Remind Me

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I'm surprised when instead of feeling the sharp tear of a blade to feel a soft, warm hand on my cheek.

My eyes fly open and I wipe the tears in a hurry to try and clear my vision. There is not a man in a mask in front of me. Instead, it's the concerned face of Owen.

I let out a breath of relief, and all new tears fill my eyes. I throw my arms around him, my shoulders shaking at the memory of the terrifying dream. My throat burns and my head aches, assuring me that I was screaming out loud. I'm more relieved than ever to see his face.

"You're okay," Owen whispers to me. "You're okay, I'm here. I'm right here."

My heart rate starts to slow, and my sobs eventually turn to hiccups. I clench a handful of his T shirt in my fist and don't dare to let go. Owen rubs my back slowly, then his fingers begin to stroke out my tangly hair.

"I just-" I whisper, "I thought my nightmares would be over."

Owen lets out an audible sigh, and he leans his head down on my shoulder as well. His lips brush against my skin as he lets out long breaths. It makes shivers run down my spine and through the rest of my body.

"I know," he says softly. And I know he knows it's out of his control. There isn't anything he can do about it except for be here when I need him.

Minutes pass. I want to stay here forever. I don't want to move. I feel so warm and safe. There is nowhere in the world I would like to be more.

But all good things must end.

Owen finally releases me, lifting a gentle hand to wipe the excess tears under my eyes. I cross my arms in front of me to stay warm. I sniffle a few times before breathing normally again.

"Here, lay back," Owen says, pulling my covers away so I can climb in once again. He pulls them back up to me.

He sits there looking at me in a conflicted sort of way. He sighs for about the tenth time in the last five minutes, leans down and kisses me on the forehead and stands up to leave.

And I panic, because I know that if he leaves me here, I'll never sleep all the way through the night. I'll go back into those nightmares. That can't happen.

"Wait," I say. "Wait, Owen."

He pauses, turning around, eyes full of emotion.

The words struggle on my tongue before I manage to release them. "Please, come back."

He opens his mouth as if to say something, closes it. Nods. Walks back over and slides into the bed next to me. I snuggle up right beside him, my head resting on his chest. I can hear his heart beating, and I let my eyes fall closed.

"I love you, Brinley," Owen whispers in the few moments before I fall asleep. "So much."

I would respond, but I am far too asleep to find my voice. And soon enough, I'm all the way gone to the darkness.

<•>•<•>

When I wake up in the morning, Owen's already gone and I'm curled alone in the large bed. I stretch myself out, letting out a refreshing breath.

The door cracks open after a short knock.

"Morning," Owen says.

He's already completely dressed in dark jeans and a Killers T shirt. And judging by the warm smile, he's trying to overlook the complete breakdown last night and move forward. I smile back at him.

"Good morning," I reply, sitting up and stepping out of the bed. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon," he replies, looking at his watch.

My eyes widen and I stand up quickly. I slept that long? I haven't slept that late in all the time I remember. And for some reason, I feel extremely uncomfortable about that.

"No way," I blink.

"Yes way," he smiles at me. "Get dressed, we're gonna go visit Joey."

Five short but busy minutes later, we're both in his car and on the way up to the hospital. We both know our way right up to his room, and we both walk straight inside without an okay from any nurses. Nobody stops us, is all I'm worried about.

"Hey, guys!" Joey exclaims. He grins excitedly. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show, that you'd forgotten about your wounded pal."

Owen snorts. "There's no way to forget about you, especially when the dorm is silent for once."

"Right," Joey smirks, eyes switching between the two of us. "How was having the place to yourselves last night?"

I squirm uncomfortably, looking at my feet. Owen takes my hand in his and leads me over to the two chairs positioned by the bed. We both ignore the question, considering our answer would be completely different than he would expect.

"So," Joey says. "Got any nice insults for me, Brinley? Or are you all out of those?"

I stare at him blankly.

"There's the glare I wanted!" Joey fist pumps.

"You enjoy my glares, huh?" I roll my eyes.

"The eye roll!" He fist pumps again.

"Why are you so happy about this?" I ask, taking special care not to roll my eyes again.

"Because it means that garbage bag didn't take you away from me," Joey says. "You're still you through all that."

I frown, looking down again. If only he knew about last night. He wouldn't be saying that.

"You're both acting very secretive," Joey looks annoyed, eyeing both Owen and I.

"And you're acting very irritating," I retort.

"O-ho!" Joey holds his hands up in surrender. "There she is! Shots fired."

"Shut up," I roll my eyes.

"Eye roll," he fist pumps again.

I let out an indignant groan, slapping my hand down on the bedside table. "Shut up or I'm leaving you alone here."

"Aw, don't say that," Joey frowns mockingly. "You love spending quality time with me."

"Yeah right," I purse my lips.

"Oh, come on, I'm your bestie, Brinley," Joey says.

"No," I shake my head.

"Come here," he holds his arms open.

I don't budge.

"Come on, I know you want to," he wiggles his fingers, arms still open.

I stare at him for a moment. He stares at me. "Fine," I sigh in defeat, walking over and giving him a hug.

"I knew you didn't hate me," he laughs.

"Oh, whatever," I say when we break apart, "cripple."

"Low blow," he whistles.

"Joey," I say, looking at him seriously for the first time today.

"Yes, ma'am?" He asks, raising his eyebrows in anticipation.

"I'm glad you didn't die."

"Wow," he blinks a few times then nods. "I am too, B. I am too."

And he pull me into another huge hug. I can't help myself from smiling widely.