Page 120 of Always Be an Us

Despite that, the memories threaten to invade the peaceful atmosphere anyway.

I haven’t had a dream about Xavier in a long time. I took that to mean I was finally getting over what happened in the past, and that I was moving on from it. But now he had to reappear and throw all of that into chaos.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Declan asks, his voice steady as a rock amid my panic.

I shake my head. "No."

There’s a pause and I know that curiosity is killing him. He's fighting himself not to ask. I manage to smile into his shirt. Maybe I owe him an explanation on some level.

Besides, I know if I don’t tell him now, he’s going to try to get it out of me eventually.

Might as well give him a partial truth to satisfy his curiosity.

"I had a nightmare," I start.

"Yeah, I figured that much." The amusement in his voice makes me nudge my elbow into his side, to which he chuckles. His big hand crawls into my hair massaging the base of my scalp. Currents of pleasure roll throughout my body, and I release a moan tucking myself more comfortably into his arms.

I enjoy his soothing touch for a few more seconds before I admit, "I had a stalker once."

The touch halts. The shock is louder than the silence.

"Back in California," I tell him. "A few weeks before I left, I noticed this guy following me. He would show up at my classes even though we didn’t have the same ones. He switched his classes to match mine. And then he became a regular at the bar where I worked too. I would also randomly see him at the grocery store and stuff. I didn’t think much of it at first. I thought it could have all been a coincidence actually. Until one day I caught him following me home."

"Did he attack you?" Declan's voice is deceptively casual, but nothing can hide the tension in his shoulders even as his touch remains gentle.

"No," I say. "I was scared he would, so I reported it to the police. One night he attempted to break into my house and they caught him and questioned him. They eventually let him go after that, but I think he got the message and didn’t bother me again."

"Bastard," he says. "They just let him go?"

I shrug. "They didn’t have enough evidence to hold him there forever. He had to pay a fine though and at least this way, people were aware of the fact that he was stalking me. That must have spooked him because he left me alone after that."

"Do you know his name?"

"No," I lie. "Why?"

"No reason." His tone is once again deceptively soft, but he’s not fooling me. I recognize that devious undertone.

"What are you planning?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says and then hugs me tighter. "You think you can get some sleep now?"

"Yeah. I only have a nightmare about it once in a while, but I’m usually fine after."

"You might be finer if the bastard wasn’t breathing anymore."

I glance up at him, and he adds, "Kidding."

But there's very little mirth in his eyes.

"Right," I say.

"Just try to go to sleep," Declan says and leans back against the headrest. "I'll be here the whole time. No one will get you."

"Alright," I yawn. I don’t think it will be that easy to get to sleep, especially since my conscience nags me that I didn't tell Declan the whole story.

It’s hard because I don’t think he’ll believe me if I do.

No one believed me back then. Even after Xavier was arrested for trying to break into my house, he somehow managed to convince everyone that I was in on it.

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