Bound to my Enemy novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Chapter 82.

"I fell asleep on the floor," I say quietly. "I remember that much."

"I know," he replies. "You were out cold when I found you.

Something twists in my chest. "You didn’t have to."

"I wasn’t going to leave you there."

I close my eyes again for a second, when I open them, my vision blurs and I have to blink hard to clear it.

He notices it of course.

His thumb moves, brushing lightly under my eye. "You cried a lot."

I huff out a weak, humorless breath. "That obvious?"

"Your eyes are swollen," he says. "And you look exhausted." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

I shift, pulling back just enough to look at him. He’s propped slightly on one elbow, watching me with an expression I can’t quite place Something that makes me uncomfortable in a different way.

"Elaine," he says after a moment. "What happened last night?"

My stomach drops.

I look away. At the ceiling, at the light filtering in through the curtains just anywhere but his face.

"Did I.... Did I do something?" he asks. "Something you didn’t like?"

I shake my head. "No. Not really."

His brow furrows. "That’s not an answer."

I sigh. My chest feels tight again, but not much like yesterday.

"It wasn’t you," I say. "Not exactly."

He waits for me to continue.

I force myself to keep going. "It’s....old stuff. Things that happened before. I thought I was past it, but I guess my body and mind didn’t get the memo."

He doesn’t interrupt, doesn’t rush me...... Just listens.

"Trauma?" he asks quietly.

I hesitate, then nod once.

His jaw tightens. "Is that what the nightmares are about?"

That makes my head snap toward him. "What nightmares?"

He watches me for a beat. "You scream in your sleep."

My mouth opens then closes

I stare at him, stunned. "No i do not."

"You do," he says. "Not every night. But often enough."

Heat crawls up my neck, embarrassment mixes with something colder. Fear. The idea that I’ve been that vulnerable without knowing it makes my skin prickle.

"You never said anything about it" I mutter.

"I didn’t think you’d want me to."

I press my lips together. He’s not wrong.

"So," he continues gently, "is it connected?"

I nod again, smaller this time. "Yeah."

He exhales slowly through his nose. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

The answer comes so fast that i brace myself, waiting for him to push.

He doesn’t.

"Okay," he says simply.

I risk a glance at him. "That’s it?"

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