Witness

7| Hot and Cold

After my shower, I made quick work of getting dressed and crawling into bed. Jaxon and I only exchanged a few words, and he hadn't looked at me even once since I was out of the bathroom. He had the TV on and asked if I had a channel preference, which I politely declined. I knew I wouldn't be awake long anyway once I was tucked into the firm hotel bed.

Sure enough, I fell asleep within moments despite the fact that I had a lot to process. My brain and body were just completely drained at this point. However, because of everything that happened, my subconscious was on overdrive, and it made for some horrifying dreams.

I don't remember the specifics of the dream, but next thing I knew, I was being woken up by Jaxon. He had his hands placed gently on my uninjured arm, shaking me slightly as I came to.

I was surprised to find I had only been asleep for about an hour and that tears were still streaming down my face as my body trembled. Honestly, I was amazed I even had any tears left in me. I remember dreaming about my past accident, but it had morphed into the new one, only this time the bullets kept coming and not just at me, at my dad as well.

"Emery, wake up. You're having a nightmare," Jaxon stated.

He was hovering so close to me I could smell his lingering cologne— it was oddly calming. I was fully awake now, but I was completely speechless. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts, so I just wiped my tears and muttered, "thank you for waking me."

Jaxon let out a sigh of relief when I finally spoke, "You're welcome. Do you... want to talk about it?" He was still sitting on my bed close to me, although his hands were now folded in his lap.

"No... I really don't. I don't know if I want to relive it," I shuddered hard again. Besides, Jaxon seemed uncomfortable with the possibility of having to listen as I poured out my feelings to him, so I decided to relieve him of this duty.

"Okay," he said with a nod as he stood up. He looked like he was going to head to his, bed but he stopped himself and turned to face me. "Emery... I know it's hard to just blindly trust someone you don't know, but I'm going to keep you safe. I hope you know that enough to provide you with a little bit of comfort tonight."

I wiped a tear away from my face and nodded. "I appreciate you saying that, Jaxon... thank you."

He forced a half smile my way before returning to his bed. "Try and go back to sleep; I'm right here."

I was still feeling terrified and vulnerable, but I really was thankful for his words. He was keeping his distance I knew, but for the first time, he really was showing genuine concern and providing me with some comfort. I would have given anything for him to hold me in this moment; to lay with me until I fell asleep, but for now, his words would have to do.

These thoughts surprised me. Up until now, I hadn't found myself wanting so desperately to have someone around to comfort me; even when thinking back to my darkest days after the accident. I wasn't sure if it was solely because of how vulnerable and alone I felt, or my undeniable attraction to Jaxon. The attraction I felt scared me, though— I couldn't possibly be crushing on my bodyguard. I had just met the man; maybe it was some sort of hero complex. After all, he was now the one keeping me safe when I had never felt so exposed.

Justified as it may be, I also didn't see Jaxon as the comforting type as much as I currently wanted him to be. It wasn't like he was getting paid to comfort me anyway—he was being paid to keep me safe, and I had no doubt that he would. I did my best to shake all thoughts from my head as I drifted back to sleep.

When I woke up again, the clock read 3:25. I glanced over to see Jaxon was still awake, and I wondered briefly if he was able to get any sleep—or if he was even allowed to? I truly didn't understand anything about the rules and regulations of a bodyguard.