“Her? Did I miss some announcement?”
Her exasperation comes out as a prolonged sigh. “Look, Idon’t know. She’s a girl in my dreams. All I know is everything’s fine until a storm cloud comes and rips her away.”
“Okay…and what happens next?”
“I jump for her, but she’s just out of reach. And then she’s gone, and I wake up like I just did.” Willa shudders and wraps her hands around her elbows.
“Do you trust me?”
“Eh…” Her nose scrunches as she looks me up and down.
Chuckling, I point to her pillow. “Lie down and close your eyes.”
“…Why?”
Reaching around her, I plump it up, holding my hand out toward the bed. “You’ll see.”
She shakes her head, muttering under her breath as she lies down, staring at me the entire way.
I fix her bedding and drape it over her. “Close your eyes.”
“Who’s being bossy now, huh?” She shimmies her shoulders into the pillow, closing her eyes once she settles.
“Okay, so the sky’s stormy, the baby gets lifted into the air, you can’t reach them?—
“Her.”
“You can’t reachher…except there’s a bright pink ribbon strapped around her ankle and your wrist, keeping her anchored to you.”
“What? That’s not what happens…”
“What if you imagine it that way? Try it. Visualize your nightmare right up to the bad part and add in the ribbon.”
She takes a few deep breaths, grimacing at first, but soon the tension in her body eases. When she opens her eyes, I can’t help but smile at the wonder on her face. “Feel better?” I ask.
“What kind of sorcery was that? I threw in the ribbon, pulled her back to me, and the sun came out. Where did you learn that?”
“Therapy.” I smile.
“You too, huh?”
“Yep. I had vivid nightmares for a while after I was adopted, and my parents got us into play therapy. I’ve kept it up with talk therapy through the years, off and on, whenever I need to go.”
With a yawn, Willa nods, rubbing her eyes. I think my job here is done.
“Get some sleep. I’ll be out on the couch if you need me.” I push my knuckles into the mattress to help me stand, but she grabs my wrist.
“Could you stay with me?”
“Uh, sure. You have an extra blanket?”
“What’s wrong with this one?” She waves over her blanket-covered body.
“You want me to sleep in the bed with you?”
“Yeah. Just in case your dream magic wears off and I wake up in a panic again. Plus, the bed is more comfortable than the couch…” She scoots to the other side of the king-sized mattress, flips open the covers, and pulls me down next to her. I lean back to scan her face. The last time we were in a bed together, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Granted, I’m game, but she’s just come around to the idea of us being friends. “It’ll befine, Trevor.” She sighs. “We’re adults. We can share a bed without having sex. And it’s not like you can impregnate me…again.”
“Watch it, Gem.” I chuckle, shaking my head.
