Page 12 of Blissful Vixen

I opened my eyes to see Emberlynn’s worried face.

“Stop clawing at your leg.” She pointed at it, but all I saw was blood. “Breathe.”

How? There wasn’t any air.

“Watch me.” She took a deep breath, but when I tried, I felt like I would pass out.

She approached me and placed her hand on my chest and mine on hers. “Follow me.”

Emberlynn touched my face, and relief followed. “Breathe.”

I closed my eyes, and she snapped her fingers. “Eyes on me, beret.”

I followed her breathing patterns until I calmed down. Even then, we continued breathing until she smiled. I kept doing it for as long as she wanted me to if it would keep her smiling like that.

“Much better. Would you like to talk about it?” she asked.

“No.” I couldn’t. Not when I didn’t trust her.

“Would you like for me to sit with you for a while until you fall back to sleep?”

I shook my head. “I’m good. Just needed to snap out of it, is all. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, please remember to talk to the therapist about it when she comes tomorrow. Maybe she can help you work out where it’s coming from.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Or I could already know. I’d had nightmares before I’d signed up for another tour. But when I got hurt this last time, they magnified in frequency and intensity—one of those injuries that couldn’t be seen.

She disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared with alcohol, ointment, and Band-Aids. She cleaned the scratches I’d made to my leg and then put everything away.

“How’d you know that I was a beret?” I asked as she turned to leave.

“I saw a picture of you. And you look good in that uniform, by the way.” Emberlynn warmly smiled at me.

Was it real, though?

“What picture?” I squinted.

“One of you on social media. My best friend found it when she was stalking you to make sure that you weren’t going to steal me away. It’s much better than the photo you used on your Love Catered profile.”

“Well, I wasn’t supposed to be on there, so I used something that was a little more discreet.”

“Understood. Well, I’m in the other room. Call me if you need me. Otherwise, try and get some sleep. Or if you change your mind, we could hang out in the living room until you’re tired.”

“Thanks. I think I’m going to try to go back to sleep, though.”

Emberlynn shrugged and gave me a small wave before disappearing into her room.

I exhaled a heavy sigh, grateful that I hadn’t hurt her. Though I didn’t know if I could trust her, I didn’t want her dead. Bad dreams didn’t need to result in bodies being removed from the apartment.

No longer tired, I pulled on some sweats and then watched TV. I turned on something to distract me from the lurking darkness.

HARDISON

Iwoke to Emberlynn moving around in the kitchen. I didn’t have my phone to figure out the time, so I hit the home screen on the TV. It was almost 9 a.m.

I jumped up because the therapist team would be here soon, and I didn’t want them waiting for me.

“Rise and shine,” Emberlynn said as I rushed by her.

---