Page 77 of Oblivion

His face dropped as if I’d told him I’d run over his kitten. Twice. On purpose. In fact, it paled ten shades and his voice came gruff.

“You know what I was telling you earlier about the REM Sleep Behavior Disorder?”

I nodded, unable to look away from his unblinking stare.

“Yeah, well, that was it.”

On edge, I involuntarily flinched when he rose to his feet. I had never experienced sleepwalking of any kind before, and being caught in the middle of Dante’s invisible war scared the shit out of me.

“You asked me to marry you right before you pinned me down.” Tears began to sting the back of my eyeballs, and his expression ached with regret.

“Fuck...” He ran a hand down his face. “Sadie is my ex. As much as I don’t care to waste my time thinking about her, obviously she’s still in there.” He pointed to his head. “The week before we went to Vegas, I found out she cheated.”

Rejection and hurt cut through my chest. Not only was I the rebound, but I knew first-hand what cheating did to relationships. It tore them apart within seconds; my parents were case in point.

My heart ached for Dante as he kept his distance while crossing the room, then slid my door open without a word. Once across the threshold, he looked back with remorse so acute it pushed the threatening tears to the surface.

“I’m sorry for waking you like that.”

I shook my head. It wasn’t his fault. “I’m sorry about your nightmare. I hope you sleep better now.”

It was a genuine remark, but one I knew wouldn’t bring either of us an ounce of peace.

Back within the softness of my bed and with the bedroom door firmly closed, I pulled the sheets up to my chin and let out a shaky breath. I’d heard about soldiers suffering from PTSD, and also understood that it often spanned years, sometimes a lifetime. However, hearing about it and experiencing the after-effects were two different things entirely.

My pulse still hammered and forced the blood to whoosh through my ears. My lungs clamped each time his stricken expression invaded my mind. Over and over, until my stomach churned.

I tossed and turned until I heard the balcony door below coast open.

Unable to stand leaving Dante alone without checking on him, I flicked back the bed covers and padded downstairs. After filling a glass of water, I made my way to the balcony, finding Dante’s horizontal form lying under the moonlight.

“Hey,” I murmured.

“Hey,” he said hoarsely, not removing the arm slung over his face.

“I brought you a glass of water.”

“No thanks.”

Dejection made me sigh. “I’ll just leave it here for when you need it. Can I get you anything else? A blanket? You might catch a chill…”

His arm recoiled, and those amber eyes flashed in the moonlight. “I’ve literally slept in snow on the Afghany mountains; I ain’t gonna catch a chill off my balcony in San Diego.”

“I’m just trying to help,” I snapped, feeling foolish.

Wrapping my arms around me, I headed back inside, but paused when Dante spoke again.

“Thank you for the water, Penny.”

I took the peace offering and pushed the boundaries. “Would you like some company?”

A shrug was all I received. Going inside, I found a blanket in the living room and headed back out with it wrapped around my shoulders. Dante eyed me as I moved closer and knelt beside him.

“Might be a nice night for stargazing, don’t you think?”

“You won’t see stars while in the middle of the city, Lemon Drop. Too much light pollution.”

“But the thought is nice, though.”

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