Status: It will soon be redone. This will be deleted in a few weeks.
Danger Line
Sleep
Matt’s Point of View
I could tell Kari was a lot more nervous after the call from her psychiatrist. She said she was going to get some sleep. I told her it was okay. I saw her go upstairs and I stayed downstairs. I texted back and forth with the guys. They were asking questions about Kari that I had no answers to.
“How is she doing?”
“Is she back to normal?”
What was normal? How could she ever be normal again? I wouldn’t be.
After I responded to the guys that I had no idea how she was doing. I needed to blow off some steam, so I went on X-Box Live and played with some people online. I really wanted to be upstairs with Kari, but she needed her space.
It was barely three days since she got back. I shouldn’t expect her to be back to her old self so soon. There was progress today. At the mall, it was like we were two teenagers again, sort of. We didn’t hold hands or kissed, but our conversation was like back in the days.
It was about music and just general things. I still loved her. I was still in love with her.
When I blinked, I was dead inside of the game. The English kid I was playing with was ahead of me. I started to get back into the game and a few minutes later I was back in lead.
The English kid signed off and I chuckled to myself.
Maybe I was a little addicted.
I was playing with some guy from Maine when I heard Kari’s scream. She screamed again, and I dropped my control and ran upstairs. The screams were coming from our room. I thought she went to the guest room, but she didn’t.
I opened the door and she was thrashing around and screaming.
“NO, NO IT HURTS! PLEASE STOP!”
I stood at the doorway shocked for a couple of seconds, and then I reacted when she screamed again in a sob. I went to the bed and held her still.
“Kari, wake up!” I shook her.
She continued to scream. “ELI, IT HURTS!”
Eli? Who the hell was Eli?
“KARI!” I screamed and shook her more roughly.
She snapped open her eyes. Her eyes were red from her crying. She looked around for a second and then back to me.
“Matt?” her voice was hoarse.
“Night terror,” I said, unsure if it was day terror since it was the middle of the day.
I saw as her cheeks warmed up a bit more. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed and I hugged her.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I assured her.
“No, it’s not, what if Damien was here? I don’t want him to see me like that, not ever, Matt. It will traumatize him.”
I sooth her gently as she cried in my arms. She held on tightly, and though it was starting to hurt, I didn’t say anything. She slowly released her tight hold on me.
I laid her back on the bed and I went with her.
“I’m sorry,” she hid her face in my chest. “For the way I behaved with Penny. I was so out of line, and… I have no right to say anything.”
“Who’s Eli?” I asked avoiding the subject of Penny. I wanted to know who Eli was.
“Eli? How did you know about him?” she asked.
“You screamed his name,” I said.
She sighed. “He’s the one I was with for the past two years. We were put together in a cage underground. We were each other’s strength. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here.”
That was big. Did she know how much that meant? She probably did. She would never say something so serious and think it wasn’t.
I held her tightly. I didn’t want to think about the ugly thoughts running through my head. I didn’t want to think about Kari in another man’s arms. Maybe that’s how she felt when she met Penny. She must have sensed and saw something between Penny and I.
I was very nervous when I got to the school. And when Kari asked if I slept with Penny, I wasn’t surprised she would suspect.
I needed to know if anything happened with Eli I was going to rip the guy’s head off.
“Nothing happened, Matt,” I heard Kari say softly. “We were both exhausted and hungry. Sex was the last thing on our mind.”
I chuckled a bit. “You were always able to read my mind.”
“You’re easy to read,” she said back. She yawned. “I’m sleepy but--”
“Go to sleep, I’ll be here taking care of you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. Last time… I hurt a nurse real bad, Matt.”
“I’m a big guy, I can handle you.”
“Don’t hesitate to hit me to knock me out,” she wasn’t joking.
I just nodded and smiled. A few minutes later, I felt her even breaths on my neck. I held her a little more tightly.
It wasn’t until two hours later that I remembered I didn’t log out of X-Box Live. Poor guy from Maine probably thought I was just an asshole. I really couldn’t care less.
Kari’s Point of View
Sleep, at last. I woke up several hours later still in Matt’s arms. We woke up to pick up Damien from school. This time, I was much more polite to Penny since I had my hours of sleep.
Matt and I took Damien to the pier and we got ice cream.
“Thank you,” I told Matt as we exited the ice cream shop.
“No problem,” he said and I knew he thought about the ice cream.
“I meant about earlier,” I chuckled. “For staying with me.”
“You know I love you,” he wrapped an arm around my waist. “It was a pleasure.”
We walked down the beach. I rolled up Damien’s uniform pants to his knees and then let him go play in the water for a while.
Matt and I found a bench where we could both see Damien. I smiled as I looked around.
“This is where you proposed,” I muttered.
“You remember,” Matt said and I turned to look at him with a grin.
“It was after I got the letter from the Marines the first time,” I recalled.
“Yes. I was thinking tomorrow after the psychiatrist, if you’re up for it, we could go to the studio and you could put your input on our work.”
I grinned widely. “I’d love to.”
He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he smiled and pecked my cheek.
“Look mommy!” Damien came up to us and showed me the sea shells he had in his hands.
“Aw, hermosos, bebe,” I said in Spanish. (Beautiful, baby.) “Want to go find more so we can make a necklace?”
“Si!” Damien grinned. “Grandma taught me how to say yes.”
I giggled. I stood up and went to the shoreline with Damien and we looked for sea shells. Matt joined us and the three of us found enough shells to make two necklaces.
We went back home and we made the necklaces.
Matt had brought out the camera and recorded us doing the necklace. It was really a wonderful time. I smiled more often.
I just needed the sleep.
I showered Damien while Matt made the food. I sent Damien to go eat while I showered myself and got dressed. Matt did the same when I got to the kitchen and took his place.
