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epilogue 4/5
It was a chilly morning in late August when Eleanora woke up with a scream, cold sweat pouring from her face and choked sobs building in the back of her throat. Bill sprang up immediately, but Eleanora had already buried her face in the covers and started shaking with uncontrollable tears. "Sh, sh, it's okay," Bill murmured, rubbing her back consolingly. "You're okay now. It's okay." Georgia appeared in the doorway with a panicked look on her face, but Bill only gave her a reassuring nod. "Go back to bed," he said calmly, "Just a dream." Georgia nodded her head and disappeared again. She was unfortunately used to both of her parents waking up occasionally with horrible nightmares from the war. When she was little she would ask for details, but she knew neither Bill nor Eleanora liked talking about it.
Bill wrapped his arms around Eleanora and buried his face in the back of her shoulder. "It's alright," he whispered. "It's over now."
"It was him," Eleanora managed through sobs. "F-Freddie. It was him."
Bill squeezed his eyes shut and pulled her tighter into his arms. He wished he could take all of the sadness and pain away from her and just envelope it into himself. He would take it all willingly if it meant she didn't have to feel it anymore. "I know," he whispered. "I know, I know..."
Eleanora puled her face away from the covers and wiped at her tear-stained cheeks. "It never gets easier, you know," she said in a thick voice. "It never does."
"I know it doesn't. I know."
Eleanora took a shaky breath and leaned over to bury her face in Bill's chest instead of in the blankets. He leaned back onto the pillows and put his arms back around her, his fingers moving agilely through her tangled hair and down her back. After years of sleepless nights together, the two of them knew exactly how to comfort each other when the nightmares came. He whispered reassurances to Eleanora as she slowly calmed down, the images in the nightmare never fully leaving her head, but at least becoming bearable enough to sleep through. Eventually, she fell back into a fitful sleep, still held tightly in Bill's arms.
The next morning cast a gloomy gray light on the beach outside. When Eleanora stumbled out of bed and went to the window, she could see a storm brewing on the horizon line of the ocean. She turned back to the warm bed with the endless blankets and her sleeping husband looking so peaceful, it made Eleanora want to cry. His arms were folded haphazardly over his chest, empty after a night of holding Eleanora close after the nightmares. She stared at him for a long time, and then he shifted and opened his eyes slightly. "What're you looking at?" he muttered, reaching a hand out in her direction.
"Mmm, just you." Eleanora took a step forward and interlaced her fingers with Bill's. "Sorry about last night."
His expression changed immediately from comfortable serenity to concern. "You don't have to apologize. It happens to both of us. You okay?"
