It's exactly two in the morning, when the sheets start rustling, the mattress starts dipping, and the headboard starts banging against the bedroom wall. Jolts of adrenaline run through Charlotte's body as she thrashes around and her neck veins extend as she screams. She knocks her clock off the bedside table in the process, it falling to the floor and busting apart.

Cooper stirs and immediately sits up. He turns his body towards her and grabs hold of her shoulder, giving her a hard shove. "Charlotte." He gives her another one. "Charlotte, wake up." He looks up and his eye catches a small shadow. He faces the bedroom partition and sighs.

Charlotte settles back down and her eyes shoot open. She's panting now, sweat's dripping down her cheeks, and her body's trembling.

He looks at her and brushes her hair out of her eyes. "You're ok," he reassures. "Just breathe. I'll be right back," he says and stands up, walking over Betsey, who's now standing in the bedroom, clutching a ratty stuffed horse against her chest. He smoothes down her brown hair and smiles. "Let's get you back to bed."

Betsey looks around him and swallows. "Is Charlotte ok?"

He nods. "She will be." He guides the child out of the room and walks her back through the kitchen.


"Up you go." Cooper hoists Betsey up into the air and sets her down in her bed, pulling the sheets up to her neck.

Betsey giggles and settles back into bed. "What's wrong with Charlotte?" Betsey asks, shifting on the mattress.

He sits on the edge of the bed and twists his body towards her.

"Did she have a scary dream?"

He nods. "Uh-huh, a really scary one."

"Give her a glass of warm milk. When I had really scary dreams, my daddy used to give me a glass of warm milk and it helped."

He smiles. "I'll try that." He pauses. "You sleeping ok?"

She nods. "It's hot in here."

"I'll adjust the air."

"Cooper?"

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Can I have a glass of water?" She pauses. "Please," she adds.

"Sure. I'll be right back." He stands up and heads into the kitchen. He comes back into the room with a glass of water. He sticks a pink straw in the drink and sets it on the nightstand.

"Thanks." Betsey sits up and grabs the glass, taking a few small sips.

He takes the glass from her and sets it back down. He gives her a kiss on the top of her head and turns off the light. "Sleep tight."

Betsey rolls onto her side and curls into a ball, hugging her horse close to her body. She closes her eyes and lets out a breath. "Warm milk, Cooper," she reminds him, just before falling back asleep.

He smiles and leaves her room, shutting the door. He adjusts the thermostat and stops off in the kitchen.


Cooper walks into his and Charlotte's bedroom and shuts the partition. He sighs, seeing her sitting up in bed, still a little shaken up. He hands her the glass of milk and kisses the top of her head. "Betsey says Dell used to give her a glass of warm milk when she had bad dreams. It helps, apparently."

Charlotte cracks a smile and turns her head, looking at him. "Thank you." She pauses to take a sip. She swallows and lets out a breath through her nose.

"You need anything?"

She shakes her head. "I'm ok." She finishes the milk and sets the empty glass on her nightstand. She slides down her pillows and rolls onto her side, letting her eyes fall shut again. She lies completely still, allowing her heartbeat and her breathing to return to their normal rhythms, and eventually her exhaustion takes over and she falls back asleep.

He sighs. He'll never get used to this—seeing his wife in this much pain and not being able to do anything to comfort her. He's grateful these nights are few and far between now, not like how they were right after her assault, but still, every time she wakes up screaming, it kills him.

She makes a noise as she sighs in her sleep, and rolls onto her back.

He smiles and crawls back into bed. He lowers his head and presses a kiss to her shoulder, running his finger down her arm. "Goodnight," he whispers, closing his eyes and falling back asleep.


The next morning, Charlotte's sitting at the kitchen island, stirring her coffee with a spoon. She turns her head and twists her mouth into a faint smile when Betsey walks in. "Good mornin'."

Betsey rubs her eyes and yawns.

"Are you hungry?"

Betsey nods, yawning again. "Uh-huh."

Charlotte slips off the stool and looks at the child. "What do you feel like havin'?" She pauses. "I can make you eggs and toast or there's cereal."

