And the doctor, for all her professionalism, can’t stop the shame boiling up my throat.
The dream shifts.
The floor disappears beneath me, and I hear his voice, cold and final:
“You’re the reason we don’t have a family.”
My breath stops.
“Please—” I choke. “Please don’t say that.”
The room dissolves into static.
And suddenly Someone is shaking me gently.
“Elena?”
My eyes snap open as I come to.
There’s light, warmth, and sheets tangled around my legs.
Colt’s concerned face is inches from mine.
Barely awake, hair rumpled, eyes heavy with sleep.
“Hey,” he whispers. “You okay?”
My throat closes.
I wipe at my face, surprised to feel tears.
“Oh,” I croak. “I—I was dreaming.”
His brow knits instantly.
“Elena. You were crying in your sleep. It seemed like you were in pain. Tell me what just happened.”
I swallow and try to sit up, but fail, ending up somewhere on my elbows.
“It was just…an old memory,” I say. “Nothing important.”
He shifts closer, not touching—not yet. But he’s close enough that his presence feels like a blanket around me.
“That didn’t look like nothing,” he murmurs.
I stare down at my hands.
“It was…my ex,” I admit. “We were trying to get pregnant. And when we couldn’t…he blamed me.”
Colt’s inhale is sharp and visible.
“He said I was the reason we didn’t have a family.”
My voice cracks.
“And I tried so hard. I tried everything. I did everything I could. And it still wasn’t enough. In the dream I could feel everything again. The shame and the guilt. It being my fault.”
There’s a dead silence for a few beats.
