She was lying on the bed when she heard the noise. It was faint at first, like the rustling of the wind. But then it came again, louder, like the rustling of fabric as someone walked. They sounded so close. So close she thought she could even hear their breathing. Heavy deep breathing.
She shrank under the covers, not daring to open her eyes and see someone. She could feel her whole body freezing with fear, and found herself unable to move. She couldn’t even open her mouth to call out for Nick. Panic was rising in her as she sensed a movement above her, like someone was leaning over the bed. A scream caught in her throat, and she could hear her heart pounding, the blood rushing to her ears.
Suddenly hands reached out and grabbed her. They jerked her up and threw the covers off. She felt her head snap back, but her eyes remained shut. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Instead deep laughing filled her ears.
Then she was back on the bed again, as a body climbed on top of her, pressing her down into the mattress. She let out a whimper, feeling tears fill her eyes and seep out her closed eyelids. Not again, it couldn’t be happening again.
Rough hands pulled her shirt up and yanked it off. She tried to reach out and claw at him, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the bed, his body arching above hers. His mouth came down to her neck, and he bit her, hard.
Finally the ear-piercing scream held captive in her throat escaped, and she screamed. She twisted her body as she felt a warm liquid run down her neck.
She screamed again as his large hand came and slapped her cheek. Pain shot through her face, as she choked and screamed again. Nick had to hear her, he just had to.
She twisted her body again as one hand clamped down over her mouth, silencing her. She tried to bite the hand, but couldn’t get her mouth opened; his grip was too tight. She could feel his mouth on the skin of her neck and he bit her fiercely again.
She jerked her body upward and turned her head, his hand slipping away. She screamed again, and again, and again.
“Celeste? Celeste?”
The guy was now pulling, tugging on her pajama pants.
“Celeste! Can you hear me?”
The voice filtrated into her head. So much was going on at once. She jerked her body again, suddenly feeling hands on her shoulders lightly shaking her, and the weight of the figure now gone.
With a start, she sat up.
“Celeste? Baby, are you okay?”
With a blink, she focused on Nick as he sat on the edge of the bed. His hands were on her shoulders, his head ducked down to see into her face. She glanced around the room. They were the only ones in there. No one else. With a start she looked down at herself. She still wore her purple tank top and striped pajama pants. She met Nick’s eyes again, as her hand went up to her neck, feeling for blood or marks. Nothing.
Suddenly she was sagging into him.
Shocked, he wrapped his arms around her. “It was just a nightmare baby. You were having a nightmare.” He soothed into her ear as he rubbed her back. “I could hear you screaming all the way from my bed. At first I thought someone had gotten in.” He could feel her entire body trembling.
She didn’t say anything. Just leaned against him, her face buried into his shirt.
Nick had woken with a start when he’d heard her screams. They’d been so loud, so agonizing; that it sounded like someone was trying to murder her. He had seriously thought that someone had managed to break into the house and was doing just that. He’d jumped out of his bed, grabbed a metal baseball bat and come into the room to see her lashing in her covers. He’d never been more relieved that it was just a nightmare then at that moment.
He sat on the bed, rubbing her back for a long while. Finally, when he sensed that she had slipped into a sleep again, he gently leaned her back and covered her up.
He was moving to stand up, when she reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“What?” He sank back down on the mattress.
She just tugged on his wrist, bringing it closer to herself.
“You want me to stay in here with you?”
She nodded.
“Okay.” He moved to the other side and slid under the covers. Poor thing, too scared to even sleep. He settled onto the pillow next to hers. “Okay, let’s sleep.”
She just turned her back to him and nestled further into the covers, lightly brushing against him.
He sighed and propped one hand behind his head. His other hand moved up and took hold of hers. “It’s okay Celeste. You can sleep.”
She leaned into him and he felt her body relax.
It was going to be okay. He was going to make sure of that. No one else was going to hurt her. And if they even tried, well, they’d have to answer to him.