Mary's nightmares weren't over, terrible images made her shake in her sleep until she woke up out of breath. She tried to calm down, but the gigantic room surrounding her didn't help relax her tense nerves. What before her might have been the normal shapes of furniture, had now become giant figures ready to hurt her.
After the third time she woke up in a pool of sweat, the little borrower couldn't take it anymore. Tears rolled down her face and her breathing was too fast. She quickly sat up on the pillow she was lying on and put a hand to her chest. She tried to breathe slowly, and instinctively she turned to look at the human.
Chloe slept curled up in the chair. She covered herself with the blanket and managed to lie down on one side. Mary could see her relaxed, kind face. The borrower decided to focus on her, knowing that by giving her attention primarily to something familiar, she would likely calm down.
Mary watched the tangled brown hair fall over the human's shoulders. Her lips were parted slightly, and Mary could watch her chest move slightly to the rhythm of her breathing.
The borrower felt her heart tighten as she looked away from her, and she tried to get as close to the human as possible. She was now on the arm of the sofa, but it wasn't enough to allay her fears.
And at that moment, with her tiredness making her muscles burn and her eyes red, Mary realized that Chloe was her only source of comfort.
After all, deep down, she knew she could trust the human. Even just for one night.
And with this thought in her head, that she repeated over and over, she found herself reaching for the chair the human was lying on. Fortunately, the two armrests touched each other, so the borrower didn't have to exert too much effort.
Chloe rested a hand under her cheek and one of hers was dropped onto her armrest. Mary approached hesitantly and froze for a moment. Now came the hard part.
She had to wake the human and get her attention, plus she had to find the courage to ask her to sleep with her, or at least to be as close to her as possible.
If she had been more lucid, she would never have reconnected with the human. But the fatigue and fear were stronger than any other sentiment the borrower could hear.
So Mary took courage one last time and went to her hand placed right in front of her. She slowly approached hers and touched the back of the human's hand. Mary immediately pulled her hand away, but your touch had been so delicate that Chloe probably hadn't felt anything.
The borrower took a deep breath and again used her fingers to touch the human's skin. She tried to get used to that feeling again, at least a little before she was touched again by those giant hands.
Mary continued with her gestures, and after a while, she felt quite calm and comforted. When Chloe moved her hand slightly, the borrower immediately stepped back and looked up.
Two large dark, half-closed eyes looked at her with curiosity and concern. Mary felt her heart rise in her throat and continued to back away.
"Hey..." the human whispered in a sleepy voice, trying to figure out if something had happened to the borrower. She didn't look hurt, but she was agitated. Mary shivered visibly as she limped backwards, keeping her fearful eyes on her gigantic dark figure.
"Is everything okay?" Chloe asked, keeping her voice low and being careful not to move an inch. Was the borrower feeling unwell? Or had she done something to her in her sleep by accident?
Mary squeaked slightly and tried to form a meaningful sentence. She stopped on the edge of the sofa and started playing nervously with her fingers.
"I-I ... uhm ... S-sorry... I w-woke you u-up" Mary tried to say, tempted to run away and hide in the blanket behind her. But the borrower decided to take courage and stay there. She needed to talk to the human and tell her what she felt.
"Don't worry, do you need something?" Chloe asked immediately, noting how the little girl kept her gaze down and stayed as far away from her as possible.
"I-I ..." Mary stammered some disjointed words for a while, and when she looked up she could see the confusion on the human's face. So she stopped, took a deep breath, and organized her thoughts.
"I can't sleep," she admitted then, lowering her face and eagerly awaiting the human's response. At that moment she realized that Chloe might not care at all and that she had woken her up in the middle of the night for something pointless.
But the human immediately smiled at her with understanding, and she moved slightly, trying to adjust herself on the sofa and turn on the lamp on the table to her left to see better. The borrower watched her carefully, and when her movements stopped, Chloe spoke again.
"is it for the leg?" she asked in a worried tone, looking for any sign of discomfort. Mary shook her head, her leg only slightly bothered her, but the pain wasn't enough to stop her from sleeping.
"I-I ... had nightmares," she admitted then, plucking up her courage and clearing her throat. Chloe's heart immediately squeezed at those words and she nodded slightly.
"Would you like to talk about it?" her question was simple, but at the very thought of having to talk about what she saw in her dreams, Mary violently shook her head and looked up at her. Her blue eyes filled with tears and once again Chloe felt her heart skip a beat.
"It's okay, you don't need to say anything" she immediately reassured her, and she was tempted to take the borrower into her own hands and bring her to her chest. She wanted to hide her and protect her from any danger.
But she had to be careful, and do only what Mary wanted her to do, and not force her to do anything she didn't want.
"Do you want me to help you distract yourself?" she asked then, receiving a sign of assent from the little girl. Chloe smiled at her, and Mary managed a small smile back.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" she suggested, knowing full well how much the borrower liked them. Mary's eyes lit up immediately, but the borrower furrowed her brow.
"A-Are you sure it doesn't bother you?" she asked in a voice so small that the human could barely hear it. Chloe shook her head. "I am very sure," she told her before flashing a big smile once again.
The human managed to retrieve the remote control without moving too much, she wanted to avoid scaring the borrower as much as possible. Mary greatly appreciated her carefulness.
Mary sat there, turning to the screen. The human said no more, and they began to watch the film in silence. The borrower was shivering slightly from the cold, but she gave no sign of moving to reach her blanket on the sofa. She wanted to stay close to Chloe.
"Aren't you cold?" Chloe knew the borrower suffered a lot more from the cold given her size. When she looked at her closely, she had noticed her trembling. As scared as the borrower might be of being so close to a human, Chloe knew she was cold.
Mary began to torture her hands with nervousness, knowing she had to be completely honest right now. "I am a l-little cold ..." she began and felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "But I want to be close to you," she admitted, and Chloe's eyes widened at her revelation.
She couldn't hold back the big smile on her lips, and she thought about how she could best help her. "Do you want me to cover you with the blanket?" she asked her initially, before attempting a more risky question. "Or ... sleep here?" she asked her, patting her upper chest with her hand. Mary turned to look at her to understand what she meant and she froze.
She was still extremely scared, but her legs moved on their own. The borrower stood up silently and walked over to the human's arm. "Just ... don't move" she almost pleaded with her little voice, and Chloe stayed still as she was told.
The borrower began to climb, grabbing the clothing of Chloe's shirt and reaching her chest after a while. Mary sat there, and Chloe tentatively reached out a hand. "Is this okay?" she asked in a whisper, and the borrower nodded, letting that giant hand surround her.
Initially, Mary narrowed her eyes and became paralyzed, but she slowly managed to relax as well, letting herself be warmed by the human's hand.
Chloe couldn't stop smiling, and she restarted the film, holding the borrower close to her and being careful not to scare her.
It took less than half an hour for Mary to fall asleep, she was exhausted. Chloe tried to stay awake a little longer, knowing the borrower might be having another nightmare.
But in the end, the two girls slept without any problems for the rest of the night. Mary had the best night of sleep of her life.
15/10/2021