Page 82 of Deserving Lara
“No, I don’t,” Lara answered, even though Stone wasn’t talking to her. “Not anymore. Look, I’m probably not the best person to give advice, I’m still pretty screwed up myself, but I think having nightmares is normal after what you’ve gone through. Not normal as in nice or pleasant, but you’re a pretty even-keeled man, Stone. You’re charming, pleasant, you don’t seem introverted, or even all that fazed by what happened to you…on the outside. You clearly don’t let out your thoughts or feelings, at all. So your dreams are a way of doing that.
“I’m thinking you need to find a way to let out the poison that’s festering inside you. Right now, that’s only through nightmares. Maybe it’s time to take up a hobby. Wood chopping, kung fu, WWF wrestling…anything that can release some of the aggression you still feel deep down over what happened.”
Silence filled the room, and Lara was afraid she’d overstepped. She just hated seeing her new friend so…helpless. Because Stone was anythingbuthelpless. Not even close.
“I’m sorry. I obviously don’t know what I’m talking about and—”
“No, don’t apologize. You’re right. I know you are. I just…it’s hard.”
“I know. Believe me, I do. But I’m here right now, away from The Refuge, and trust me, it wasn’t easy to step outside my comfort zone and join you guys. I’m not cured, the anxiety is still there. I’m still afraid of Carter finding me, but hiding out means he won. And the last thing I want is for him to win inanyway.”
Stone looked contemplative and nodded before looking up at Owl. “You okay? Did I hurt you?”
“With your pansy-ass left hook?” Owl joked. “Not a chance.”
Lara could see the bruise on her man’s cheek from where she sat on the bed. Stone hadn’t held back, and his punch was anything but pansy-ass. But she loved Owl even more for downplaying what his friend had done.
Stone inhaled deeply before looking back over at Lara. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she reassured him immediately.
“Good. And…thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Lara said, thankful that Stone seemed calmer. But now that she’d seen how much anger, hurt and, yes, terror, he’d been hiding deep inside, she admired him even more. How he couldeverstay calm in the face of danger was even more impressive with the amount of turmoil rolling around inside him. She didn’t know if he’d ever been to therapy—she assumed he had—but it was obvious he was still working through everything that happened to him.
Owl stood and went to the bathroom, returning with a wet washcloth. He handed it to Stone as he said, “For your hand. Gotta keep the swelling down because I’m not flying your ass all the way back to New Mexico. You’re gonna need to do your part too.”
Stone chuckled, and this time the sound was more like his old self. “As if I’d let you have all the fun,” he grumbled, even as he put the cool compress on his knuckles.
Owl clasped his friend on the shoulder as he stared into his eyes. Then he nodded once and clicked off the light on the table between the beds.
As before, it took Lara’s eyes a moment to adjust, and as they did, she felt the mattress depress right before Owl’s arms wrapped around her and he pulled her against him once again.
A few minutes went by in silence before Lara sighed and said into the quiet room, “Does this meanneitherof you is gonna sleep the rest of the night? Because I thought I’d cured Owl of that.”
Both men laughed.
“You gonna come over here and snuggle with me to help me sleep?” Stone teased.
“No way in hell,” Owl responded for her.
Lara giggled. “No, but I also don’t want you to lie there staring at the ceiling for the rest of the night, like Owl used to do. If you need to get up, shower, eat, watch TV, go for a run…do it. What do you usually do when you have a nightmare and wake up?”
“Lie in bed and stare at the ceiling,” Stone said dryly.
Lara sighed and sat up. “Fine. Since we’re all up, and it’s likely no one is sleeping, why don’t we order room service?”
“You can’t possibly be hungry again,” Owl said incredulously.
“I could eat,” Lara said with a shrug. “Besides, I didn’t say I wanted a meal. I saw they had cookies on the all-night menu. And cheesecake. I could go for some sugar. Do they still have pay-per-view movies in hotels?”
“We could just log into my Netflix and find a movie,” Stone said.
“All right, but it needs to be something testosterone-y. Like, full of men blowing stuff up and explosions and fights and stuff. You need that,” Lara said.
She wasn’t sure how she had come to that conclusion, but when both Owl and Stone nodded, she was relieved she assumed correctly.
“I’m gonna turn the light on again. Close your eyes,” she warned.
