13. Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Killian
“H elp! Someone help me!”
I jolt awake from the sudden shrieking. “Naomi!”
Quickly, I look to the screen to see her tossing and turning in bed from a night terror. Without a second thought, I bolt toward her bedroom.
Watching her breakdown in the room was painful, but so much worse knowing I wouldn’t be able to be the one to help her through it. She eventually stopped crying and stoically got herself into bed. I must’ve fallen asleep at my desk watching her.
“Please . . . please, stop!” I hear her still screaming as I get closer to her room, slowing my pace—not wanting to startle her more.
Now what?
I can’t really wake her up right now because that may make it worse. Night terrors are such infuriating things. Tiptoeing to her bed, I try to think of how best I can help her. Even though I’m probably the last person she wants to see right now, I don’t want her to wake up alone. Especially if she wakes in a panic.
It’s pretty dark in here with the lights off. Using my hands to maneuver, I look for the TV remote. Thankfully, it’s on the nightstand on the opposite side from where Naomi’s sleeping. Choosing to risk it, I sit on the bed over the covers as I turn the TV on and click the mute button. Going to a streaming service, I put on the best comfort show with the subtitles on. And do all I can do . . . wait.
“STOP!” She jolts up five minutes into the episode, thrashing her arms and legs. It takes everything in me not to grab her to comfort her, but she needs space to let it out and realize where she is. Naomi is hyperventilating. She looks up at the TV, confused, then to the side of the bed I’m on. “Killian?”
“Hi, Naomi. I’m sorry — ”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she demands, pulling the covers over herself for protection. “Did you . . . did you hear me?”
I purse my lips in a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”
She groans and falls back into her pillow. “You and fucking Quinn would get along great.”
“I’m glad you had someone there for you.”
“At least you weren’t staring at me.” She looks toward the TV. “Is that Gilmore Girls ?”
“Yeah. Some of the best episodes in my opinion. I was always a Team Jess guy,” I say.
“I mean, clearly. He was Luke 2.0 and always meant to be endgame. They shoulda ended up together during the Yale years when he returned and knocked some sense into her stupid ass.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I say and pause before I ask, “Do you want to talk about your nightmare?”
“No!” she spits out and then starts gnawing at her bottom lip. My God, I want to be that lip right now. After some contemplative facial expressions she adds, “How did you start watching this show? It’s not a show I’d expect a serial-killer-turned-stalker-slash-kidnapper to watch . . .”
“My mom. It was our thing. Every weekend we would spend Sunday watching the latest episode.” A smile tugs at my lips at the memories. “We liked to think that even though we had money like the Gilmores, we were more like Rory and Lorelei. Humble and the best of friends.”
Naomi raises an eyebrow at me. “You and humble aren’t even on the same planet, let alone zip code.”
“Ha! Maybe not anymore. But I was a much different person back then.”
“Me too,” she whispers sadly.
“How about we just watch the show for a bit until you’re ready to go back to sleep?”
She looks at me with apprehension as she fidgets with her necklace. “Okay,” she says out loud, but it’s barely audible. Naomi coughs, finding her voice and gumption. “But only for a few minutes . . . I need the distraction.”
I turn on the audio and let the sounds of the Gilmore girls fill the room. We watch about two and a half episodes before she starts to yawn.
“I think maybe it’s time to call it a night,” I say as I pause the episode.
Naomi yawns again. “I think you’re right. Thank you for staying with me.”
“Glad to be of service, firecracker.” I power off the TV and place the remote back. “I hope you’re able to rest without nightmares now.”
She stares at me for a long, hard moment before saying, “The nightmares will never fully go away until I know my mom can rest in peace. Bad night, Killer. ” And with that last sentence she turns her back to me—dismissing me.
I know how important the bond between a parent and their child is. There wasn’t much to go on surrounding her mother’s death. I didn’t look that hard into it, focusing more on her more recent history, but I think now’s the time. When I had those non-stop nightmares, they only went away when I got justice.
I walk out of her room to go to my own, making sure that my phone alerts are on in case she has another nightmare. As I walk away, I wonder how impossible it’ll be to get justice for Naomi. But for now, I’m so relaxed knowing I’ll be crashing as soon as I get to my room.