Chapter Twelve
Kylie
“Kylie, wake up.”
Kylie was awakened by a hand gently shaking her shoulder. A gasp escaped her as her eyes snapped open and looked wildly around the bedroom as if searching for danger.
“Easy. It’s okay. You were having a nightmare. I called to you but you didn’t seem to hear me. You’re safe, Kylie.”
The soothing tone in Emelise’s voice helped to calm her and Kylie closed her eyes a moment. “I’m so sorry I woke you up.” Her hair stuck to her forehead in places from the sweat that coated her skin, and the camisole top she’d worn to bed clung to her chest.
“Hey, it’s okay. I can’t begin to imagine the hell you’ve gone through and what that asshole kidnapping you might have dredged up from your subconscious. It’s no wonder you had a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?”
Kylie shook her head. “No. I’m good. I don’t need to put those images in your head. No one should have them in their head.” She shuddered involuntarily. “Thank you for the offer, though. You should go on back to bed.” She felt Emelise’s eyes on her and lifted her gaze to the other woman’s face. There she saw concern.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind sitting up with you for a while.”
“I’m sure, Emelise. Go on back to bed. I’m just going to take another shower to rinse the sweat off, then go back to bed.”
“If you’re sure. Good-night, then.”
Kylie watched her go before she let out a breath. There was no way in hell she was going to tell Emelise about her nightmare. There was also no way in hell she was going to fall back to sleep, but she needed to wash the sweat off. It coated her skin and made it feel gritty.
Kylie got the water as hot as she could stand it and then stood under the spray until it began to cool. She still felt dirty and wondered if she would ever feel clean again.
After drying off and dressing, she returned to her room and curled up on her side so she could stare out the window across from her. She tried to turn her mind off, to stop thinking, but she couldn’t. Ezra was gone but his parting actions left their mark. Just the thought of losing the little connection she and Remy had, made her want to curl up in a ball and sob.
Kylie was still staring at the window, from the bed, when the sun began to lighten the sky. She lay there watching as the sky brightened and the sounds of Caine and Emelise moving around in the front of the house reached her. She knew she should get out of bed but she felt too lethargic. She just didn’t have the energy to move. All she wanted to do was stay in bed and ignore the rest of the world.
A knock on the bedroom door had her groaning. “I’m awake.”
Emelise stuck her head in the door. “I just wanted to let you know breakfast is ready. You didn’t get back to sleep, did you?”
“Is it that obvious?” Kylie sighed. “I’m not sure I have the energy to get out of bed, much less eat.”
“Then I’ll bring you something. Take today off. After what happened yesterday, and then not getting much sleep last night, I’d rather you rest than go in and regret it.”
Kylie opened her mouth to argue but she saw the determination on Emelise’s face. “Okay.” Arguing with the boss wasn’t exactly smart, anyway.
She closed her eyes and rested until the door opened again. When she opened her eyes and looked to the doorway, Emelise was carrying breakfast in with Hailey at her side. When Hailey crawled on the bed to cuddle next to her, Kylie couldn’t help but smile. “Hey there, short stuff.”
“You don’t mind if Hailey visits while you eat, do you? She wanted to see you.”
“Of course not, Eme.” Kylie turned her attention to her food, and while it smelled really good, she discovered, after a few bites, she didn’t have much of an appetite. She ate a few more bites, then set the plate aside.
“How come you’re not eating?” Hailey asked.
“I’m not very hungry this morning. I think I’m just too tired to eat.” She ruffled the little girl’s hair. “Thank you for visiting with me.” Her thoughts went to Remy and she wondered how he was doing. Were his injuries healing okay?
“Come on, short stuff, let’s go put my plate up in the kitchen.” She forced a cheerful attitude to hide how she was really feeling.
Emelise frowned at Kylie’s plate. “You didn’t eat very much. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. Just not very hungry. I’ll eat later.” All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and hide. Still, she faked a smile.
“Hailey and I are going into the city for lunch later if you’d like to join us.”
“Thanks, but…I think I’ll stay here. Have you seen Remy yet, today?” Even if she knew he’d be disgusted once he found out what she did, she couldn’t help wanting to see him, wanting to know how he was doing.
