With a little sigh, Summer curled herself into the pillow, giving him a small, false smile back. She felt cold from the inside, and hunched her shoulders around her ears, watching Derek with sleepy eyes. She’d let hope get the better of her, she thought, and decided to leave in the morning. She wouldn’t stay where she wasn’t wanted.
Derek grabbed his book from the table and sat on the edge of the couch where she was laying. “I’ll read you to sleep,” he said simply. It was something he had done for both of his sisters when they were going through something. He started off the chapter, getting lost in the words as he tried to get her to comfortably fall into her dreams.
It took a long time for her to warm up enough to fall asleep. She drifted, listening to his warm voice, until finally she slept.
She didn’t know what time it was when the nightmare woke her up; it was dark. She thrashed, still caught in the haze of the dream, and hit the floor hard. Her heart pounded, and she wished she could scream.