Fallout
~ Chapter Seven ~ Written by Grey
EJ threw his sheets back with a disgusted groan, looking at the clock. He hadn't had a wet dream in… he couldn't remember how long. He did what most sex obsessed teenage males did. Took matters into his own hands - quite literally and jerked off in the shower and that took care of that charming little problem.
Now, he was forced to do the walk of shame to his bathroom. Thank fuck he was rich. If not, he would be making red faced shuffle to a bathroom down the hall, and could possibly be meeting someone else's eyes en route. Someone like, the girl he just blown his load over. His new sister. Fuck my life.
Hissing as he sat up and the sticky mess inside his boxer shorts slid further down the inside of his thigh, EJ stood up grabbing a wad of tissues from his nightstand. He didn't even want to walk to his bathroom with that mess traveling any further.
"I am a dirty pervert. I cannot believe this happened. This is all fucking Philip's fault. I am going to kick his ass when I see him! Fuck him and Chloe fucking Lane with her gift of blow jobs." He muttered darkly, trying to shift the blame to someone he could be mad at, rather than analyze his own convoluted feelings.
His ears perked when he thought he heard a muted cry on the other side of the wall. Stunned into immobility for a few seconds, when the second cry came, he flashed into hyperdrive, stuffing his hand down inside his pajama pants. Armed with a handful of Kleenex, he gave the guilt goo an abbreviated clean up, tossing the evidence of his disasterous slumber in the direction of his garbage can. Grimacing at the state of his still damp undershorts, although concealed by his flannel pants, snatched the tshirt on the bottom of his bed and bolted for the door.
EJ didn't hesitate, Sami's door open before he'd even contemplated the repercussions of his actions. He closed the door without a sound behind him, his bare feet flying across the soft carpeting to her bedside. Through the curtains beside her bed, he could just make out her sleeping form. Her blonde hair scattered all over the pillow, another cry escaped her lips and he felt his heart break.
"No! Please don't leave me!" She whined, her hands reaching for something, but he wasn't sure what.
"Sami?" he whispered, unsure of what to do. Chad had had a few nightmares as a kid and he was the only light sleeper in the house, the rest of them sleeping with fans or white noise machines, so he'd been the one to console him. But he had a feeling this was way more than that.
She cried out again, kicking one leg out from underneath the blankets. A noise of such anguished desolation coming from her throat that EJ's chest squeezed and his fists clenched. "Daddy please!"
"Sami, sweetheart," he tried a little louder, touching her gently, unsure of what he should do.
"No! No, no, no, no!" She cried. He could see the tears streaming down her cheeks and thought he was going to start crying right along with her, the burning so intense behind his own lids. "Please don't leave me alone. I'm so scared…"
"Sami," he pleaded, "darling you've got to wake up, it's ok, I'm here. I'll never leave you. But you've got to wake up, you're scaring me. Samantha, please."
The rumble of his voice coaxed her from the tortured nightscape that held her hostage and she flailed, pitching forward and latching onto his forearms. The latent strength of her small hands stealing his breath.
"EJ?" she sniffled, blinking, out of sorts. Her breath fanned out over his bare chest as her clammy fingertips dug into his arms.
"Shhh, it's ok. It's ok." He soothed. "I'm here."
Her breathing was so fast, her chest rising and falling at such a rapid rate he was tempted to raise the alarm himself to get someone in here. Anyone in here. Lexie especially, she would know what to do. What if something was wrong? Something more than the obvious.
Her entire body trembled and shook as she tried to rein it in, to get herself under control. He was awed by her. Not only by her physical presence, but by the mental strength that she obviously was calling upon.
"It's ok." He repeated, crouching down, making eye contact with her in the very dim lighting in her room. By God, she was stunning. Hair a mess, eyes glassy, tear streaked and swollen.
"I-I'm sorry." Her voice even was tremulous, and a wash of something so powerful surged over EJ. "I didn't mean to wake you." The fluttering of her eyes as she held his gaze. He saw something, so small, so broken, but she was fighting and apologizing for waking him. God, he just wanted to scoop her up and hug her and shield her away from the entire world. Slay dragons for her. A protective urge so immense he could scarcely stay upright.
"Hey, hey, it's ok. I was up anyway." Yeah no shit. Up because you busted a nut dreaming about licking between her thighs. The mocking little voice of his inner id spoke up. He couldn't hold her eyes anymore and looked down at where she was gripping onto him for dear life still. What the fuck is wrong with me?
Sami smiled up at him, her breathing had regulated and although he felt like his heart was still going to explode, at least he wasn't worried she was hyperventilating and going to pass out anymore. "Thank you. Sorry." She abruptly released his arms, tracing over the skin she'd been braced so fiercely on. A flare of tingles zapped up his nerve endings where she touched him and he shivered. He pulled away from her, desperate to avoid the sudden surge of blood that rerouted south of his waist.
"For what?" He handed her the tissues that resided on the same spot on her nightstand they did on his own and had another attack of guilt.
