The dream was suffocating.
Chapter 11
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I felt hands gripping my arms, rough and merciless, pulling me away. My throat burned as I screamed, but the harder I fought, the tighter they held. My nails scratched against skin, air tore through my lungs, but they wouldn’t let go.
And then I saw her–Gwen. My Gwen.
She stood at the end of the dark corridor, small, trembling, her eyes wide and wet. Her cries pierced the air, desperate, broken. “Mama! Mama!”
“Don’t touch her!” I shrieked, thrashing against the faceless shadows holding me. “Leave her! Please, she’s just a child-”
But Gwen was crying harder, reaching for me with her tiny hands as the distance between us stretched like an abyss. My body ached, my voice shredded into nothing, until all I could hear was her scream echoing over and over again.
“Mama! Mama! Mama!”
The sound clawed into my chest, raw and merciless. I tried to run, but my legs felt like stone, every step dragging me further away instead of closer. I reached, I begged, but the darkness swallowed her little frame, her voice fading into a silence worse than death.
Then the shadows turned on me. Cold hands wrapped around my throat, pressing, choking. Blades of agony cut into my skin, tearing me apart as unseen voices hissed, “Die. Die with your guilt.”
I jolted awake, chest heaving, sweat plastering my hair to my forehead. The darkness of the room pressed around me, but a softer sound tugged my attention–a small whimper. Gwen. I turned, and there she was, curled beside me, her cheeks damp with tears. Her tiny fists clutched at the blanket as though terrified it would vanish.
“Sweetheart,” I whispered, gathering her in my arms. “What’s wrong? Did I wake you?” She shook her head against my chest, trembling. “Mama… dream… bad men..”
Tears burned my eyes. She must have felt my nightmare bleed into her sleep. Hugging her tighter, I pressed kisses across her hair, whispering over and over: “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe.”
Her sobs softened slowly, her little body molding against mine. I wiped her cheeks gently. “I’m sorry for screaming, love. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Gwen sniffled, lifting her face to me. “Promise?”
“I promise,” I whispered, touching her tiny pinky with mine. “It’s all okay now.”
After a few more reassurances, her breaths evened out again, soft and rhythmic, until she drifted back to sleep. I held her long after that, staring at the ceiling in silence, repeating to myself that this was real–that she was alive, warm, and safe in my arms.
Eventually, when I was sure she had fallen deep into slumber, I slid off the bed carefully,
Chapter 11
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Eventually, when I was sure she had fallen deep into slumber, I slid off the bed carefully, tucking the blanket up to her chin. My body ached with exhaustion, but my mind wouldn’t rest. I needed air.
The faint glow from the kitchen light guided me. As I stepped inside, I found Martin seated at the counter, a glass of milk in one hand and a half–eaten sandwich on the plate in front of him. He looked up, his eyes softening when they landed on me.
“Hey,” he said, setting the glass down. “Why are you awake? Something wrong?”
I hesitated before sliding into the seat across from him. “Nothing. Just… a nightmare.”
His brows knit slightly. “The kind that lingers?”
“Yes.” My voice dropped into a whisper. “The kind that feels too real. Gwen was crying in it. I thought I lost her again.”
Martin leaned forward, his voice calm but steady, the kind that could anchor storms. “But you didn’t. You’re both here. With me. And I’ll make sure it stays that way.”
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For a long moment, I just watched him. The way he said it–it didn’t feel like a promise he made lightly. It was a vow.
I swallowed. “Then tell me, Martin. What would you have me do now? What’s next for us?”
His lips curved faintly, as though amused. “Are you asking if I’m going to marry you immediately?”
The question was half–joking, but it caught me off guard. My cheeks warmed. “Maybe. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted? To trap me and Gwen under your name?”
He smirked. “If I had asked you years ago, you would’ve punched me in the face before I even finished the sentence.”
I couldn’t help but laugh softly. “True. We hated each other. Always competing, always finding ways to get under each other’s skin.”
“And now?” His gaze lingered, steady, searching.
“Now…” I looked away, tracing my finger along the rim of the glass before meeting his eyes again. “Now you’re the one who saved me. Saved Gwen. I can’t deny that.”
The air shifted between us, charged but gentle.
“I won’t push you,” Martin said at last. “Not you, not Gwen. For now, I just want you both safe. Settled. Whatever comes after… that’s for you to decide.”
I stared at him, my heart tangled between gratitude and fear. He wasn’t the Martin I remembered–the man I once sparred with, who seemed too proud, too stubborn to bend. This Martin was different. Patient. Unshakable.
It scared me. And yet, it drew me in.
“You’ve changed,” I murmured.
“Or maybe,” he countered, “I’ve just stopped pretending.”
Chapter 11
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For the first time in what felt like years, I allowed myself to exhale. The weight on my chest eased, just enough to let in a sliver of peace.
“Thank you,” I whispered, the words heavier than I expected.
“For what?”
“For saving me. For saving her. For… this.” My voice wavered. “For letting me believe things could be different.”
He leaned back, his expression unreadable. “Then believe it.”
I nodded, slowly, the decision not yet fully formed but planted nonetheless. “Yeah. For now… I will.”
His smile was faint but genuine. “Good.”
Silence settled between us, but it wasn’t the kind that pressed–it was the kind that warmed. And when I finally stood to return to Gwen’s side, I carried with me the strange comfort of knowing that, maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t as lost as I thought.
