Soulmarks

Chapter 11: A New Home

When I wake up, sweating and hyperventilating, Aven is snoring softly beside me. His shirt is off, which I don't recall happening, so he must have gotten hot in the middle of the night and taken it off. At least his pants are on. He stirs and opens his eyes.

"Staring at me, are you?" he teases in his husky morning voice.

"In your dreams," I say.

"I had such pleasant dreams," he says.

"That's good," I say.

"What about you? Did you sleep well?" he asks.

"I... ," I say.

"Oh no, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?" Aven asks. I nod, sighing. "It wasn't about what happened last night, was it?"

"No, it was about Garrett," I say. He's silent for a moment.

"Do you want to talk about it? I know Garett is a rough subject for you," Aven says. I shrug.

"Typically my dreams about him were pleasant, but it was different this time. It was creepy because he was telling me about how he knew everything that had been going on between us, and that he knew you were my soulmate when he was alive and didn't tell me because you were moving away," I say.

"Do you think he actually did?" he asks.

"I don't know. I could ask my parents if they knew anything about it, but it's still creepy. I'll never know if it was true or if it was just my imagination," I say.

"Yeah, that must be hard. Did he say anything else?" Aven asks. Tears prick in my eyes as I remember how hard he was on himself.

"He kept saying how sorry he was and how everything was his fault. He kept saying how much he hates himself because not only did he kill himself, he hurt me in the process and left me scarred. He kept repeating it over and over, it was really upsetting. Do you think... do you think he really is hating himself up in heaven?" I ask. Aven wraps his arms around me. His warmth is soothing.

"I don't think so. I think you're just scared that he's unhappy up there, and so your brain created that nightmare," he says.

"Yeah, you're probably right. But it was so real... When I hugged him, it felt real," I say.

"But you were hugging me all night, so it was probably your brain feeling me and turning it into the image of Garrett," he says.

"Are you some sort of dream expert?" I ask, giggling. He shrugs.

"I have a hard time sleeping. Reading about sleep really helped and I learned a lot of interesting things while I did it," he explains.

"Well, I'm glad you slept well last night. Thanks for staying with me. I really needed that, even if I didn't want to admit it," I say.

"I wouldn't want anyone to leave me alone after a traumatic event. Besides, I was exhausted too. It was just a good excuse to skip the party," he says.

"You're a busy man. They should give you a break once in a while," I say. He shrugs and pulls me back into his arms.

"Ah, you're so warm," he says happily.

"And you're half naked," I whine, squirming in his arms.

"Get used to it toots. I get way too hot in the night to keep a shirt on. Don't you want to be blessed with these abs?" he says. I laugh and poke his stomach. He recoils, which makes me smirk.

"You're ticklish," I say.

"Am not," he says.

"Oh really? Should we test it then?" I ask.