Page 14 of Ensnared By Silence
The first sign something was wrong was when I felt Aubrey’s body tense in my arms and she cried out in her sleep. Thinking it was a bad dream, I tugged her tighter against my body and kissed the back of her head. Her cries grew louder as she struggled in my arms, fighting against my hold on her. I kissed her on the head again and whispered her name, only to have her writhe more, thrashing her head and flailing her limbs, trying to get away.
“No. Please stop. NO!” Her voice was ragged and filled with pain.
I released her and she scrambled to the edge of the bed as her groggy eyes met mine with worry. She was disorientated and confused as I watched her panicked eyes swing around with her arm outstretched, trying to keep me away from her.
“Aubrey, baby. Are you okay?” I asked, reaching out to her, only to have her push away from me and fall to the hardwood floor with a painful thud. “Aubrey!”
I scrambled over the bed and she scooted across the floor, fear etched onto her beautiful face as she backed against the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees, rocking and crying on the floor. She appeared unsure of where she was as her entire body vibrated from some unknown terror.
Slowly, I walked around the foot of the bed, speaking softly as I approached her. “Aubrey, it’s Hayden.”
I didn’t want to touch her and cause her any more distress, but my heart was breaking for her as I helplessly watched her retreat closer to the corner. She was hyperventilating, and I worried she would pass out as she struggled to catch her breath.
“Aubrey? Sweetheart, come back to me. It’s Hayden, and you’re safe. Nothing can hurt you here. Please.” My voice broke at the end and I cleared my throat as her shoulders shook from crying.
I whispered to her as I stood, “I’ll be right back, Aubrey. Please, hang on. Help’s on the way.”
I ran downstairs and found her purse on the kitchen island. Reaching inside, hating I was invading her personal space, I found her phone and prayed she left it unlocked. Swiping the screen, I pulled up her contacts and dialed Mathias’s number, hoping he knew what to do.
“Hey, bitch. Are you finally finished riding that man like a rodeo bull?” He chuckled.
“Mathias, it’s Hayden, and I need your help.”
“What’s wrong? Where’s Aubrey?” he asked, and the panic was clear in his voice.
“She’s freaking out, man. We were asleep, and she woke up screaming and fighting me. I can’t get her to snap out of it, and I’m afraid for her. She’s cowering on the floor, naked, and I don’t know what to do. Every time I try to touch her, she freaks out worse. Please, help her.”
Pounding footsteps sounded through the phone as he replied, “I need your address. I’m on the way.”
I relayed the information and told him the front door was unlocked as I ran back upstairs to Aubrey. Her crying slowed, but she still sat on the cold floor with her head buried in her knees and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs.
When she heard me coming into the room, her green eyes snapped to mine. They were red from crying and full of fear. I grabbed a pair of shorts and covered myself before squatting down at the end of the bed, giving her plenty of space.
Her bottom lip trembled, and a fresh round of fat tears streaked down her cheeks as she whispered, “Hayden? What’s going on?”
I lowered to my knees and scooted slowly across the floor, delicately offering her my hand as she finally seemed to snap out of whatever nightmare she was locked in. She lifted her hand to me, and I shortened the distance between us.
“Can I touch you?” I asked hesitantly, and she stuttered a ‘yes’.
I sat next to her on the floor and lifted her naked body onto my lap, pulling her close to my chest. Her skin was freezing, and with my foot, I pulled on the blanket that had slid to the floor during her struggle and wrapped it around her shivering frame.
“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice breaking as I placed a kiss on her head.
“I . . . I don’t know.”
The sound of a car door slamming, followed by the front door opening and closing, sounded into the house. I could hear two voices downstairs, and I whispered to her, “I called Mathias to help. Can you stand so I can get you dressed?”
She nodded against my chest and I stood with her in my arms, using the wall as leverage. I stuck my head out the door and hollered, “We’ll be right down.”
“I-I-I’m sorry,” she offered, her teeth chattering from the chill.
I kissed her on the forehead and leaned down to look her directly in the eyes as I explained, “There isn’t anything to be sorry for.”
She smiled sadly at me and her eyes focused on something behind me as I placed her on the bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from my drawer. I helped dress her, rolling the top of the pants down to fit her small waist, before pulling a shirt on myself. I lifted her back into my arms and carried her downstairs.
I could see two people around the kitchen island and recognized Skid’s boots as I descended the stairs. He was making a pot of coffee and I was grateful my friend was here. He was connected to my former employee and ‘friend with benefits’, Elise, and her husband, Devlin, through his security company and something told me I was going to need their help to kill whoever caused this reaction in her. Mathias was pacing the kitchen and turned when he heard us enter the room.
Aubrey’s face was pressed against my neck and I kissed her again before placing her on the couch near the fireplace. I turned it back on and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch, wrapping it around her shoulders and kissing her on the forehead before nodding to an eager Mathias. He sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and whispering in her ear as I walked to the kitchen with Skid.
