Cade didn't know what to do besides accept the anxiety that pressed on his chest, because for now, he had no choice. He couldn't do anything until he was free from Tristan's constant presence, so he'd just suck it up. Compared to situations he'd endured, this should be easy, and surely he was strong enough to survive this shitstorm of emotions for a few more days.
An agonized scream pierced the silence of the cabin, jolting Cade from sleep. He bolted from the sofa and flicked on a light. Tristan sat up in bed, his hands clasped in his hair, shrieking.
Cade rushed to him. "Tristan, wake up!"
The wails continued, so he sat down and grabbed the other man's wrists, speaking harshly and loud enough to be heard over the noise. "Tristan, Wake up!"
The sharp words seemed to penetrate the redhead's haze, and he clamped his mouth shut. He breathed hard through his nose as his eyes focused on Cade's face, where they lingered for a moment before darting around the room.
The tension in his muscles leaked from his body, and he mumbled, "Fuck." Tears pooled and then spilled onto his cheeks.
Cade dropped his hands to his lap and breathed deeply to steady himself and to calm his pounding heart.
"I'm sorry," Tristan muttered.
"It's okay."
Tristan blinked a few times, his features pinched and his expression distraught. He ran his hands through his hair and down over his face before dropping them to his lap.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Cade asked, surprised at the gentleness in his tone.
Tristan hung his head, and the silence stretched on for several quiet seconds.
Finally, he croaked, "They had Natalie. They were … hurting her."
Cade understood what that meant, even though Tristan hadn't said it.
"And it was one of those dreams where you can't move, like no matter how hard you try, you're frozen. I saw what they were doing, but I couldn't get to her, so I was yelling, trying to make them stop. But they wouldn't. They wouldn't stop."
Cade's chest constricted as Tristan spoke the last sentence in a tortured whisper. Yet again, he felt the impulse to comfort the man in front of him.
"That's horrible."
"Yeah."
"It wasn't real," Cade felt compelled to point out.
"It could be," Tristan whispered.
Cade frowned, not knowing how to respond. This is why he didn't like to talk. He never chose the right words, never knew what to say, or what not to.
Struggling to be comforting, he offered, "We're doing all we can. We'll find her soon."
Tristan pressed his lips into a line and nodded. "I wish we could do more."
"Me too."
Taking a deep breath and letting it whoosh out, Tristan said, "We should probably get back to sleep."
"Yeah," Cade agreed, pulling himself to his feet.
But before he could walk away, Tristan glanced up, flushed and shy. "Will you, um, stay with me?"
"Huh?"
"Will you stay with me, in the, um, bed? You know, in case I wake up again."
"The sofa is just a few feet away," Cade reasoned.
