The One [a Roman Reigns story]

10 I'm here

Roman POV

I was awakened by a weird noise. Slowly I opened my eyes. It was still very dark outside. Sunrise was probably not even close.

Then I heard it again. What was it? I threw the light covers aside and went to the door. Then, as I stood in the hallway, I could hear it once again. It sounded like crying and whimpering. Immediately I knew what was going on.

I opened Nova's door and saw her tossing and turning despite the dim light. The crying became louder. Without hesitation I went to her. I lay down next to her in bed and pulled her into my arms.

"Shh... Everything's okay." I said softly as I held her.

Without waking up, Nova calmed down a little. But still, she sobbed softly every now and then. My hand gently caressed her back and the back of her head as she pressed her head against my chest before taking a deep breath.

"I'm here, Shortcake... You don't have to be afraid. I've got you." I whispered.

I felt her clinging to me as she still struggled with her nightmare. Worried, I thought about what I could do. Was it better to wake her up? It was probably for the best.

"Novalee? Wake up, sweetie." I said a little loudly and stroked her cheek.

After a few seconds she opened her eyes and looked up at me. She sniffled again.

"Hey... What are you doing here?" she asked softly.

"I heard you crying. You were having a nightmare. How are you feeling?" I explained to her.

"It was.... was not good. Everything was dark. I was locked in a room. I tried to open the door, but I couldn't. The... windows were nailed shut. And I couldn't get any air. It was awful." She breathed as she snuggled closer to me.

"Nothing happened. You're safe. I'm here to look after you," I replied.

"Could you stay here and hold me?" she asked for another moment of silence.

"Always." I promised her and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

It didn't take long for Nova to fall asleep again. I hoped that this creepy dream would not return.

*****

Novalee POV

When I woke up I was surprised to find my head resting on Roman's chest. I tried to remember how he had gotten here. But nothing came to mind.

"Ro? Roman?" I said softly, stroking his cheek.

"Oh hey.... good morning." He breathed sleepily.

"What are you doing here?" I asked softly.

"You were having a nightmare. You sounded pretty upset, so I came to check on you and you asked me to stay with you." he explained to me.

And then it came back to me. I shivered involuntarily as the feeling of coldness in the room came over me again.

"Oh... yes now I remember." I replied.

"Are you all right? Do you want to talk about it?" wanted Roman to know.

"I'm fine. It's just a dream I've been having a lot lately. Just never this intense. And I have no idea what it means. Who knows... Today is our last day here. What do we want to do?" I said.

And it was the truth. It was just a dream. And I had no idea what it was about. Probably my subconscious was still processing a lot.

"Oh I have an idea about that. I remembered something you wanted to do when you were a teenager, but never had the chance until now." replied Ro.