"For squeezing your arms, I don't know. I feel like an idiot." She shook her head, mopping at her face.
"Stop, it's fine. Really." EJ tried to reassure her, his stomach was in knots, he couldn't even imagine how she was feeling. "I wanted to talk to you earlier. I guess if I want any time alone with you, I know to schedule it with you in the middle of the night." Oh fuck, if that didn't sound creepy. She's going to run away from me screaming! He wanted to call the words back as they came pouring out of his mouth, but damned if she didn't giggle. And that made him willing to look like a creeper just to see her do it again.
"My nightmares are your nightmares." She offered, lifting a shoulder, the thin strap of Lexie's tank top sliding off the opposite side. EJ fought against his baser instinct to lower his eyes to check out what else may be on display.
"Do you want to talk about it?" While he wasn't sure he was ready to hear it, he didn't want to leave either. A perfect example of a catch 22.
An immediate tight shake of her head accompanied the return of wide eyed eye contact. EJ put his hands up, attempting to soothe, as he started to back away from the bed, "it's ok. We don't have to talk."
"EJ, wait!" She rocked up, reaching out, her hand fixing the strap of the tank. "Will you stay with me? I don't want to be alone." His mouth dried and he swallowed over his suddenly too thick tongue. Jesus, she'd tempt a saint. Why isn't she wearing one of my basketball shirts?
"S-sure." He stumbled over his own answer.
"You don't have to." She blinked, decidedly uncomfortable. EJ stooped, tugging on his own tshirt, the one he'd dropped on her floor over his head, fighting against the urge to throw it at her instead.
"No, it's ok. I'm good." He sat down on the chair next to her bed, swiveling it back and forth. Sami settled back into her cocoon of blankets and smoothed her hair back away from her face with a heavy exhale.
"Thank you." She whispered, rolling on her side to look at him, tucking one arm up under her head beneath her pillow. The other she had on top of the blanket, her fingers tightly twisted into the fabric.
"You're welcome." EJ waited for a few moments, his leg tapping up and down in a vigorous rhythm, before he couldn't take it anymore. "I'm sorry, what do I do?"
"What do you mean?" Sami yawned, visibly trying to relax her fingers one by one.
"What do I do to help you?"
"Just you being here helps."
"Then I wont go anywhere until you fall asleep." EJ promised.
She smiled again, a shy tipping of her lips as her eyes fluttered closed and his heart lurched in his chest. He wanted to climb in with her, gather her in his arms and chase away the monsters that haunted her dreams. Truth be told he wanted to do much more than that. But for the moment, that would suffice.
About an hour before dawn, EJ woke up, with an awful crick in his neck, sprawled in the chair at an ungainly angle, but Sami had slept peacefully for the rest of the night. EJ stood, stretching his arms up over his head. He groaned, his shirt riding high up on his abdomen. Feeling the crusted remnants of his earlier dreams involving her, he thanked every deity he could think of that he didn't have a repeat performance while he was sleeping feet away from her.
He smiled down at her at her soft snores and crept out, careful not to slam the door on his way back to his own room. The tissue laying on the floor next to his garbage can was like a red flag that made him want to give himself a donkey punch and be done with it.
Taking the tissues, he trudged into his bathroom, finally using the bathroom and deciding that a shower would be the best use of his time. Then maybe he'd try and catch a nap before school. School. Fuck.
~*~*~
Three hours later, he'd awakened when Chad banged on his door, peering around the casing.
"Get up schmuck. Lexie says we're leaving in ten."
"What?" he mumbled, blinking blearily at the alarm clock before practically levitating off the bed, shocked that he had been able to go back to sleep, before sprinting back to the bathroom. Stuffing his toothbrush into his mouth, he relieved himself while scrubbing away his morning breath. "Why'd you let me sleep so late?"
"Didn't realize you needed a wake up call. You're usually the first one up." Chad answered, obviously enjoying seeing EJ so flustered.
"Shit." EJ mumbled around a mouthful of foam, spitting into the toilet before he flushed.
"You decent?" Chad knocked before stepping into the bathroom.
"Yeah, whatever." EJ replied, stepping up to the sink. Condensing his morning routine into a handful of minutes, he ran his hands under the water and then through his dark medium brown locks, shaking them loose. One pump of his favored product and another tousle of his head, had his hair falling into place.
"Such a diva." Chad grinned.
"Really, you're looking rather pretty yourself today." EJ raised one brow, casting a discerning eye over Chad's pressed black pants and black button down with a thin red tie.
"Game day, d-bag."
"Fuck!" EJ swore, darting out of the bathroom and into his closet. A few moments later they descended the stairs to where the girls were waiting. By unspoken agreement, the DiMera siblings were all dressed in red and black, including their newest sibling, who if EJ was paying attention, and he certainly was, looked incredibly hot with a pair of tight fitting denim leggings with a tight red long sleeved shirt and black vest. It was going to be a long day.
