Her Fight

Nightmare

 Chapter 7– Nightmare

Daniel POV

I woke up to the sound of small whimpers and the scent of tears. It took me a full five seconds for my groggy mind to understand what was going on. Hope was having a nightmare. A bad one by the looks of it. It made my heart squeeze in pain. I rolled over on my side and gently shook the trembling girl lying next to me.

"Hope, wake up."

Her breathing got faster almost to the point of hyperventilating and her limbs starting flailing wildly. Okay, now I definitely need to wake her up before she hurts herself. I straddled her with my thighs on each side of her and I gently grabbed each side of her face trying to hold her still. I was careful not to put all of weight on her. Her body looked like it was going to fall apart.

"Wake up!"

Her eyes flew open. I nearly jumped back in surprise. Her eyes were wide and clouded with fear. She started flailing her arms wildly and squirming. She tried pushing me away. I reacted quickly by grabbing her arms and pushing them on the bed on either side of her head while being careful to not hurt her. Her head shook wildly, tears running down her face and her mouth wide open in a silent scream.

"Hope! It's me. Daniel. Remember? Just calm down. You're safe. I promise. Breath."

Her breathing calmed down and her body went limp. I released her and sat back, still straddling her but not putting any weight on her.

She turned her upper body to the side and curled her arms to her chest. Her eyes were closed tight.

I quickly got off her and sat by her side. Her whole body immediately curled up into fetal position.

"Hope?"

She flinched and whimpered softly when my hand touched her back. I rubbed her back in soothing circles while she calmed down.

I lifted her up in my arms and headed over to the bathroom. Her hands gripped my shirt tightly. On the way, I caught a glimpse of the clock. It read 7:40. We've been asleep for roughly two hours. Definitely not long enough to get some proper rest. I opened the bathroom door with one hand and turned on the light. I tried putting Hope down on the closed toilet seat lid but she wouldn't let go. Her dream must have really scared her.

"I'm right here. You can let go now. I'm not leaving you."

I slowly felt her hands loosening and sat her on the toilet seat lid. I grasped a small yellow washcloth and wet it at the sink then crouched in front of Hope. She had her head down and her hands gripping the hoodie tightly. I lifted her head with my fingers. The sight of her made me want to jump in her dream and destroy everything that frightened her. Her face was pale, her lower lip was trembling and she had huge dark bags under her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted. I gently wiped her face with the wet washcloth. I noticed her body was drenched in sweat, she could get sick again.

"Hey, why don't you take a nice shower? It will make you feel better."

She locked at the bathtub then back at me and nodded.

"Good girl."

I got up and headed towards the door but I felt a tugging feeling on my hand. I looked back and saw Hope tightly gripping my hand. Her eyes were wide and watery. I headed back to her.

"What's wrong?"

She just gripped my hand tighter and pulled.

"I'll be right back. I'm just going to get clean clothes for you. I'll even leave the door open."

She hesitantly released my hand. I flashed her a smile. I quickly left and came back with an old t-shirt of mine and a pair of shorts then put them on the edge of the sink. I turned on the shower for her then crouched in front of Hope again.

"OK. Everything is ready for you. I'll be waiting in the room. Do you want me keep the door open?"

She gave me a small nod. I patted her head and left the bathroom. I sat down on the bed with my head in my hands trying to process everything. I felt so helpless. The state that Hope was in made me furious and depressed at the same time. The poor thing can't even sleep properly, for Luna's sake!

I was brought back from my thoughts at the sound of a knock on the bathroom door. I noticed the water wasn't running anymore. When I entered the bathroom, Hope was sitting on the toilet waiting for me. I lifted her up in my arms and headed back over to the bed then laid down with her.

"Do you want to try to sleep again?"

She quickly shook her head. It made me worry. What if she starts refusing to sleep? Her body was weak enough as it is. I had to think of a way to relax her enough to fall asleep. Then I got an idea. I reached over to the bed side table, grabbed the remote and turned on the television that was facing the bed. Hope's attention was completely drawn to the colorful moving images. It made me want to laugh. She looked so focused.

"Hope?"

I didn't get a response, not even a twitch of a muscle. I slipped out of the bed and left the room. I figured I should try and feed her. I came back with a glass of orange juice and some oatmeal cookies. I place the tray of cookies in front of her. That got her attention. She looked over at me.

"It's a cookie. It tastes good!"

She looked back at the plate then raised her hand to her throat. I jumped up to get the medication Jacques left for her.

"Here, swallow this. It will help your throat."

She took the small pill and put it in her mouth. I handed her the juice to help her swallow it down.

"There, does that feel better?"

She nodded then picked up the cookie and sniffed it. She bit off a small piece and slowly chewed it. I'm guessing she liked it because she took a bigger bite. Hope turned her attention back to the television and continued to chow down. I was bit disappointed she only ate a cookie and a half but still glad she had something in her stomach.

After about twenty minutes of watching funny caricatures of animals running around, I heard deep even breathing coming from Hope. She's finally asleep. I sighed in relief then positioned her body in a more comfortable position and just held her as I fell asleep.