THUNDER
It was a rainy night in District 2. There was heavy rain, lightning stroke, and the wind was blowing hard. Enobaria was shaken awake when she heard the thunder. She had another nightmare again, but she never made a big fuss about them. Enobaria, scared a little that she might have woken up Brutus, looked over her side to see he was sound asleep. Even though Enobaria never admitted it to anyone, she was scared. The thunder reminded her of her games. Thunder sounded when she had to sit outside in the rain, when she hunted for food, even when she won.
A couple of hours later, she awoke again. Only this time, she jumped on the bed – which caused Brutus to wake up from his slumber. She turned around to see Brutus awake and looking at her with a look of concern, confusion, and comfort. "Baria, are you okay?"
"Fine," she replied, nestling deeper into the sheets. She curled up into a ball and wrapped the sheets around her, clutching them tightly. Brutus knew she wasn't okay because she jumped when the thunder hit again. "I'm not okay."
Brutus gave her a look of concern and brought her closer to him. They never slept that close, ever. Enobaria had a lot of bad experiences when she was younger and she didn't like physical contact. He respected that, but he also wished it were different. "What's wrong, baby?"
"The thunder takes me back," she answered, digging her nails into his shoulder when thunder stroke again.
Brutus could feel tears wetting his shirt. "Shh, shh. It's okay. You're safe now." He knew she calmed down once the tears stopped rolling. Once she was calm, she nestled her head into the nape of his neck, hand on his chest. Brutus snaked his arm around her small waist, his chin resting on the top of her head. He nestled his mouth and nose in her long, dark, silky hair. "Are you still scared?"
"No," she whispered. "Not anymore."
Brutus, feeling relieved, pecked her lips and watched her as she fell asleep. "Goodnight, baby. Sleep well."
And they did.
THE END