Page 127 of Interference

I patted Lily’s side. Hopefully that wouldn’t distract her, but she deserved the praise.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked, wiping a shaky hand over his face. “I knew this would happen tonight. I should’ve—”

“Don’t,” I whispered, and kissed his temple again. “I just want you to be okay.”

His laugh was bitter and dry. “God, I fucking wish.” He swallowed again, harder this time, and his voice almost cracked as he said, “That’s the one thing I want more than anything in the world—to just… be okay.”

I stroked his hair, not sure how to respond.

“It’s exhausting,” he whispered. “Everything in my life is—I mean, my head’s fucked up, so everything else is too. I can’t get away from it. My dad, my mental health, my financial situation—I can’t sleep. I can’t have conversations without dodging landmines. I can’t…” He sighed, turning exhausted, wet eyes on me. “I miss being okay.”

“I know you do.” I had no idea what else to say, because I couldn’t imagine.

Wyatt gently urged Lily to get up. She reluctantly did, pausing to lick his chin.

“I’m okay, baby,” he said as he patted her shoulder. “You did good. I’m okay.”

Her tail wagged tentatively, and he let a faint smile break through. Well, there was that. I didn’t know what to do or say in these moments, but Lily always seemed to know what he needed.

She finally got up enough that he could sit up, and he pressed his elbows into his thighs as he kneaded his temples. “This fucking sucks.”

I sat beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Is there anything I can do?”

He pushed out a long breath as he leaned against me. “There isn’t anything anyone can do. But…” He tipped up his chin and kissed me softly. “This helps a lot. I’m sorry it fucks up your sleep, though.”

“I’ll be fine.” I pulled him closer and stroked his hair. “I’m just glad you have Lily for when I’m not there. She’s good at what she does.”

Wyatt relaxed a little, and as he petted her, he said, “Don’t know what I’d do without her.” After a moment, he lifted his head and met my gaze. “It’s… I’ve weathered this for a long time either on my own or with her. But having you here—that helps too. A lot.”

I managed a tired smile as I carded my fingers through his hair. “Just tell me if there’s anything more I can do.”

He just kissed me lightly and leaned against me again.

I closed my eyes and held him. This hadn’t been the worst night since we’d been sleeping together. Sometimes the nightmares came on so fast and fierce, even Lily couldn’t wake him up before he was thrashing and shouting. She’d been ahead of the dreams tonight, though, and I was grateful for that.

After a while, Wyatt said, “I think the worst part is knowing I’ll never be completely okay. Some things will get better, but other things…” He sighed. “My leg will grow back before some of this other shit ever goes away, you know?”

I grimaced. “That’s a lot. I’m sorry.”

“But I have a lot of support.” He took my hand and met my gaze with a faint smile. “You’ve made a big difference. Today was hard in a lot of ways, but I’m really, really glad we did this. Even if…” He gestured at his head.

“Just say the word if there’s any other way I can help.”

Wyatt was already shaking his head, and his smile came more fully to life. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

He kissed me before I could argue, so I didn’t.

I was glad I could help him through the hard stuff. And I was glad I’d come to Oregon with him, both to support him and just… to be with him.

I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.

We weren’t due back at the family’s house until about eleven. Though Christmas morning breakfast was a tradition, his mom had decided it would be brunch this year.

That gave us time to sleep in a little and make up for last night. After all, nightmares never came alone—there’d been three that I could recall. It was for the best we both had a chance to catch up on sleep instead of showing up looking like zombies and worrying the family.

It also gave me a chance to call my parents, who were spending the holidays in Greece. I was thrilled they were finally getting to see the world; though I was often hesitant to spend money on myself, I happily sent them anywhere they wanted to go in the most luxurious accommodations I could find. After all the sacrifices they’d made for me, they deserved it.

“You really need to come here someday yourself!” Mom exclaimed from the deck of their Santorini hotel. “It’s beautiful, and the food is amazing!”

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