Sappy Aha Moment

It was about six in the morning. I had done what I'd been doing every Saturday night and gone to hang out with Technicolor Boy, despite all of our previous weirdness. We had spent the night watching Pixar films, and I had fallen asleep once again to the lull of his heartbeat during the end credits to 'Up'.

But now, it was about six in the morning, and I was in the throws of a rare and vivid nightmare. I woke up with a start and a little cry in the dark. I sat up in bed, trembling from the cold and the fear, head in my hands, breathing quickly, knees pulled up to my chest. I almost never have bad dreams; this one threw me for a loop.

I sat, attempting to orient myself in dull darkness of the morning, trying to slow my pounding heart and rapid breath. Suddenly, I felt a gentle hand on my back. My first thought was "Shit". Not only had I woken him up at about six in the morning, which was rude, but he was seeing me in a completely terrified and vulnerable state.

Technicolor Boy sat up next to me, rubbing my back and stroking my hair. I couldn't seem to stop shaking. Every muscle in my body was tensed with horror and confusion. He wrapped his arms around me and a gently lowered us back down to mattress. I was turned away from him so he couldn't see the fear on my face from the fleeting nightmare that had interrupted my sleep.

He held me close and whispered to me that he wouldn't let anything happen to me and that I was safe with him. As my muscles gradually relaxed, he only held me tighter, planting little kisses on the back of my neck. I exhaled into the darkness in barely audible indignation at being so weak in front of him. He moved his hand to lace his fingers with mine. At that moment, my fear melted away, replaced with a feeling of warm security.

There, in the dark, lying in his arms, completely stripped of my defenses, the beat of his heart pounding lightly in my ears, at about six in the morning, I had one little glimmer of a thought as we began to fall back to sleep.

"I'm yours"



Julia