“Cameron?” she whispered.
All of her earlier talking had not had an effect on him. He had been unable to hear her knocking or her calling out to him only minutes before, but this time as she whispered his name, his eyes flew open.
She jumped at his sudden movement and blinked in surprise. He looked around wildly, as if he didn’t remember where he was or what was happening. He didn’t seem to recognize his own rooms. But when his eyes landed on her, they stayed locked there, like she was his anchor in whatever storm his mind had concocted.
The closer she moved to stand beside him, the easier his grip became, though she no longer tried to get out of it. She didn’t care that he held her in place or that her skin was red. Not when his breathing was growing erratic and strained. His chest heaved with the effort it took to suck in a breath of air. She knew what was coming next. She had seen it first hand in the library last week when she had found him struggling to read. First he would wheeze and then he would crumble, his air getting tighter and tighter. It had only taken her witnessing one of his breathing attacks to know that she would rather do anything than watch it happen again.
“Everything is all right,” she murmured, using her free hand to brush a piece of hair off of his face. “Just breathe.”
He leaned into her touch, his grip on her wrist more desperate than fierce. He seemed to want her as close as possible as he fought to control his breathing. Appeasing him, she sat on the edge of his bed and continued stroking his head, letting her fingers run across his cheek and back up through his hair.
“It was just a dream,” she told him. “It was nae real. Everything is all right now. Ye are safe.”
Every word she uttered seemed to soothe his troubled soul. His eyes were still glazed over from a mix of panic and fear, but his chest no longer heaved.
“Charlotte,” he whispered in awe.
“Aye. It is me. Ye were dreaming. I came to check on ye but I think ye had a nightmare,” she rambled on in her explanation, knowing she needed some way to explain her presence in his rooms.
Despite the improper nature of her visit, he didn’t appear to mind. He only smiled at her as his breathing returned to normal. Sleep still clouded his eyes, though she knew he saw her sitting there with him.
“Are ye all right?” she asked, still very concerned with his current state of being.
His only response was to throw an arm around her neck and pull her down to his chest, hugging her there.
