Tough Love

Chapter One Hundred Eight

I think for a few seconds. Then I remember myself and chuckle at the memory.

Ash cuts into our moment, "Er, feeling like the outsider here, guys. Stop it."

Dani apologizes and I just slap Ash on the back in a brotherly gesture.

"So, Sunday? You want to join us?"

"Sure. What about my mom?"

We both look at Dani to gauge her reaction. She shrugs and says, "Sure. Beth is going to be there, so why not?"

Ash frowns, "Beth?"

Dani nods, but doesn't offer an explanation. I don't know if that's because she's embarrassed, doesn't know what to say, or is just preoccupied. So I answer, "Yeah. She's someone Dani knew from a few years ago. Dani stayed with her for a while."

I'm hoping Ash gets the hidden message so he doesn't question further. He's silent for a minute and then he nods, "Cool. I'll let my mom know. Thanks."

Dani is quiet through dinner and then while we're getting ready for bed. She doesn't read her book, just stares at the pages blankly. I have an idea what's on her mind, but when I ask about it, she just says she's thinking. She doesn't give anything away and I fear we're going back to the way things used to be. We've come so far in the few months and I really don't want to ruin that. However, I don't want Dani to panic and worry about these guys finding us or anything. I don't want to cause her unnecessary worry. I promised to protect her and sometimes you have to withhold information to keep the ones you love safe.

I whisper a goodnight and place a kiss on the top of Dani's head, before we settle for sleep. She lays awake for a few hours, just staring at the ceiling. I know this, because her breathing hasn't changed. It hasn't got deeper, like a sleeping person's does. Just as I'm about to ask what's wrong, her breathing deepens and she's drifted off to sleep.

I don't know how long we sleep for, but I'm woken up by Dani tossing and turning. It's almost like she's fighting.

She speaks in Russian, "No... Please... Don't... Please don't hurt me.... Please...!"

She's sobbing and calling for her poppa; she's asking for him to help her, to save her. Her arms and legs are all over the place, and I'm almost certain she's fighting someone off. She hasn't had a nightmare this bad in a little while and I'm not sure what to do. Usually she wakes herself up so I don't have to do it. The few times I have woken her, it didn't go well. Just me touching her sent her into a complete melt down, so I'm dubious of doing that agin.

I don't get any more time to contemplate that because she screams and its up quickly. I let her take a minute to get herself together before saying or doing anything. I hear her whispering, "It's ok, Dani. It was just a dream... just a dream..."

She rubs her hands over her face and I wait for her to remember I'm in the room. When she removes her hands from her face, she startles when she sees me. I see the moment of recognition cross her features when she realizes where she is. That's when she jumps up and runs to the bathroom; like the weight of the nightmare has just settled on her. Before I can get out of the bed, I hear her puking. I'm thinking she might be coming to the end of this dosage of drugs. She's probably due a top-up, which is why the last few days have been more difficult.