Broken

Chapter 24

Sebastian’s POV

I was slowly drifting into sleep when I heard a muffled scream coming from Rory’s bedroom.

I was on my feet before I even realized what was happening.

“Aurora!” I screamed as I practically tore my bedroom door off.

My heart was racing a mile a minute. I could feel my heartbeat in my eyes. Waves after waves of pure terror kept washing over me.

Did someone break in? Was someone hurting her?

Her bedroom was right across from mine, but it seemed so fucking far away.

“Aurora!” I screamed as I ran into her room.

The room was dark and the only thing that allowed me to see was the moonlight coming through the windows. Other than her muffled screams, I couldn’t hear anything else.

My eyes fell on her and I saw her on the bed. Her face was buried into the pillows. She was flinching and squirming, making the blanket wrap itself around her. There wasn’t anyone next to her. There wasn’t anyone on her. No one was hurting her.

At least not that I knew of.

She was having a nightmare.

“Fuck,” I muttered as I rushed to her. “Rory.”

I grabbed her and turned her around so I could see her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her cheeks were wet. She was crying.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. My heart broke completely.

“Rory,” I called her as I shook her gently. “Wake up. It’s only a dream.”

She squirmed again and reached out to grab my upper arm.

“Aurora,” I called her a little bit louder.

She flinched and opened her eyes abruptly. She gasped a little and her eyes widened.

“It’s okay, Rory,” I said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “It was only a dream. You are safe.”

She let out a shaky breath and looked around the room. I saw her eyes fill with tears again.

“I am so sorry,” I mumbled as I pulled her to me. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She grabbed the back of my shirt and leaned her forehead on my shoulder.

“No,” she said quietly. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

I ran my fingers through her hair and kissed her temple.

“I wasn’t sleeping,” I said. “And even if I did, I wouldn't care.”

I leaned my head on hers and took a deep breath.

“Did I wake up Mom and Dad?” she asked after a moment of silence.

I shook my head and rubbed her back gently.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “You know they are not easy to wake up.”

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. I kept running my fingers through her hair, hoping it would help her calm down a little. She eventually relaxed a little and it made me smile. Knowing that I was her safe place made me believe that everything would eventually be okay. She would forgive me.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” I asked after a while. “Maybe it could help.”

She lifted her head and gave me a small smile.