Page 74 of Oblivion

“Not physically, no. But mentally.” I shrugged like it was no biggie.

Military men and women were good at hiding their insecurities, and I considered myself one of the masters at it.

“I don’t see why I need to know this,” Penny replied softly.

Her innocence warmed me inside. If only I could shield her from the cold, hard truth. While Sadie had been understanding and learned to live with my unpredictable sleep patterns, the main difference here was that I wasn’t sharing a bed with Penelope.

“I move around, Penny. I don’t stay lying down. I walk and run and move things as if I was awake. Fuck, when I first moved here, I jumped off the mezzanine floor because I was dreaming about jumping over a wall.”

Horror hit her face, and she covered her open mouth with her hands. “Oh, my God. Were you hurt?”

“I was fine. Turns out, I tuck and roll even in my sleep. Woke me up, though.”

A soft gasp came as I turned to pour a mug of coffee. The task was a welcome distraction after enlightening her about things I wished I didn’t have to.

Penny finally broke our silence. “How often does it happen?”

I looked up and caught her concern. “It happened a lot each time I returned home from a deployment, but not so often now. More so with change, or when things are worrying me.”

“Like when you left the military?”

“Yeah.”And when you were abducted.

She chewed her lower lip. “So, what do I do if it happens while I’m here?”

I set the mug down and straightened. “You stay the hell away from me. Don’t try to intervene. Donottry to wake me. It’s really important, Penny, because I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

The fear in her eyes was warranted now. I needed to scare her so she didn’t try to pull me out of an episode.

“Have you hurt anyone before?”

I pursed my lips and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. My ex. I haven’t fought anyone in my sleep to date, but I shoved her from the bed and used her as a kneeling block. Another time, I picked her up from bed, carried her to the kitchen, and tried to hide her in the fridge.”

Penny giggled from behind her hand, and I gave her a dirty look.

“It’s funny in daylight, but terrifying to go through in the middle of the night with someone locked in a deep sleep. There’s no reasoning with me when I’m like that.”

The humor slid from her face and her voice held trepidation. “Was your girlfriend okay?”

“Wasn’t happy, obviously, but once I woke up completely, she calmed down. We were together for a few years, so she kind of got used to it.” I lifted the coffee to my lips and waited for Penny’s next question.

“Why’d you break up?”

“Didn’t work out.” We didn’t need to talk about that shit.

Returning my mug to the counter, I opened the fridge. “What do you want to eat?”

Penny’s gaze snapped from my ass to my eyes, and this time I didn’t have it in me to smirk. Instead, I just arched an eyebrow and waited.

“What are you going to have?” she asked, flustered.

“Chicken, avocado, and quinoa wrap?”

Her eyes lit. “That sounds yummy.” She sprang from the bar stool and rounded the kitchen island. “Let me help. Just point me to where everything is.”

She had enthusiasm, I gave her that, though having someone in my kitchen again was going to take some getting used to.

“You eat like this every day?”

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