Before they left New Orleans the next day, Alexis directed Sully to the St. Louis Cemetery. He was silent as she led him down one of the main walkways to a small crypt with the family name engraved on the front. She knelt and placed a small bouquet of yellow and white roses in the front, saying a soft prayer in Gaelic. A few minutes later, she stood and they walked back to Sully’s bike in silence.
*~~**~~**~~*
Two months later, Sully held Alexis as she slept fitfully. He had woken up several times the last few weeks from her cries, holding her down when she tried hitting him in her sleep. Tonight didn’t seem like it was going to be any better; the tea he had given her to help her sleep didn’t have any effect.
The nightmares still crept in.
*~~**~~**~~*
The nightmares were always waiting to creep in; waiting until her defenses were weakest. Even with Sully’s arms holding her while she slept, he couldn’t protect her from them.
They were always the same, yet always different. They were also getting worse.
She woke up screaming with Sully pinning her down, yelling for her to wake up.
“Wake up, Lexi! Wake up, dammit!”
When she opened her eyes, she saw him looking down at her with fear in his eyes. She threw her arms around his neck when he let her go.
“This has got to stop, Sully! The dreams are getting worse! All I’m dreaming about is death!” she cried, looking up into his eyes again. That was when she noticed the red mark on his cheek & that his lip was bleeding. “I did it again, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but it’s ok, baby. I don’t care how hard you hit me, I just wish I knew how to stop these dreams. I’ll help you the best I can, but I need to know why you’re having these dreams in the first place.”
“If I knew that, I’d be able to stop them myself,” she said quietly. “Oh, gods, let go!” she said, pushing away quickly & running to the bathroom.
She barely made it before getting sick – again.
