Highway Kismet

Las Vegas

To me, sleep has always been the cure to everything so when I slipped into a deep sleep the previous night, all the events were forgotten for those hours. I slept like a baby, and I was a little surprised because I expected to have nightmares but somehow, having Mitchell near me helped. 

However, the worst part about sleeping after a traumatic event was waking up in the morning. The first few seconds after opening my eyes were fine because my mind was still half asleep but in no time, a fully conscious state settled in and everything that I wished to forget from the previous night flashed in my mind like a rush of waves, tumbling and crashing until that awful, dull feeling erupted in the pit of my stomach.

The feeling of dread mixed with anxiety took over, my breathing picked up a notch as well as my heartbeat. I told myself that I needed to calm down and that I was safe in bed. I took in a deep breath and that seemed to help a little.

My body felt hot, so much that I thought I might've come down with a fever, but I knew that wasn't the case. The reason I was so hot was that I was wearing a thick hoodie, with joggers and was practically wrapped up in Mitchell's arms. His arm was around me and my head was still on his chest. I hadn't realized it but in my anxiety state, I clutched his shirt in my fists, holding on to him to prevent me from falling down the dark hole of yesterday's memories.

"Good morning." My thoughts were put to a halt when Mitchell spoke in a gruff, morning voice.

I titled my back to see him gazing down at me, his eyes were a little sleepy, but he still looked refreshed and well-rested.

"Morning." I groggily mumbled rubbing my eyes.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up." He said softly.

I frowned, "How long have you been awake for?"

"A while," He answered, "I can't sleep in as you might've noticed by now."

"Yeah, you're a freaking rooster." I murmured and hearing that he chuckled.

I stretched my legs and felt his against mine, I just realized that my one leg was between his, my hand on his stomach and my head on his chest. I had no idea how, but I slept in that one position all night and it felt... good. For someone who hated cuddling and any form or close contact with anyone, it felt like the best sleep I had in a long time.

"What's the time?" I asked him as I lifted my head off his chest.

He kept his one hand around me as he stretched the other one to reach for his watch on the pedestal. He glanced at the silver device before placing it back.

"Just a little after nine-am." He answered, "We have a long drive ahead of us today, if we want to make it in time to stop Owen and Faith from getting married, we need to get up soon."

Over the last week, Mitchell always got up before me and then bugged me to get up once he was done showering, so I couldn't help but wonder why he was still in bed and moreover why he didn't wake me up sooner.

"I'm surprised you didn't get up at the crack of dawn as usual." I commented.

He took in a breath and gazed warmly at me, his fingers made small circular patterns on my arm as he spoke, "You were so sound asleep, I didn't want to wake you."

"And," He added in an even softer tone, "I promised to not go of you until you asked me to."

I gulped as I looked at the sincerity in his eyes, he was so caring and kind that it warmed my heart. After the way he took care of me the previous night, I almost forgot about the fight we had before I walked off and...