Haunted - Sanders Sides

Chapter Three

Roman returned about half an hour later. He simply had a backpack. It was getting late, so I showed him to the room downstairs and told him to make himself at home. That was about an hour ago.

Right now, I'm lying in my bed upstairs. I'm only still awake because I'm afraid to fall asleep. That and I'm silently freaking out that Roman is downstairs. I still can't believe he offered to stay. It means a lot knowing he cares enough to offer. I move to lie on my side.

Despite trying not to, I begin to imagine how Roman is downstairs. Is he already asleep? Is he lying awake, unable to sleep like me? I wish he was next- no. Stop thinking that, Virgil. I let out an annoyed huff and close my eyes. I'm not sure when but I do end up falling asleep.

I wake up in a panic after another particularly bad nightmare. This time someone is touching me. It makes it worse for some reason. That is until I realize it's Roman. He puts both hands on the sides of my face and makes me look at him.

"Calm down. Take deep breaths," he says, but I can't.

All I can see are flashes of my nightmare. After a minute of trying to calm me down but not succeeding, he does something I never would have thought he'd do. He kisses me. My eyes widen, but after a moment, they slowly close, and I melt into the kiss. He pulls back after a few seconds. I open my eyes to see his closed, but that only lasts a moment before he opens them to look at me.

I'm so shocked that he kissed me that I've stopped panicking. I look at him with confusion.

"Why'd you do that?" I ask.

"I, uh. I read once that holding your breath could stop a panic attack. So, when I kissed you, uh, you held your breath," he tells me.

"I did?" I ask.

"Yeah, you did," he says.

Oh. That makes sense.

"Thanks. It was really smart," I say, and he laughs lightly, making me smile softly.

Roman moves to get off my bed, but I reach out to stop him without thinking. He looks back at me and must see the fear still written on my face. He smiles softly and scoots closer to me.

"Come here," he says as he pulls me into his arms.

I'm stiff as a board until he runs his fingers through my hair. I start to relax in his arms.

"Thank you," I tell him.

"You're welcome," he says, and I can feel the rumble of his chest as he speaks.

"Why... How did you know to come up here?" I ask.

"I woke up from a nightmare of my own. When I went to get some water, I heard you moving around. You sounded distressed, so I came up here," he explains.

"You had a nightmare?" I ask with worry.

I should've expected that he'd get them too, staying here.

"It was nothing too bad," he says.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"I'm sure. Let's try to get some more sleep," he says.

I settle in and close my eyes. I fall back asleep within a few minutes.

I wake up to another nightmare but not as bad as the one I had last night. Roman is still asleep next to me. His arms are still loosely wrapped around me. I should move. He's asleep and doesn't know he's practically hugging me. I want to stay here in his arms, but I force myself to move. I don't get far when his grip around me tightens and pulls me back close to him. My back is to his chest.