14. Jerome

Chapter 14

Jerome

T he clock showed three in the morning, and I was completing my ninth check-in on Raven. After everything that had happened, and then getting that text, I was on edge. Things were getting out of control and the police still didn't have any leads. When were they going to get off their asses and find this guy?

This disaster might have brought Raven back into my life, putting me at the Gala that first night, but she didn't deserve this. Nobody did. Things were escalating. Someone had demonstrated their readiness to harm her if given the opportunity, and I had the responsibility to prevent that from occurring.

I stood outside her door, expecting her to be awake, running lines, but then loud snoring happened. Laughs erupted from my throat and I threw my hand over my mouth so she wouldn't hear me. How could someone so beautiful sound like a freight train?

Now that I knew she was finally getting some sleep, I would try to do the same, but with averaging two hours a night since staying here, I wasn't holding my breath.

As I headed back to my room, the events of the past few weeks replayed in my mind like a broken record. The Gala where I first saw Raven after all these years, only to have our reunion darkened by the looming threat that now hung over her. The way she looked at me with those vulnerable green eyes, silently pleading for reassurance that everything would be alright.

But nothing felt alright. The weight of responsibility I carried for Raven's safety was a heavy burden on my shoulders, one that I couldn't shake off no matter how hard I tried. She trusted me to protect her, and I wouldn't fail her.

As the night slowly turned into the early hours of the morning, I found myself unable to shake off the feeling of unease that lingered in the air. The text message, the silent threat it carried, it was all too real. I tossed and turned in bed.

Despite the circumstances that brought us together, there was a connection between us that went beyond words. As much as I wanted to act on them, I didn't want to cross that boundary. Raven meant to much to me growing up to ever do something that would make her uncomfortable. Right now, she had too much going on. If the situation diffused, then I would jump at the chance to be with her. A chance with the girl I had my first crush on all the way through high school.

Steeling myself, I rose from bed and made my way to the balcony, the cool night air offering a brief respite from the suffocating weight of uncertainty pressing down on me.

Did Raven even think of me in that way? I didn't want her feelings to be hindered because of my protection. There was a thing called trauma love where you bond with the person who you had shared a trauma with, and since I'd be around since almost the beginning, I'd be that for her.

As I stood on the balcony, gazing out at the skyline glittering under the moonlight, a sudden noise from Raven's room snapped me out of my reverie. It wasn't her snores that had woken me; it was a soft, muffled sound coming from inside her bedroom. Instantly alert, I moved swiftly back into the apartment and approached her door cautiously.

Pushing it open with a gentle touch, I saw Raven tossing and turning in her sleep. She seemed restless, trapped in the clutches of a nightmare that only she could see. Without a second thought, I stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to ease her subconscious turmoil.

"Raven, wake up," I murmured softly, my voice breaking through the chaos of her dreams. Her eyes fluttered open, wide with fear and confusion, before recognition dawned in them.

"Jerome?" she whispered, her voice trembling with vulnerability. "I... I had the same dream again."

I settled on the edge of her bed, my presence a reassuring anchor in the storm of her fears. "Tell me about it," I urged gently, knowing that sometimes voicing the terror lurking within our minds could lessen its grip on us.

Her story spilled out in hushed tones, painting a vivid picture of her darkest fears and insecurities. As she spoke, I felt a surge of protectiveness welling up inside me, an unspoken vow forming in the depths of my being to shield her from any harm that dared to threaten her peace. Drawing her into a comforting embrace, I whispered words of solace and reassurance.

"I've got you, Raven. You're safe with me," I assured her, my voice a steady anchor in the midst of her turmoil. Her fragile frame trembled in my arms, seeking solace and protection from the demons that haunted her dreams.

As the night stretched on, I stayed by her side, my presence a silent shield warding off the shadows that lingered at the edges of her consciousness.

Despite the weight of responsibility that lay heavy on my shoulders, in that quiet moment with Raven in my arms, everything else faded into insignificance. The only thing that mattered was her well-being, her peace of mind.

As the first light of dawn came through the curtains, the lines of worry etched on her face smoothed out, and for a fleeting moment, she looked like a carefree woman. It was then that I went back to my room, knowing she would be up at any time to her alarm and want to attempt to go on her morning run.