Matt
IlaynexttoFrankie, watching her sleep. Tossing and turning, crying out, her body covered in sweat. I tried to hold her, to calm her nightmares, whispering words in her ear that might help, but nothing did. It didn’t just last a few minutes or even an hour or two; she was like it the whole time she was asleep. As the sun started to rise outside, I reached for my phone.
Me: Frankie isn’t good.
Addi: Why? Does she need a doctor?
Me: Why are you awake?
Addi: Some dickhead texted me and woke me.
Me: Sorry. She’s not eating, having panic attacks, pretending she’s ok when she’s not. Right now she’s having a nightmare that has lasted for about 6 hours.
Addi: Shit. I had no idea. I knew she was struggling, but not this bad. What do you suggest?
Me: Some time away. A cabin in the woods. Let me take her and look after her. She needs someone to help her.
Addi: Are you sure you’re not just looking for a dirty holiday with her?
Me: Fuck off, she’s broken. I’m not a total dick.
Addi: Sorry. Had to check. Leave it with me. Maybe you could take her for a couple of weeks and then we could all come and stay for a bit, too.
Me: Sounds like a plan. Thanks. And I promise I’ve got her.
Addi: I know.
By the time she’d woken up, I’d packed a case for her and thrown some things in a bag for me. Addi booked us a cabin and arranged a car so I could drive us, meaning that no one else but me and Addi knew where she was. It was remote, surrounded by water, and was the perfect place to give her some space from her life. Last minute, I added a couple of her notebooks to her bag before I woke her.
“Morning, Rogue. How did you sleep?”
“Okay?” she groaned out.
“Liar. I watched you. How long have you been having the nightmares?”
“Every night since I was shot.”
“Why didn’t you talk to any of us?”
She huffed. “Because I lived. I should be grateful for that.”
“But youwereshot. You don’t have to be superwoman.”
She shrugged.
“Hey, you want a holiday?”
“Holiday?”
“Yeah? You want a sexy bodyguard to take you away from all this?”
“Really?” she asked excitedly.
I nodded.
“Please,” she replied, offering me a smile that made my heart melt.
“Right, well, let’s get you dressed and we can speak to the doctor, then leave.”