Jerome's P.O.V.
It was just after midnight when I woke up to the cold air of the room hitting my body because of the lack blankets covering my body. I groaned and rolled over to see Mitch, my boyfriend of just a few weeks, buried in the blankets like a little burrito.
At first I attempted to pull them back off Mitch but he just pulled them tighter around himself so I gave up. I moved my legs onto the floor and headed downstairs quickly to grab a spare blanket off the couch. There was no point in trying to fight Mitch for the blankets.
When I got back up the stairs with the blankets in tow I saw Mitch, who was lying on his side and the blankets still pulled around himself with his eyes sliding open and shut. I smiled fondly at him and shifted the blankets off him so I could cuddle him, knowing he would cooperate once he was awake.
He lifted his arms when I removed the blankets for a hug so I lay down and picked him up by his waist, moving him so he was lying on my chest, head buried in my neck. Gently laying a kiss on his forehead I settled down for sleep with the very slightly older boy.
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Earlier in the morning, maybe about 4 I woke up once again only this time it wasn't because of a lack of blankets. Mitch was still in roughly the same position as we had fallen asleep in, neither of us being sleep movers where we didn't throw ourselves around.
His head was still resting on my chest and his legs tangled between mine but his hands were screwed up into fists, gripping at my t-shirt and his head was shifting from side to side.
I could hear quiet whimpers escaping his mouth and when I moved my chest to get closer to him he startled and he threw his head back. I heard a cry and Mitch crashed down onto my chest, clutching at his neck.
I pulled him into a sitting position and gently removed his hands from his neck to check what had happened. I could see silent tears streaming down my face and little whimpers of pain escaped his lips.
"Hey, hey Mitchy, hey, it's okay." Once I had done a quite check over of his neck I breathed a sigh of relief, it was probably just a quick neck crack.
"Did you have a nightmare?" He nodded and winced at the movement of his neck, holding his hand up against it to stop it moving. I knew it would only take a few minutes before the pain would fade so I waited, holding Mitch against my chest.
Eventually he settled, his breathing in a regular rhythm and eyes flickering closed. His hair was tickling my chin and because I was still in a sitting position, he was sitting on my lap. I attempted to lay back onto the bed but Mitch started to shift uncomfortably so I froze, moving one of my arms behind me to hold myself up.
I tried to shift again and this time he didn't move so I lay back onto the bed and listened to Mitch's slow breathing as he settled back into sleep, but he was twitching, his fingers and body jolting every minute or so. It wasn't odd, he had done it before so I wasn't particularly worried.
Just after I was sure he was asleep I attempted to sleep as well but instead Mitch's twitching grew stronger and the jolting more noticeable. I suspected hypnic jerks, something he had done several times over the past and there was no way to stop them.
There wasn't any cause for them but research suspected sleep deprivation, discomfort or anxiety but as he jumped again I sat up and startled Mitch awake again after just a few minutes of sleep.
He sat up and looked at me as I groaned, my body struggling to remain awake.
"Was I jumping again?" I nodded and he sighed.
"Sorry." His voice was quiet, I knew he hated it.
"It's okay, I know you can't help it." He settled down on my chest for what felt like the hundredth time and we tried to sleep, listening to each others quiet breathing.
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I was out very quickly, I was exhausted and I think Mitch was as well but we were once again woken up in the night by things we couldn't control.
This time I could see light outside the window, meaning it was just after dawn and the birds would be up soon. Mitch was curled up on my stomach and I could feel him shaking, tears streaming down his face. I could hear him whimpering quietly and I knew at once, he was having a nightmare.
They had been reoccurring over the past few weeks, almost every night we had been woken up by his nightmares. I knew he was struggling to get enough sleep, there had been black bags underneath his eyes on numerous occasions and he seemed jumpy all the time, and easy to upset.
This time I waited, I always woke him up right after I knew he was having the nightmare so I had to do something different. His shaking grew stronger in the space of a few seconds and as much as I wanted too, I didn't wipe away his tears.
I started to hear small words through the whimpering and although I couldn't make out most of it, I did hear words like 'stop' and 'it hurts'. I didn't like the sound of it.
The words grew louder, and I started to hear more as the whimpers faded into words. He was still crying but as the words became clearer, the tears flowed faster.
"No, stop! Jess please! Leave me alone! Stop! Stop, it hurts! Jerome! Help me! Leave! Me! Alone!" That was all I needed and I shook him awake, waiting as he adjusted to his surroundings.
He buried himself in my chest and sobbed, and I knew exactly what had happened. I was crying myself, silent tears streaming down my face as I tried to comfort him as well as myself.
"Mitch, I heard you talking, what did Jess do?" He shook in my arms and his crying grew stronger as soon as I mentioned her name.
They had broken up, about a month ago and even though they weren't on the best terms, Mitch seemed to be pretty okay about what had happened. I had known it was coming, they had been fighting for weeks before it actually happened and Mitch got the courage to end their relationship.
They had a massive blowout, Jess was screaming profanities at him and he took for about half an hour before he gave up. He ended right there and then. telling her she had an hour to get anything of hers out of the house and never come back.
I had spent a few nights comforting him and eventually he stayed in bed every night, for comfort. About a week after the breakup was when the nightmares started.
"Jess, sh-she she-he came to the house, when y-you were out and sh-she..." He didn't finish his sentence and burst into tears again.
He was living in a waking nightmare.
