Page 28 of A Twisted Gift

I’m halfway through turning the doorknob when my mind catches up to me. My breath catches, and my body goes still.Can’t leave. Can’t, can’t, can’t.

But then Erik yells, and I swear he’s saying my name. Not Raina, but Rose.

I can’t leave him like that. Not after everything he’s done for me. So, forcing myself to breathe, I turn the knob. The door swings open, revealing the dark hallway. Long shadows stretch on the floor from the dull moonlight drifting in through the window. Outside, I can just make out bare tree branches swaying in the darkness.

“No,” Erik yells. “No—no,please.”

Without another thought, I take off and burst through his door. I can just make out Erik’s form on the bed. His sheets are twisted around him, but otherwise, he seems fine. There’s no intruder, and I can’t make out any blood or injuries in the dim lighting.

A nightmare.

“Erik.” Running up to the bed, I grab his shoulder and shake him. “Erik, wake up!”

He sits up with a rough gasp, frantically looking around the room until his eyes land on me. “No. Rose, no no no.”

Before I can get a word out, Erik grabs me, and my back hits the mattress. He’s hovering over me now, pressing against the right side of my torso.

“Erik—”

“We have to stop the bleeding,” he tells me, his voice panicked. “Can’t lose you. Not again.”

“Hey, I’m all right.” I try to push him off me, but he’s too strong. “Erik! It was just a dream.”

“No. No, he’s here. I have to get you out of here. I have to—”

“ERIK!”

He startles, and with his guard down, I’m finally able to shove his weight off me and sit up. With his brows drawn together in confusion, he glances down at my waist, and then at his hands.

“No blood,” he mumbles.

“I’m all right,” I whisper, touching his bare chest carefully, not wanting to scare him.

“R-Rose.” Erik’s voice is uneven, and he’s trembling, his large body making the entire bed shake.

“Raina,” I remind him gently, hoping it’ll help bring him back into the present.

“Raina,” he breathes. His head hits my shoulder, and his arms encircle me, holding me tight. “You’re safe.”

“Did you dream that I wasn’t?”

“Always do,” he says hoarsely, nuzzling my neck and breathing deeply. “God, Raina. It felt so real.”

“It’s okay. I’m—Erik!”

He’s holding me at arm’s length, searching me over. One hand keeps me firmly anchored in place while the other pats my face, my side, my arms, and my legs. “Just need to be sure. Need to…” His voice breaks, and he heaves in a breath.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay.” I have to crawl into his lap to give him a proper hug, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Before I’m fully situated, he’s clinging to me, both arms banded around me in a tight embrace that I couldn’t escape even if I wanted to.

“Can’t do it again,” he croaks. “Can’t lose you. Rose. My Rose. I can’t take it again.”

“I’m safe. You saved me, remember?” As much as I can, I try to rock him back and forth. It’s what Marissa does when I’m upset, but it’s a lot harder to do to someone who’s so much bigger than I am. “Father can’t take me away again. You won’t let him.”

“I won’t,” he mumbles. “Promise. I promise, Rose. I won’t let him hurt you.”

“Hey.” I try to put my body around him, acting as a shield the way he did for me earlier. “Focus on your breathing.”

Gulping in air, he buries his face in my neck. I hold him, feeling the tension slowly seep out of his body as exhaustion takes over.

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