Tongues & Leather

Dreams Suck

I opened my eyes with blurry vision. I looked around and realized that, at some point, I had fallen asleep. Cartoons were still playing on the TV, and a few dumplings were still sitting on the table.

Oh God, I was dreaming. Elliot almost kissed me.. Why did I dream about that?

"Stupid, stupid.." I mumbled to myself, smacking my forehead.

I must have been so exhausted, emotionally and physically, that I fell asleep. At least I ate most of my dumplings, though.

I heard a weird noise, almost like a low growl, coming from next to me on the couch. I turned to see that Elliot was still here, and he had fallen asleep too. I guess I didn't dream him being here, which is good to know. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. It's kind of cute.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was already past 11PM, and Elliot was asleep on my couch. Do I wake him up and tell him what time it is? Do I just let him sleep? I guess if he wanted to go home, he could've when he started to feel tired.. I'll just let him stay.

I slowly got up off the couch and grabbed a blanket from the closet. I made sure it was big enough before wandering back to the couch and gently putting it on Elliot. He groaned a little bit but didn't wake up (thankfully). I slowly moved him so that he was laying down. Sleeping sitting up for a long time always ends badly. I took a minute to look at how relaxed his face was.

"Cutie.." I whispered with a small smile on my face.

I grabbed the plates and cups from the coffee table and put them in the sink. I decided I'll just do the dishes in the morning. I don't have work tomorrow anyway, so it works out. As I headed to my bedroom I turned off the kitchen and hall lights. I was way too tired to think about if anything else needed to be done in the house.

My bed welcomed me with open arms, so I took my pants off and climbed in under the blankets. I grabbed my favorite stuffed animal, which was an old stuffed bunny, and snuggled it close. It still had a faint chocolate scent to it, comforting me into a deep sleep.

But the sleep was too deep.. it was nightmare after nightmare, all night. I've always had nightmares, but never this bad before. At least, not in a long time. I kept waking up drenched in sweat, heart pounding. I hated it. This is why I can never sleep with pants on anymore; I just overheat way too much. Even without pants I get super hot, but I've learned it's worse when I wear too many clothes.

I went to the bathroom and took a cold shower to cool off and try to calm down. I sat at the floor of the tub for awhile, letting the water soak my face and hair. After a bit, I got too cold, so I got out and wrapped myself in a towel after drying my hair off.

I opened the bathroom door and Elliot was standing there.

"Oh, s-sorry I didn't mean to invade your privacy or anything--" Elliot stammered and looked away.

"You didn't, it's okay. Sorry for falling asleep on you earlier. Looks like you fell asleep too, though." I made sure to hold my towel tight.

"Don't be sorry for that, that's silly. You snored a little haha, it was kind of cute yaknow. Um.. I was just making sure you're okay. I heard the shower going and it's, like, 3AM. I was gonna knock but then you opened the door. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just some stupid nightmares. I'm gonna try to get some rest again. You can stay if you'd like, or whatever you're comfortable with. I don't mind. Goodnight, Elliot." I started to walk past him.

"Hey.." Elliot touched my shoulder gently. "If you need anything, just come get me, okay?"

I nodded at him and went to my room, shutting the door behind me. I got my pajama shirt and panties back on before climbing back into bed. I fell asleep hoping for a good dream, and good sleep.

I was being chased, by a man I think. I was running but it was dark and I couldn't see. All I knew was that I had to get out, get away, from wherever I was and whoever was behind me. I felt a shove against my back and I fell to the ground. I reached out, but nothing was there to grab. I got dragged away and brought back to memories I didn't enjoy. All I could do was cry. I couldn't even scream. I was helpless..

I woke up and started sobbing. I was covered in sweat once again and was so hot I had to throw the blankets off of my body. I felt panic start to settle in my chest, making itself at home. It was like I couldn't breathe and my heart was ripping it's way through my chest. I just started crying harder and harder, trying to get a breath of air in between sobs.

I heard my bedroom door open, but I couldn't see through the tears in my eyes. I just kept crying, kept panicking. Why am I like this? What's wrong with me?

"Hey, hey.. Lillith, it's okay. It's okay." I felt warm arms wrapped around my body. They lifted me up and held me close.

"I can't...I can't, I'm scared" I was barely able to speak a sentence before sobbing more.

"Shhh.. you don't need to say anything at all. I'm right here. Just listen to my heart beat, okay?" Elliot pressed my head against his chest before wiping my tears away.

Thump thump thump..

It was so comforting, like a song. I didn't ever want to stop hearing it. I could feel the pressure on my chest slowly lift and disappear.

Elliot started humming quietly, massaging my head and playing with my hair. He comforted me so easily.. I've never felt this way before, and I've always had the hardest time calming down from nightmares. How did he do it so easily?

I slowly looked up at Elliot's face and saw that he had teary eyes.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

"I'm not.. don't worry about me." He looked down and gave me a small smile.

I shook my head, bringing my hand to his cheek before caressing it. A single tear trickled down to my hand, and I wiped it away. Elliot took my hand in his and held it tight. I squeezed his hand gently as he placed a kiss on mine.

"Thank you.." I whispered, "for being here.."

He didn't have to say anything. His expression and eyes speak a million words. He leaned down, bringing his face close to mine. I could feel his breath on my lips and it made my skin tingle. It made everything tingle.

I quickly darted my eyes to his, and then looked down at his lips. His hand ran to the back of my head as his fingertips tangled with my hair.

"Please.." I whispered, but I meant to say it in my head. I felt my face get hot from blushing and my heart started to pound.

"Please what..?" He whispered back, giving his lips a little lick.

"N-Nothing." I quickly mumbled out of embarrassment.

"Aw," Elliot pulled his head away from mine and pressed my head back to his chest. "Too bad."

His heart was racing and so was mine. I don't even know how to respond or feel. Does he not want to kiss me unless I tell him to? I'm too shy for that.

Elliot rubbed my back gently, humming again. I wanted to grab him, kiss him. But I'm so tired, and I don't have the guts. I shut my eyes and felt my body completely relax. It didn't take any time at all for me to fall asleep in his arms.

This is the best sleep I've gotten in a very long time.