Page 88 of The Fallen
It was all over but somehow I was a little bit disappointed.
If I was going to have some sort of weird wet dream, it would be nice to at least get to the happy ending.
Fucked up, I know, but his hand had felt surprisingly nice. Gentler than I would have expected and so warm...
When I openedmy eyes first thing in the morning, I was curled up in a ball, freezing.
It took me a fraction of a second before everything from the night before came flying back into my mind.
I sat up in bed, reeling and looking around my empty room as a strange realization hit me.
"Holy shit. Are you just lonely?"
Silence answered me. I didn't even know if the guy could hear me or see me in the daytime, or if he was even near--and I was thinking about him like he was real again. I had to stop that, except... Hewasreal. I knew he was even though I had no reason to really believe it.
And call me crazy but I suddenly wasn't sure he was actually scary at all, after all, he'd only wanted to watch me and touch me a little.
Sure, consent was a thing, but could he even talk? Was he even able to communicate?
Maybe I could find out.
That night, I shut off my bedroom light and took a seat on the edge of my bed in the dark. It took me a few minutes to muster the courage to say what I had been thinking all day.
"If you're here, if you really mean me no harm, I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to freeze me... and if it's not you doing that, you don't need to wait for me to be paralyzed to come see me."
I felt my cheeks heat, waiting in the silence for a moment to remember the rest.
"If you want some company, you can come visit while I'm still awake."
Swallowing, I pulled my covers out and got under them.
My heart was pounding. There was no way I was falling asleep anytime soon anyway.
I waited for ages, eyes flickering around the dark room as they adjusted, then tracing the shapes of the light across the walls.
I didn't think he was coming. Maybe he couldn't unless I was in that horrible state.
Sighing, I shut my eyes.
When I opened them again, he was standing there.
I jumped, the only proof that I wasn't experiencing sleep paralysis because otherwise, I was too stunned to move.
It took everything in me to summon the courage to speak.
"There you are," I whispered.
His head tilted, the hidden face within the shadows probably watching me like I was a bug under a microscope.
"Can you talk?" I asked.
My voice was surprisingly steady considering my entire heart was in my throat.
He didn't respond for a long time. I didn't think he was going to but then suddenly, he nodded.
I sucked in a surprised breath.
"Oh. I didn't think you could... I'm Jay," I muttered weakly.
