Tough Love

Chapter Thirty-Four

He looks around the bed quickly, throwing the covers off the bed completely to scan the area. He sighs and whispers, “There's no blood, sweetheart. It was a nightmare.”

I let out a shaky breath, “It was so real. It's like it just happened. Are you sure...?”

“I'm sure. No one was in here. Just you and me. I promise I won't let anyone else in here.”

He's still holding onto my shaking hands and after the initial shock of him taking my hands has worn off, I don't feel so scared. In actual fact, his touch seems to make me feel more protected, safer.

He kneels on the floor and leans his upper body against my bed, not once letting my hands go.

“Dani, what happened? Talk to me...”

Before I can stop my mouth, it flies out. “He cut me... He cut me.... So much blood... Too much blood...”

I let out a sob and Eli holds me tight in his embrace. I feel him stroking my hair and whispering comforting things to me, but my brain is so fogged up at the moment, that I can't comprehend what he's saying. He just holds me until my sobs subside, trying to comfort me.

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Eli's POV

My heart is pounding right now, like I think it's about to come out of my chest. Frantic doesn't even begin to describe how Dani was when she woke up. She was absolutely petrified, but she was wild, searching for something. At first I didn't know what to do, but when I saw her hands reaching for the hem of her shirt, ready to lift it, I knew I had to stop her. I knew she mustn't have realized I was in here and she would regret lifting her shirt. I don't want her to lose what shred of dignity she has.

I don't know what happened, I just know that she dreamed about someone cutting her. That's all I got out of her, which I guess is a start. She's really panicked though. She can even smell the blood. I know that your sense of smell sets off the strongest memories and they are the memories that live the longest. My heart aches for her, she can't seem to catch a break.

There's not much I can do or say, so I just hold Dani until she stops crying. I don't like feeling helpless, it's one of my flaws. I like things to be perfect, to be done properly, and if it's not, I like to fix it. I don't know how to fix this; I don't know how to fix Dani and it's tearing me apart. I don't know what to do for the best. I don't know what's going to help her or what's going to make it worse. I don't want her to think I think she's a lost cause, I just don't know what to do anymore. I know I have to talk about this with her, but there never seems to be a good time to bring it up. I mean, how do you tell someone you don't know how to help them without them losing all hope in you? I don't want Dani to think of me like that. I want her to see me as her protector, her strength. How can she see me like that if I tell her I can't help her?

I hear Dani mumble, “I need to shower...”

I release her slowly and say, “Ok. I'll just wait here until you get back.”

She nods nervously and grabs some clothes before going into the bathroom. Once I hear the door lock, I let out a deep sigh and rub my hands over my face as a few tears escape. I can't help but cry a little. My poor Dani is in so much pain and there's nothing I can do to remedy it. I just hope my dad can come up with something to help her and soon. Although, that's another conversation we're going to have to have sooner rather than later. I'm not looking forward to it, I can tell you that. I'm going to have to convince her somehow that she won't get addicted to the drugs he gives us. Yeah, that's going to go well I'm sure. You can sense the sarcasm hidden in there.