Page 13 of The Heart You've Borrowed

“Yeah, yeah of course.” He clears his throat.

“What time do I have to be up and ready tomorrow?” I ask as I stand.

“We will need to be in the office by eight.”

“Sounds good.” I try to hurry to make my way to my room.

“If you need anything I’ll be right here.” He says to my back.

“Thanks, Lio.” I turn to give him a tired smile.

“Of course, get some rest, silly girl.” He winks before grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch.

When I get into the room I slide my back down against the door and sit on the floor. I pull my knees up and hug them. I know I did the right thing by leaving but I can’t help but feel guilty for coming back into his life. I know he says he will always help me and be there for me but he doesn’t deserve this. He had a good thing going here before I came back into the picture. After about thirty minutes I pull myself off the floor and get into bed. I pull the covers around me and try to fall asleep.

I’ve never been a good sleeper, ever since I was a kid it’s always been hard for me to fall asleep and stay asleep. It used to drive my mom crazy because I was always up all hours of the night. I kind of miss her yelling at me to go to bed. I hate that I had to leave her behind but until I can save up enough money to move her down here, she will have to stay there. I feel terrible but I couldn’t ask Lio to help with that. He’s already done so much for me. After what feels like forever I finally drift off to sleep.

“You are nothing without me. No one will ever want you. You are pathetic. Nothing but a waste of space.” The words replay in my head over and over. I can’t get them to stop. I can feel my throat tightening. I think I’m going to throw up. I try to scream but I can’t, why can’t I scream? What the hell is going on? I try to open my eyes but when I do I can’t see anything, just darkness. I try to reach for the lamp next to me but I can’t move. I keep trying but nothing happens.

“Charlie!” I hear my name being screamed. I wake up in a panic, sitting up in bed.

“W-what?” I ask out of breath.

“You were screaming in your sleep. Are you okay?” Lio sits next to me on the bed.

“I was?”

“It sounded like you were having a nightmare.” He looks panicked.

“Oh, sorry,” I mumbled.

“It’s fine, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I think so.” I rubbed my throat.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, I think I was having a nightmare about him choking me again.” My voice is small.

“It’s going to be okay.” He rubs his hands down my arms.

“Thanks.” I take a deep breath.

“It’s late, you should try to get some rest. We have to be up in a few hours.” He stands to leave.

“Wait!” I shout, grabbing his hand.

“Yeah?”

“Can you stay with me?” I plead.

“As you wish.” He gives me a nod and then climbs into the bed next to me.

“Thanks,” I whisper, trying to get comfortable again. I doubt I’ll be able to fall asleep after that but he’s right, we have to be up in a few hours and I don’t want to be tired for my first day of work.

“Of course.” He puts his arms behind his head and stares up at the ceiling. I don’t know when or how but I somehow fall asleep next to him. With him, everything comes easy and I guess falling asleep is a part of that.

Chapter Ten

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