Recovery | On Hiatus

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

      THE NEXT TIME I woke up, I was in my bed. Gratitude instantly filled me when I realized Hayden had carried me up to the guest room instead of leaving me alone on the couch. A yawn escaped my lips as I slid my feet out from under the covers and onto the cold floor before starting my way towards the bathroom. Halfway there, through, I thought I heard what sounded like crying coming from behind Hayden's closed door. I momentarily debated whether or not I should disturb him if he didn't want anybody to know he was upset, but shook the thought away. He was my friend. I couldn't just leave him alone.

      My resolve was further strengthened whenever I heard a scream from inside his room. I quickly stumbled to the door and yanked it opened to see him thrashing in bed, coated in a layer of sweat. I cursed under my breath and rushed over, holding his shoulders down so he wouldn't hurt himself. "Hayden," I tried gently, hoping not to scare him further. "Hayden, you have to wake up." When that did nothing, I tried a little firmer. "Hayden, it's Scarlet." He didn't.

      Tears soaked his cheeks and his face scrunched up in pain. He muttered something under his breath that I couldn't understand before one loud, "No!" tore from his throat.

      I stumbled back as he thrashed and swung his arms out. This wasn't going to work. Whatever nightmare he was going through was leaving him terrified and broken. If I wanted to wake him up, I was going to have to try a lot harder than a small shake of the shoulders. I waited for Hayden to settle down just a bit more before bracing myself and climbing up onto the bed with him. I carefully slid my leg over him to straddle his waist and placed my hands gently on his cheeks. I hoped the pressure on his waist would keep him from hurting himself instead of making his nightmare worse. "Hayden," I whispered. "Hayden, its Scarlet. Can you wake up for me?"

      His face scrunched up in distress and he continued to trash. I brought a hand up to feel his forehead and cringed when I felt the heat and sweat. He was burning up.

      "Hayden," I tried again. "Hayden, please wake up."

      He thrashed harder, so much so that I almost had to hold on to keep from being thrown off the bed myself. He mumbled a few more things before lashing out at nothing with his arms. I threw mine up to block the blow, pushing aside the memories of all the other times I'd been forced into this defensive position. I had to remind myself that Hayden was the issue right now. You're fine, I reminded myself. This isn't Darrin. You're not in danger.

      I momentarily wondered if I was only making things worse, but decided waking him up would still be better than leaving him to his nightmares. "Hayden," I tried again, more desperate this time. "Hayden!"

      A scream tore from his throat and he jerked forward. My arms latched around his shoulders to keep myself from flying backwards as my heart pounded an unsteady rhythm in my chest. I carefully slid my hands to rest on his shoulders and leaned back to look at him. His eyes were open, but he stared right through me. His multicolored orbs were glossy from tears and a sheen of sweat soaked his face and matted his hair to his forehead. He looked terrified.

      "Hayden," I whispered, pulse pounding through my ears. My breath came out raggedly, but I didn't care at that moment.

      I brushed his hair back with my hand and trailed it down along his cheek. He blinked a couple of times before his brows furrowed and his eyes focused on mine. His words came out in a puff of breath, and if I hadn't been listening closely, I might have missed it when he questioned, "Scarlet?"