Page 106 of Daddy's Trust
“I’m going to stay with you until you fall asleep.” He grimaced. “I mean, is that okay?”
Why wouldn’t she say yes to that?
“You should sleep,” she croaked.
“Not going to sleep until you do, baby,” he told her. “So why don’t you close those eyes and just try to relax, okay? Take a few deep breaths for me and let them out slowly. Also, I don’t want any more talking from you until your throat is no longer sore.”
She wasn’t sure how long that would take. Not with stress and anxiety riding her hard.
But she just nodded.
“Good girl. Close your eyes and listen to me. Deep breath in, then let it out slowly. That’s it. And now another one. Deep breath in and let it out slowly. Nothing bad will happen while I’m here.”
Addie found herself relaxing into each breath as he kept talking to her quietly.
Gradually, sleep started to overtake her, pulling her down. She jolted, waking up again. It was like her body didn’t actually want to fall asleep, as though she was too stressed and on edge.
But he was there, talking to her quietly, reassuring her, telling her that he would be here when she woke up.
So she finally let herself drift off to sleep.
Cash watchedher sleep for far too long. Ralen was sleeping while Butch was somewhere outside. They really only needed two of them here, but neither he nor Ralen wanted to leave. And Butch had just glared at him when he’d suggested he could leave.
Grumpy bastard.
When Cash was certain she was in a deep sleep, he stood and stretched.
He walked out into the living room, but kept her door slightly open so he could hear her if she made any noise.
If she needed him.
29
The men ran at her, their faces filled with rage, then suddenly their eyes turned red and they weren’t men at all. They were monsters with huge teeth. They surrounded her, morphing back to humans, but this time, they were teenagers not men.
And they were pushing her, shoving her, calling her names.
They got her on the ground and laughed at her, threw things, hit her.
She cried. She begged them to stop, but her voice cracked, and she grew silent. But in her head she was screaming for help.
Help!
Help me! Someone help me!
Addie sat up with a gasp,glancing around wildly.
Where were they?
Where were they? Where were those kids? Where were the men, the monsters?
Sweat coated her skin as she shook.
You’re not there, Addie. You’re not there.
It’s a nightmare. It’s a nightmare.
She sobbed for breath, even though she wasn’t actually making any noise. Had she screamed? Probably. But at least she wouldn’t have woken anyone else up with the nightmare, because her screams were silent.