I could tell Kari was a lot more nervous after the call from her psychiatrist. She said she was going to get some sleep. I told her it was okay. I saw her go upstairs and I stayed downstairs. I texted back and forth with the guys. They were asking questions about Kari that I had no answers to.
“How is she doing?”
“Is she back to normal?”
What was normal? How could she ever be normal again? I wouldn’t be.
After I responded to the guys that I had no idea how she was doing. I needed to blow off some steam, so I went on X-Box Live and played with some people online. I really wanted to be upstairs with Kari, but she needed her space.
It was barely three days since she got back. I shouldn’t expect her to be back to her old self so soon. There was progress today. At the mall, it was like we were two teenagers again, sort of. We didn’t hold hands or kissed, but our conversation was like back in the days.
It was about music and just general things. I still loved her. I was still in love with her.
When I blinked, I was dead inside of the game. The English kid I was playing with was ahead of me. I started to get back into the game and a few minutes later I was back in lead.
The English kid signed off and I chuckled to myself.
Maybe I was a little addicted.
I was playing with some guy from Maine when I heard Kari’s scream. She screamed again, and I dropped my control and ran upstairs. The screams were coming from our room. I thought she went to the guest room, but she didn’t.
I opened the door and she was thrashing around and screaming.
“NO, NO IT HURTS! PLEASE STOP!”
I stood at the doorway shocked for a couple of seconds, and then I reacted when she screamed again in a sob. I went to the bed and held her still.
“Kari, wake up!” I shook her.
She continued to scream. “ELI, IT HURTS!”
Eli? Who the hell was Eli?
“KARI!” I screamed and shook her more roughly.
She snapped open her eyes. Her eyes were red from her crying. She looked around for a second and then back to me.
“Matt?” her voice was hoarse.
“Night terror,” I said, unsure if it was day terror since it was the middle of the day.
I saw as her cheeks warmed up a bit more. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed and I hugged her.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I assured her.
“No, it’s not, what if Damien was here? I don’t want him to see me like that, not ever, Matt. It will traumatize him.”
I sooth her gently as she cried in my arms. She held on tightly, and though it was starting to hurt, I didn’t say anything. She slowly released her tight hold on me.
I laid her back on the bed and I went with her.
“I’m sorry,” she hid her face in my chest. “For the way I behaved with Penny. I was so out of line, and… I have no right to say anything.”
“Who’s Eli?” I asked avoiding the subject of Penny. I wanted to know who Eli was.
“Eli? How did you know about him?” she asked.
“You screamed his name,” I said.
She sighed. “He’s the one I was with for the past two years. We were put together in a cage underground. We were each other’s strength. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here.”
That was big. Did she know how much that meant? She probably did. She would never say something so serious and think it wasn’t.
I held her tightly. I didn’t want to think about the ugly thoughts running through my head. I didn’t want to think about Kari in another man’s arms. Maybe that’s how she felt when she met Penny. She must have sensed and saw something between Penny and I.
I was very nervous when I got to the school. And when Kari asked if I slept with Penny, I wasn’t surprised she would suspect.
I needed to know if anything happened with Eli I was going to rip the guy’s head off.
“Nothing happened, Matt,” I heard Kari say softly. “We were both exhausted and hungry. Sex was the last thing on our mind.”
I chuckled a bit. “You were always able to read my mind.”
“You’re easy to read,” she said back. She yawned. “I’m sleepy but--”
“Go to sleep, I’ll be here taking care of you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. Last time… I hurt a nurse real bad, Matt.”
“I’m a big guy, I can handle you.”
“Don’t hesitate to hit me to knock me out,” she wasn’t joking.
I just nodded and smiled. A few minutes later, I felt her even breaths on my neck. I held her a little more tightly.
It wasn’t until two hours later that I remembered I didn’t log out of X-Box Live. Poor guy from Maine probably thought I was just an asshole. I really couldn’t care less.
Kari’s Point of View
Sleep, at last. I woke up several hours later still in Matt’s arms. We woke up to pick up Damien from school. This time, I was much more polite to Penny since I had my hours of sleep.
Matt and I took Damien to the pier and we got ice cream.
“Thank you,” I told Matt as we exited the ice cream shop.
“No problem,” he said and I knew he thought about the ice cream.
“I meant about earlier,” I chuckled. “For staying with me.”
“You know I love you,” he wrapped an arm around my waist. “It was a pleasure.”
We walked down the beach. I rolled up Damien’s uniform pants to his knees and then let him go play in the water for a while.
Matt and I found a bench where we could both see Damien. I smiled as I looked around.
“This is where you proposed,” I muttered.
“You remember,” Matt said and I turned to look at him with a grin.
“It was after I got the letter from the Marines the first time,” I recalled.
“Yes. I was thinking tomorrow after the psychiatrist, if you’re up for it, we could go to the studio and you could put your input on our work.”
I grinned widely. “I’d love to.”
He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he smiled and pecked my cheek.
“Look mommy!” Damien came up to us and showed me the sea shells he had in his hands.
“Aw, hermosos, bebe,” I said in Spanish. (Beautiful, baby.) “Want to go find more so we can make a necklace?”
“Si!” Damien grinned. “Grandma taught me how to say yes.”
I giggled. I stood up and went to the shoreline with Damien and we looked for sea shells. Matt joined us and the three of us found enough shells to make two necklaces.
We went back home and we made the necklaces.
Matt had brought out the camera and recorded us doing the necklace. It was really a wonderful time. I smiled more often.
I just needed the sleep.
I showered Damien while Matt made the food. I sent Damien to go eat while I showered myself and got dressed. Matt did the same when I got to the kitchen and took his place.