But Would It Do More Harm This Way?

I was walking through the park, my fingers interlaced with Shaun's. We were talking and laughing, until we saw Kevin on the other side of the park. "Shaun, look over there." I whispered to him. He looked over. "Fuck." He swore under his breath. We turned around and began walking the other way, away from the park. I became paranoid was I thought I could hear footsteps following us. Shaun put his arm around my waist, holding me close, whispering to me in an attempt to relax me.

I felt a few drops of water fall on me. I looked up to see very dark storm clouds with rain falling from them. I shivered a little as the wind began to pick up. Shaun held me even closer. I could still hear the footsteps, but I didn't dare turn around. It didn't take long for the thunder to start crashing and lightning to flash across the sky. I jumped. Seeing Kevin had made me jumpy and panicky. "Shh babe, it's ok." Shaun whispered to me. It was silent for a while, apart from the thunder, until someone grabbed my arm, their fingers squeezing tightly. I let out a small scream.

It was Kevin, I could tell. Shaun let go of me. When I turned to look at him, he had disappeared. I then looked at Kevin. He looked furious as he began hitting, kicking, slapping, yelling. I somehow ended up in his room. I held a baby in my arms. Kevin walked into the room and began yelling abuse at me. I looked down at the baby; he looked like Shaun. Why wasn't Shaun here? After Kevin left (most likely for drinks), I called Shaun. When he finally answered, he told me he didn't love me, he never had and he didn't want anything to do with me.

-

I woke up crying and covered in sweat. "Honey, shh, it's ok." Shaun tried to comfort me, holding me close as I cried into his bare chest. His hand rubbed my back. After a while, I had stopped crying. There was now just a few stray tears falling silently down my cheeks. "What happened?" He asked, wiping away the tears. I told him about the dream. "Felicity, I would never leave you." He assured me, kissing my lips softly.

I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. Images from my nightmare kept me awake. I kept tossing and turning in Shaun's arms. I was sure I woke him up numerous times. "City, relax and go to sleep." He mumbled sleepily. "I can't." I told him. "Don't think about it." He said before going back to sleep. But no matter what I did, I couldn't sleep. I tried counting sheep, I tried humming, I tried clearing my thoughts and taking deep breaths. Nothing.

I decided to get out of bed and go into the lounge room. I turned on the tv and watched quietly. The room gradually grew lighter. "Felicity?" I heard Shaun call out from the bedroom at about 10. He rushed out of the room. I began laughing quietly. I couldn't help it. His hair was sticking up in all directions. I snuck up behind him as he ran a hand through his hair. I wrapped my arms around him from behind.

He flinched a bit before turning around and holding me close to him. "Don't do that again." He breathed. I had to hold back a giggle. "Were you worried?" I asked. He nodded his head before resting it on my shoulder. "Did you get any sleep?" He asked. "Not after the nightmare, no." I answered. "You look awful." He stated, looking at me. "Gee, thanks babe, I love you too." I said sarcastically. He chuckled, kissing my cheek.

I went back over to the lounge, watching tv once more. Shaun joined me moments later with two bowls of cereal. He handed me one and I happily ate it. There was a knock at the door. Shaun and I looked at each other, slightly worried. "It'll be fine." He said before kissing me and going to answer the door.