Wearing the Red Hood

Chapter 15:

This chapter is dedicated to @HannahWrites743 Thank you so much for adding the first book to your reading list <3

Razel

There was something warm and inviting beside me, making me reluctant to wake up.

I sleepily made a mental note to ask Oliver where he bought his pillows. I hugged the soft and nice smelling object next to me. Though it was comforting, I couldn't help but think how firm it was. The security it made me feel slowly lulled me back to sleep...until the warmth shifted. Pillows didn't move... right? Carefully blinking my eyes open, I came face to face with Jason's sleeping form.

It was almost painful to look upon his perfectly sculpted face, peaceful due to his deep slumber. A smile found its way to my lips, when his soft snores finally registered in my ears. It was like seeing a whole new side of Jason. He was so open. All the walls he built and the defenses he kept up were gone, making my heart ache with a pain I didn't understand. I didn't even care how or why he was asleep on the bed beside me, even though I told him he could leave once I fell asleep. I was glad he stayed.

Jared still lingered in the back of my mind, as I stared at the different boy sleeping beside me. And I knew. I had put off calling Jared long enough. It was time to accept the fact that I wanted somebody else. Needed somebody else. Because if I was being perfectly honest with myself, I didn't want to want Jason. But somehow, I couldn't keep myself away from him.

Even now, my hands itched to trace the planes of his face. But I also didn't want to wake him up. I felt his warm breath stirring the hair on top of my head, while my body remained snuggled to his chest and cradled within his arms. I tried to imagine what time during the night we ended up in the position we were in now, and the thought that I slept cuddled with Jason made me too happy.

Jason's breathing turned ragged, and his arms tightened around me, squeezing painfully. I searched his face, trying to find out what was going on. His once peaceful expression had turned troubled... almost as if he were having a nightmare.

And then the screams started.

I flinched back from the sheer volume and pain that accompanied it, wondering if the whole house could hear as well. My heart broke at the sounds he made, and I tried to wake him up desperately. Placing my hands on his chest, I shook him awake. "Jason! Wake up please!" I begged.

He thrashed with me in his arms, and I felt his body becoming slick with sweat. Clutching onto his shirt, I also felt tears prick my eyes at his vulnerability. What happened that did this to him? As a doctor, I knew the signs of post- traumatic stress disorder. And from the way Jason was acting, it must've been damn traumatic.

I didn't understand this complicated combination of tough yet broken boy holding me in his arms. What I did know was I had to take away his pain. Somehow. I held on tight to his shirt, clutching it like a lifeline to stay focused. "Jason please," I whispered. "You have to wake up." The tears I fought back escaped, my worry for Jason manifesting itself.

I sobbed now, my voice hoarse as I shouted at him. Finally, as if sensing my tears falling onto his shirt, his green eyes snapped wide open, and at the same time, the door flew in on itself. "What's going on?" Asteria came barging into the room, still dressed in her pajamas. She must've heard the screams.

Jason's arms were still tight around me, and it was like he didn't want to let go either. There was worry in Asteria's grey eyes as she looked from me to Jason and back again. "He had a nightmare," I answered the unspoken question lingering in the air.

Jason's breathing was still ragged, and he looked like he wasn't going to provide any answers soon. Realization dawned on Asteria's face after my revelation though, and I wondered if she knew what Jason had nightmares about. "I'll go make some breakfast," she stated, quietly retreating back towards the door. "Come down when you're both ready."