Intent [Wattys 2017]

Chapter 10

Harry

"Stop!"

Her voice radiates through the whole room in the early hours of the morning startling me awake. I lean over and look down at the once peaceful sleeper next to me. Her skin is glistening with sweat, shaking uncontrollably.

"Please don't!"

She yells again, crying in her sleep. The sound of her cries rip through me like sledgehammer aimed right to my gut. It is honestly the worst sound I've ever heard and I feel utterly helpless as I hear her yell again.

"Dad! No!"

I sit up with a jolt at her words. Did I really hear her right? I couldn't bare to think of what that might mean now, feeling her words in my entire body, anger and terror for this beautiful girl next to me. This demon of hers is tormenting her and I can't do anything to help her.

Leaning over to her I try to pull her close against me, wrapping my arms around her torso, trying but failing to still her. She's nearly unbelievably strong in her sleep, fighting against my embrace, trying to throw her arms against me.

"Please, no!" She begs once again, her eyes still screwed shut trying to turn her body around against my embrace.

"Emma, it's ok" I plead with her, pressing my palms down into her shoulders trying to gently force her against the mattress to calm her down, hovering over her.

"Em...Emma wake up. Please" I am pleading with her knowing she still can't hear a single word I'm saying. This is too much. No matter how hard I try to wake her up, shaking her her shoulders, trying to coax her awake, her once heartbreaking screams now just a loud whimper.

"Emma...baby, please!" I nearly yell at her, reaching the end of my rope. I know it is probably not the best tactic with a sleeping girl having a terrifying nightmare but I can't keep putting her through this. Luckily my less than gentle move seems to have worked. She begins to still as if she can hear, slowly coming from her terrified sleep. Her breathing begins to steady,

"Em open your eyes" I whisper, hovering over her.

Slowly, warily her eyes open and stare up at me. It is only now, with her big blue eyes staring up at me that I finally notice that I have positioned myself on top of her, straddling her waist, one of my knees on either side of her hips, ankles tucked over her legs and my hands pressed down against her shoulders.

It's like we realize our position at the same moment, my body begins to tense and the calm that once covered her face being replaced with earth shattering fear. This breaks my heart.

"Get off of me" she says steadily, after taking a deep breath.

I am shocked by her reaction. After what she had just gone through. She is honestly the strongest person I know. I don't know the specifics but it's obvious that something has happened and with her dad no less. My mind goes wild with thoughts of what could have happened. I feel nauseous just at the thought but I can't think about the possibility, she's scared here and now and I need to try and fix her.

"What was that?" not moving from position on top of her, hands pressing down on her shoulders, only realizing that I am trying to coax her to answer me until after I've done it.

She's scared, it is written all over her face but is it from her nightmare or from me, please don't let it be me.

"Harry get off" my fears realized by her less than calm but breathless request, fear spreading across her face, the normal wonder in her eyes fading. When I don't move right away she begins to shiver and shift beneath me. I scramble off of her as she retreats off the bed quickly to her window never taking her eyes off me.