Page 28 of Interference

“I’m good,” I called out. I gently nudged Lily aside and started to sit up in bed. “It’s open. I’m… I’m good.”

The door opened slightly and he poked his head in, his hair disheveled and his eyes wide. “Uh, I heard shouting. Are you…?” His brow pinched.

Heat rushed into my face as I leaned against the headboard. “Yeah. It’s…” I laughed nervously. “Nightmares. They’re kind of a thing.”

His mouth formed a soundless Oh. Straightening a little, he came partway into the room. Some part of my brain tried to notice that he was wearing nothing but a pair of black gym shorts, but that spark of attraction that had come to life a few hours ago had been snuffed out by the nightmare. Anthony leaned against the door frame and started to speak, but he paused and he looked around the room. “You sleep with the lights on?” He didn’t sound judgmental, just curious.

“No, no.” I patted Lily. “She turns them on when I’m having a nightmare.”

Anthony blinked. “Really? She’s trained to turn on the light?”

“Yeah.” I smiled as I stroked her short coat. She leaned against me, resting her head against my chest. “It’s kind of amazing the things service dogs can do. She’ll even clear a room for me if I don’t feel safe.”

“Clear a room?”

I nodded, still petting her. “If I give her a command, she’ll go into a room ahead of me and give it a sweep. Make sure it’s safe.” More heat rose in my cheeks. “It’s, um… I mean, I’m sure it sounds kind of stupid, but—”

“No, I don’t think so.” He folded his arms loosely across his bare chest. “If you’ve got trauma that she can help by going into a room like that…” He gestured around the room as if to say, go on.

“Yeah. It’s… I won’t get into why that’s a thing for me, but it helps a lot.” I paused, then added sheepishly, “Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. Probably should’ve warned you about it.”

Anthony was already shaking his head. “It’s okay. I’m just glad you had somebody here to help.” He motioned toward Lily.

I smiled down at her. “She’s made my life a million times easier, believe me.”

“I bet she has.” He paused. “Well. I, uh… I didn’t mean to come barging in. I was just worried that—”

“It’s fine. It’s fine. I get it. I roomed with a guy who had night terrors before I went to combat, and it’s… kinda startling even if you do know it’s coming.” I smiled. “Thanks for checking in.”

He returned the smile. “Don’t mention it. Do you want me to, uh…?” He gestured at the light switch, which was right by the door.

“Please. And thanks again.”

He gave me another quick smile. “Good night.”

“Let’s hope. G’night, Anthony.”

Then he shut off the light and closed the door. I sat there for a moment, listening to his footsteps fading down the hall and up the stairs. I must’ve really been freaking out if he’d heard me from that far away.

I wrapped my arms around Lily and kissed the top of her head. Her tail thumped on the mattress. Thank God for this amazing dog.

It had actually been a while since I’d had a nightmare this bad. Out on the streets, I couldn’t sleep deeply enough to dream as intensely as I did when I was someplace safe, secure, and warm. I’d still have bad dreams, but the truly terrible dreams—the ones that were so fucking real—only happened when I could actually sleep.

I guess that was the price I paid for having a roof and a bed for the time being. I slept better, but I also dreamed harder.

All things considered… I’d take it.

Chapter 9

Anthony

Dragging myself out of bed the next morning took some serious work. I hadn’t slept for shit last night, and I was going to pay for it at practice today. Ugh.

I shuffled into the bathroom for a shower, then pulled on some sweats and a T-shirt to go hunt down breakfast and coffee. They wouldn’t do much to revive me from this zombielike state, but they’d keep me from faceplanting on the ice. Hopefully.

I paused at the top of the stairs to let the cats go thundering down first. Lesson learned the hard way.

“You need to be excused from practice.” Coach’s incredulous voice still rang in my ears, “because you tripped over your cat?”

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