Sold To A Beast

Healing

The phrase "don't you dare" is actually "do not you dare" and that confuses me.

Emily's pov...

When I had woken, the room felt like it was at a boiling temperature, the blankets had been kicked off of me already. With my aching body, I tossed the rest of the covers off of me and onto Andrew's side, burying my face against the cool side of the pillow. I laid there for a moment, waiting for Andrew to complain about the additional heat I had thrown on him. When it was silent, I turned my head in his direction and forced my eyes to peel open.

Andrew was gone from the bed, the sight enough to make me sit up from my spot and wake completely. "Andrew?" I called out his name, listening to my voice ring in the almost empty room. Panic was beginning to grow within me and I had to rub my worries away as the baby began to grow more active.

I looked at the window nervously, the curtains parted just enough for me to see that it was pitch black outside, still deep into the night. My mind selfishly sought out Gale's, though it was so late and I worried he may be sleeping. "Gale, is he - "

"He is. Dameon and I are outside with him now."

That was all I needed to know before I pushed myself up to get dressed, rushing to hurry so that I could go outside and help them. Recently Andrew has picked up sleep walking, though that sounded much simpler than what was going on. He was having trouble sleeping, consumed by the nightmares and traumas that he was living through them in his sleep.

Gale was waiting for me at the stairs, helping me travel down them before we both rushed to get outside. We neared the clearing, a place Andrew usually liked to go because it was empty and he could do whatever damage he liked, my eyes finding Dameon before anything else.

"What dream is it this time?" My voice sounded a little labored, the additional weight I was carrying was slowing me down tremendously.

"Hell." Dameon sighed, crossing his arms over his chest before I followed his line of sight, straining to see in the darkness. Andrew's back was facing us, standing a little ways from us in the clearing with palms engulfed in flames. I dared a step further, not going far before Dameon rested a hand on my shoulder. "He's dangerous right now, it's best to keep your distance."

Dameon and Gale looked at me for a moment, my tired stare meeting theirs before I continued on my path to get closer to Andrew. I was obligated to do so, there was little doubt in my mind that if the roles were reversed Andrew wouldn't be standing still and letting me suffer alone.

They traveled with me, flanking me on either side as we silently moved over the uneven ground, not comfortable with letting me go alone. We maneuvered our way around him, keeping our distance until we were facing in front of Andrew.

The baby moved unsettlingly inside me, almost making me vomit from the discomfort and unease. I had to give myself a pep talk in order to calm myself down enough to venture closer, despite the warnings from behind me.

I could feel the heat coming off of him, wondering if Andrew would have a fever after this. I wrung my hands nervously in front of me before running them over my bump. "Andrew?" I called out to him, despite there being no response.

It was terrifying to be standing before him like this, his eyes blackened and widely open though I doubted what he was seeing was us. His skin was glowing with his usual Hell markings, horns threatening to push out of the skin on his forehead. Yet, I couldn't leave him like this, to battle through it alone.