight much but was already traumatised by the experience, and considering the situation, the experience was not ready to be over yet. I prayed for him not to lose his innocence in the war for he still had so many things to live and love. He had a joyful soul that he had to protect.

We were just children engaged into something too big, too frightening, too overwhelming for us. I was relying on him just as much as he was relying on me. I was his lighthouse, guiding him back home. He was my ray of sunshine, piercing through the clouds, and I couldn't lose him.

Once I knew Andrew had recovered from his nightmare, I got up and told him he could take a bath while I was preparing lunch. I collected the clothes he had not used yet and brought them to the bathroom. I opened the tap and adjusted the temperature of the water, wanting him to relax and feel as comfortable as possible. I turned to him when he entered the room but quickly looked away with embarrassment when I realised he was only in his underwear. It was not something I despised, but I was still not used to seeing him in such apparel, even if we had technically been way more intimate hours before. Andrew chuckled at my reaction. He came to my side and took me in his arms.