“I wasn’t sleeping anyway with Seb still out,” he says. “Besides, this is the second time you’ve had a nightmare tonight.” Huh. I’m not all sweaty, and the bed doesn’t look like a tornado blew through. E must have caught both nightmares early on. “I came in here about an hour ago. You didn’t wake up last time, but you settled.”
I reach over, squinting my eyes, to grab my phone from the nightstand. It’s only 3am. Groaning, I flop back onto the mattress. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to sleep.”
“Why don’t you come into the spare room with me? Maybe you can get some sleep with us nearby?”
“We can’t all fit in the double bed, E.” I’d be surprised if Seb and E both fit.
“I’ll sit in the chair and watch over you both,” he offers. I point out the obvious fact that he needs to sleep as well. “I can sleep on the chair if I get tired enough. Come on. Try it.”
“I’ll take the chair. You lay with Seb,” I compromise, getting up. We head across the hall, and E scoots past me to sit in the chair.
“Really, it’s fine. It’s you and Seb who need rest more than I do tonight. Maybe having someone nearby will help you settle.”
I walk back to my room and grab a blanket and pillow and lay them over E. “Thank you,” I tell him. Getting under the covers beside Seb, I reach out to hold his hand and quickly drift off to sleep.
Chapter 35
I wake up slowly in the morning. The room is bright behind my eyelids, but the light is coming from the wrong direction. Rubbing my dry eyes, I blink and look around. Seb is sleeping beside me. Oh yeah, nightmares. E is sleeping in the chair with his mouth open slightly and head back. Quietly getting up, I tiptoe out of the room and go to the bathroom. I get dressed in comfy clothes and then go to the kitchen and find Zander and Troy are both sitting at the island drinking coffee. “Morning,” I greet, filling the kettle.
“Good morning, Summer,” Troy replies.
“Hi darling. How did you end up in bed with Seb?” Zander asks with an eyebrow raised.
“It was completely innocent. Seb is still unconscious. E kept having to wake me up from nightmares and suggested I try lying beside Seb, hoping having someone nearby would help. It worked.”
“Okay,” he nods. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Other than my hand being sore, I’m okay,” I tell him, digging out some tea from the pantry.
“You cut your hair?” He questions. “How did I not notice that last night?”
“We were preoccupied with other things. Gabby did it for me before the party.”
“It looks pretty, darling,” he smiles. “May I see your hand?” I hold it out in offer. Zander sets it in his palm for inspection. “You’re bruising already,” he frowns. He goes to the freezer and grabs abag of peas and a dishtowel from the drawer. He lays it on my hands and tells me to sit while he finishes my tea.
“We need to teach you how to throw a punch so you don’t hurt yourself,” Troy comments.
I hear the front door open, and then the rest of the guys come in. I look over at Zander. “They texted they were coming, so I unlocked the door.” Nodding, I wave hi to everyone.
“Is Seb awake yet?” Alex immediately asks.
“Not yet. He and E are still sleeping,” I tell him.
He nods and heads for the coffee machine. Nick sits beside me and moves the frozen peas, examining my hand. “You need to learn how to hit,” he tells me.
“I just mentioned that,” Troy replies.
“I’m training you as soon as your hand heals,” Nick states.
“I’m okay with that,” I say, looking at Nick. He places the peas gently back on my hand as Alex passes him a coffee. E comes out of the bedroom moments later, half asleep, shuffling his feet.
“Nick brought you clothes, E. Why not shower and wake up?” Alex suggests. E nods, grabbing the bag Alex is holding up, and heads back down the hall.
“I’ll sit with Seb,” I offer, taking my tea and frozen peas with me. The guys all decide to join me as I take a seat against the headboard. “Any idea when he should wake up?” I ask, turning to Alex.
“I would think sometime this morning, but I have not gotten the blood test results yet.”
A moan from Seb follows his reply. “Seb, are you back? Open your eyes, Hurry,” I implore him, leaning closer.
