Everything Tobias arranged fit perfectly.
That was somehow both comforting and unsettling.
I climbed into bed before I could spiral too far about it.
The sheets were even softer than the pajamas.
The storm kept going outside, rain hissing against the glass, wind pushing around the edges of the house, but the room itself was warm and comfortable and sealed away from the worst ofit. After a while, my body stopped bracing against every roll of thunder, my thoughts blurred, and the day loosened its grip.
I fell asleep facing the window, watching lightning flicker behind my eyelids.
I didn’t know what woke me.
I thought it was the storm at first.
The room was dark except for the soft, shifting gray of rain-washed moonlight and the occasional pulse of lightning beyond the glass. For several seconds, I lay still, caught in that strange space between sleep and waking.
Then I felt it.
Not heard.
Felt.
The awareness of not being alone.
My eyes opened and found Tobias sitting in the armchair near the window.
I didn’t move.
I’d never had sleep paralysis before, but there was a first time for everything. I guess it made sense that my boss was my sleep paralysis demon..?
He was dressed in dark clothes, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, hands resting calmly against the arms of the chair. The storm flickered behind him, turning him into a strong silhouette cut from shadow and pale light.
“Tobias?” My voice came out rough with sleep.
“You were restless.”
His voice snapped me fully awake.
Holy fuck. What the fuck?!My boss wasnotmy sleep paralysis demon, but he waswatching me sleep.
I pushed myself up on one elbow and tried to breath through what felt like a goddamn heart attack. “What?!”
“You appeared distressed.”
“What? How would you know that?”
“I was passing by.”
That was not a good answer.
I pulled the blanket higher over my chest, suddenly very aware of the pajamas, the unfamiliar bed, the storm, and the utter focus in Tobias’s eyes.
“You were passing by,” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“And then you came in?”
