251 Fears revealed

(Winona)

I can’t move. I can’t breathe.

“Jayden?” My voice comes out softer than I intend, almost a whisper, but it’s the only thing I can manage. My throat is tight, my pulse pounds in my ears.

He doesn’t answer but I see the guilt and confusion in his eyes. He knows. He knows what I heard.

“What—what was that?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady, but failing miserably. My hands tremble, and I clench the bedsheet to stop them from shaking so much.

Jayden runs a hand through his sweat-soaked hair, his fingers, and he looks down. “It’s nothing, Winona. Just… a nightmare.”

“Bullshit it was just a nightmare,” I say. “Jayden, you called out Ashlyn’s name. You used the safe word…”

He doesn’t answer, and that silence is louder than any explanation he could offer. My stomach twists. I sit up fully now, pushing the covers off me, and the cold air hits my skin. But I don’t care.

The chill in the room has nothing on the icy knot forming in my gut.

“It was a dream then a nightmare with Ashlyn