Chapter 24
By the time I get home, I'm exhausted.
Not mentally.
Physically.
The kind of tired that settles deep into your bones after too many hours on base and not enough sleep for days.
I barely make it through a shower before collapsing into bed.
The apartment is quiet.
No tiny footsteps upstairs.
No late-night pacing.
No Ava crying through the walls.
Just silence.
For once, I think I might actually sleep properly.
Then, sometime in the middle of the night
A scream rips through the building.
I'm awake instantly.
Adrenaline hits before my brain fully catches up.
Another sound follows.
Ava crying.
Sharp. Terrified.
Chloe.
I'm already moving before I consciously decide to.
Out the door and next door.
The scream comes again from inside the apartment, and something cold settles hard in my chest.
I pound once against the door.
"Chloe!"
No response.
Just another panicked sound from inside.
The door isn't fully latched.
I shove it open immediately.
The apartment is dark except for the faint hallway light spilling inside.
Ava is screaming from the portable crib in the lounge room.
But Chloe—
Chloe is thrashing in bed.
Still asleep.
Barely.
"Stop", she gasps brokenly. "No, no"
My chest tightens hard.
Nightmare.
A bad one.
I move toward her quickly.
"Chloe," I say sharply, reaching for her shoulder. "Hey. Wake up."
She fights harder instantly.
"No!"
Her hands shove at me blindly, panic written into every movement.
She's not awake.
Not really.
I grab her wrists carefully before she accidentally hurts herself.
"Chloe. Wake up."
Her breathing is frantic.
Tears streak across her face even in sleep.
Then suddenly her eyes snap open.
Wild.
Terrified.
And completely unseeing.
She looks straight at me, and panic detonates across her face.
"No! Get off me!"
Before I can react properly, she swings at me hard, pure survival instinct.
I catch her wrist automatically.
"Chloe"
"Don't touch me!"
Another hit.
Another shove.
She's fighting like she genuinely thinks she's in danger.
Like she thinks I'm someone else.
And then she says it.
"Ryan, stop!"
The name hits like a punch to the chest.
Everything clicks into place all at once.
Jesus Christ.
She tries to scramble backward off the bed, but she's panicking too hard to think clearly, movements tangled in blankets and terror.
"Chloe," I say firmly, catching her before she falls. "It's me."
She doesn't hear me.
Or maybe she can't.
Her breathing is ragged now, full panic taking over as she fights harder against me.
Military training kicks in automatically.
Controlled.
Precise.
I catch both her wrists and pin them gently but firmly against the mattress before she can hurt herself or bolt straight into a wall.
"Chloe." My voice sharpens. "Look at me."
She struggles violently for another second.
Then another.
Terror everywhere in her expression.
"It's Mason," I say firmly. "You're safe."
Her body jerks beneath mine, breath breaking hard.
"Mason," I repeat. "Look at me."
Finally, her eyes focus properly.
Confusion crashes into the panic.
Then horror.
Everything in her suddenly collapses.
The fight drains out of her so fast it almost feels like someone cut the strings loose.
A broken sound leaves her throat.
"Mason...?"
"Yeah," I say immediately, softening my grip. "Yeah, sweetheart. It's me."
Her chest heaves violently.
She looks around the room like she's trying to figure out what's real.
Then she realises I'm holding her down.
Realises she was fighting me.
Humiliation flashes across her face instantly.
"Oh my God"
"Hey." I let go of her wrists immediately. "Don't."
Ava is still crying hard in the other room.
Chloe flinches violently at the sound, as if it physically hurts her.
"I'm sorry," she gasps, trying to sit up too quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Chloe."
My voice comes out firmer this time.
She freezes.
I keep my hands gentle when I place them on her shoulders again.
"You have nothing to apologise for."
Her eyes fill immediately.
That seems worse somehow.
Because she looks like she expects anger.
Fear.
Disgust.
Instead, all I feel is this awful ache in my chest.
She starts shaking.
Not subtle trembling.
Full-body shaking like adrenaline is crashing out of her system too fast.
"Hey," I say quietly now. "Breathe for me."
Ava cries harder.
"I need to get Ava," Chloe says instantly, trying to move again.
"I've got her."
"You don't have to-"
"I know."
Same words as always.
Different meaning now.
I grab Ava quickly from the crib, settling her automatically against my shoulder while Chloe sits frozen on the bed, trying not to fall apart in front of me.
Ava calms faster once she's being held.
Chloe notices.
That seems to hurt her, too.
I sit carefully beside her on the bed, Ava tucked securely against my chest.
For a second, Chloe stares at us both like she doesn't know what to do.
Then quietly:
"I thought you were him."
There it is.
The thing we both already knew.
I nod once.
"I know."
Her face crumples slightly.
"I hit you."
"You were scared."
"I could've hurt you."
"You didn't."
Silence fills the room.
Heavy.
Raw.
Then suddenly she's crying.
Not loudly.
Which somehow makes it worse.
Silent tears slide down her face while she tries desperately not to make a sound.
Something in my chest twists painfully.
I shift Ava carefully into one arm and reach for Chloe with the other.
She comes immediately.
Like she's too exhausted to hold herself upright anymore.
I pull her against my chest carefully, one hand steady at the back of her head, while Ava sleeps against my shoulder between us.
"It's okay," I murmur.
She shakes her head against me.
"No, it's not."
"Yeah," I say softly. "It is."
Because none of this changes anything.
If anything-
No.
I tighten my arms around her slightly.
Chloe's breathing slowly starts evening out against my chest.
The adrenaline leaves her in waves.
Exhaustion replaces it.
Eventually, her grip on my shirt loosens slightly.
Then more.
I look down.
Asleep again.
Completely worn out.
I glance toward the clock.
3:12 AM.
There's no chance in hell I'm leaving now.
So I settle back carefully against the headboard with Chloe tucked against my side and Ava asleep on my chest.
Protective instinct sits heavy and sharp beneath my ribs.
Not temporary anymore.
Not casual.
Mine to protect.
Both of them.
And sometime before dawn, with Chloe finally sleeping peacefully against me—
I realise I'm already acting as if I love them.