Page 103 of Rescue Us

Ever since meeting Cyrus, the disturbing memories were few and far between. But when they came, they came out of nowhere and usually took my breath away.

As I rose to my feet, a hard bang sounded on the door. I jumped, almost falling back on my ass. My skin became clammy. It couldn’t have been Cyrus. Not when I slipped a key into his pocket.

I checked my phone anyway but when I didn’t see a text from him, that didn’t leave me feeling any better.

The hard knock sounded again.

I wanted to ask who was there, but I had seen enough horror movies to know that you shouldn’t do that.

Slowly making my way to the door, I took a deep breath and looked out the peep hole. My stomach dropped when I didn’t see anyone standing on the other side of it.

Someone had been watching too many horror movies and was clearly trying to scare me.

I made sure the door was locked and double-checked that the security system was armed.

I sent Cyrus a quick text that I hoped he and his brother were able to work out their issues and spent the rest of the evening cleaning, trying to get my mind off whoever it was that knocked on my door. It didn’t make sense. This sudden feeling like someone had been watching me. I felt it when Jaron and Piper dropped me off but hadn’t sensed anything out of the ordinary since I ended up at the deli. I wondered if Cyrus and I would still have ended up together if I hadn’t gone into the restaurant that day.

Once I was done cleaning everything, I saw that it was now pushing eleven at night with no response from Cyrus. I just hoped that everything was okay and that he and Sammy were able to talk it out.

I decided to get ready for bed and read for a bit. Once I was settled beneath the covers, I opened my book. My eyes became heavy, but I tried fighting through it when suddenly, a heavy body wrapped around me.

A scream broke free, my hand landing against a cheek.

“Shit, baby. It’s me.”

I struggled against the heavy body, the deep voice forcing bile to my throat.

“Ainsley, wake the fuck up.”

My eyes snapped open at the rough command, landing on Cyrus’s handsome face. I must have fallen asleep while reading.

He stared down at me, his brows furrowed.

My chest rose and fell, my heart thundering in my ears.

“You were dreaming,” he said gently, pushing my hair off my forehead.

My eyes welled, the remnants of the nightmare settling on my skin. “I’m...I’m...”

“Shhh...” He pulled me into his arms, hugging me against his chest as a sob broke free. He lifted me off the bed, holding me tight.

I was vaguely aware of us leaving my bedroom, but I couldn’t focus. I didn’t know what time it was. I didn’t even remember falling asleep.

When I was placed on something hard, I looked around me. We were in the kitchen, and I was sitting on the counter. Roughly wiping under my eyes, I took a deep breath and then another, calming the racing of my heart.

Cyrus moved around the kitchen like he belonged. In fact, he did. He always belonged. From the first time he spent the night at my place to now, he wedged his way into my life without even realizing that either of us needed it.

He pulled milk from the fridge, grabbed honey from the cupboard and mixed the two together in a glass. He added a shot of rum from the bottle I had purchased weeks ago for whenever he was over. He put it in the microwave and waited the minute it took to heat before coming back toward me. “I usually put more rum in this.” He stepped between my knees, handing me the glass.

I took the drink from him and sipped at it. The sweet taste hitting my tongue, easing some of the anxiety rushing through me.

Cyrus wrapped his arms around me, kissing the side of my head.

“Thank you,” I whispered, finishing the drink and placing the glass on the counter beside me.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently, cupping my nape and running his fingers through my hair.

“I was reading and must have fallen asleep. I didn’t know it was you in bed with me. I thought...” I looked down at my hands on my lap. “I was having a nightmare, but I don’t remember what it was about. You scared me and I’m sorry.”

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