“No” I yelled and sprang up from my bed. I could feel the sweat trailing down my forehead and my back. The lights came on immediately and Atticus was beside me at a glance.
"Hey, it was just a dream. You are okay” Atticus pulled me to him and I went willingly allowing him to wrap his arms around me. I felt him place a kiss on my forehead.
Ever since I was rescued, I have been having nightmares every night. Samantha was shot and killed when she tried to kill me and the sight of the hole on her head had given me severe trauma. That exact scene was what I kept seeing every night.
I couldn’t sleep alone and I was now terrified of the dark. The therapist said I was going to be fine but it’s been almost two months now and it didn’t look like the nightmares were stopping anytime soon.
I tightened my hold on him to assure myself that he was really here with me and that everything was finally over.
“I hate how scared I’ve become. It makes me look pathetic” I whispered. Atticus tried to release me and make me look at him but I refused to budge so he ended up talking to me with my head still tucked into his chest.
“You are not pathetic. You went through such a horrible experience because of me and you survived. You are human Hazel, you can be scared” He whispered in my ears.
“I won’t ever be able to apologize enough for being the cause of what happened. I would have killed myself if anything had happened to you or our babies” He placed his hands on my now swollen belly.
“Don’t say that, please. It isn’t your fault” Atticus had not stopped blaming himself for what happened and no matter how much I tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault he wouldn’t believe me.
“I can’t help it. I was the one involved with her and if I wasn’t, this wouldn’t have happened”
“Which means I am also at fault because I left the house when you clearly told me not to”
“You are not at fault. Don’t ever blame yourself again” He scolded me. I released him with a smile and turned so I was facing him.
“If I am not allowed to blame myself, you also aren’t allowed to do so either. You had nothing to do with this. She was just a crazy person. Does everyone go around getting revenge on their ex? Tell me?”
“I still can’t believe you were almost taken away from me” He pulled me in for a kiss. We poured all our emotions and pain into it including what we couldn’t say in words.
When we separated, he laid down and brought me down with him. He gave me a kiss on my forehead and we lay together in silence.
“I want you to know that I will always be here for you. I would never cause you any pain and I would always protect you from harm” he whispered against my hair.
“I know. I know you would never let me go no matter what.” I told him
“I love you so much, baby. I don’t think that I would ever survive without you. I love you immensely my sweetheart” He said strongly and I turned my head to look at him.
“Hey, I Love you too but what is the cause of these cheesy words tonight?” I teased.
“Can’t I tell you how much I love you? I want the whole world to know how much you mean to me. Is it bad?” He nuzzled my hair and I laughed at how silly he was acting.
“Of course you can. I love you much more than words could imagine” I told him back.
“I can’t wait for our little ones to be here then I could spoil you three endlessly” We found out that I was pregnant with twins when I was rushed to the hospital after I was rescued.
Atticus had been so hysterical and wanted to make sure I and the baby were alright but we were told we were expecting twins.
“I am still shocked that we are expecting twins, who’s going to take care of them?” I asked laughing
“My sisters and your friends, I am certain you will do a wonderful job. You are going to be an amazing mother” He assured me.
“It’s really over now, isn’t it?” I asked him, my mind travelling back to what happened.
“Yes, it is. We can be happy now without any fear” I turned and placed myself in his arms.
“I’m happy I married you. In the end, our marriage turned out to be more than a business deal like I wanted” I laughed.
“Indeed and I would not change it for the world” I was finally happy.
“Thank you, Dad” I whispered and fell asleep in the arms of the man who loved me more than anything.