"What kind of cereal?"

Charlotte opens the pantry and pulls out the sliding drawer. "Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, or Honey Nut Cheerios."

"Cheerios."

Charlotte grabs the box and closes the pantry door. "Did I scare you this mornin'?" She asks, in the middle of pouring a bowl of cereal.

"Cooper said you were having a bad dream."

"I was."

"But you're ok now?"

"I'm ok."

"Was there a monster in your dream? There're always monsters in my bad dreams."

Charlotte sighs and nods. "Mmhmm."

"I don't like monster dreams."

"Me neither." Charlotte pours in the milk and slips a spoon in. She pushes the bowl towards the edge of the island and puts everything away.

Betsey gets up onto one of the stools and leans over, grabbing her spoon and shoveling the cereal into her mouth. "Where's Cooper?"

"Chew, swallow, and then speak."

Betsey swallows. "Where's Cooper?"

"He's in the shower. He'll be out soon." Charlotte sits back down and takes a sip of her now lukewarm coffee. "Does your head hurt?"

"Not right now."

"Let me know if and when it starts to, ok?"

Betsey nods. "Ok."

Charlotte smiles and takes another sip. As she sits at the island with Betsey, watching to the eight year-old eat her breakfast, a sense of calm washes over her. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.


Charlotte's standing in the doorway of the kitchen, drinking a glass of iced tea, watching Betsey as she sits on the couch coloring. She feels Cooper slide up beside her and clink his glass against hers. She turns her head and smiles.

Cooper smiles back. "You ok?"

She nods. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He raises an eyebrow and tweaks part of his mouth upwards.

She sighs. "I'm fine."

He presses a kiss to her cheek and smiles. "Good." He pauses. "So why are we staring at Betsey?"

She laughs and gives him a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know." She pauses. "You didn't tell her—when you told her I had a nightmare, did you tell her what it was about?"

"Of course not, Charlotte."

She lets out a breath and leans against him a little.

"I didn't actually tell her anything. She asked me if you were having a scary dream and I said yes. I wouldn't tell her—I don't even wanna think about the reason you're having nightmares, so I'm not going to tell her the specifics. Besides, she's a child. It isn't her business."

Betsey turns her head. "Charlotte, come here. I wanna show you my picture."

Cooper squeezes her shoulder and kisses the side of her head before disappearing into the kitchen.


Charlotte walks over to Betsey and leans over the couch. "Show me."

Betsey tilts the computer paper up and smiles. "That's me riding a horse."

"Who's that other person?"

"You."

"Me?"

Betsey nods. "Uh-huh."

Charlotte blinks and swallows, sucking on her bottom lip. "That's, uh, that's a great drawing."

Betsey pats the cushion beside her. "Come sit." She pushes some paper to the side and sets the markers and crayons in the middle.

Charlotte walks around the couch and sinks down into the cushion. "Oh, you want me to color with you?"

Betsey nods. "Will you? Pleeeease?"

Charlotte smiles and nods. "I'll color with you, but I gotta warn ya, I'm not very good at it."

"You don't have to be good at it. You just gotta like doing it."

Charlotte picks up a purple marker and starts to draw something.

Cooper appears in the doorway of the kitchen again, his glass refilled, and he looks over at the couch. He can hear whispering and soft laughter from where he's standing and he can't help but smile. She always worries for no reason. He stands there, watching for a little bit longer, and then feeling left out, he walks over to the couch. "Can I join you two?"

Betsey turns her head and smiles. "Cooper!"

He smiles.

"Come sit."

He walks around the couch and sits on the other side of Betsey, accepting her paper and markers with a smile. "What's everyone drawing?"

"Can we put this picture in my room?"

He nods. "I assume that's you, but who's that other person?"

"That's Charlotte."

He glances over at his wife and then looks at Betsey. "I'll hang it up for you after we're done, how's that?"

"Sounds great." Betsey pauses. "What are you gonna draw?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. What should I draw?"

"A rainbow."

"Does this rainbow have a pot of gold?"

"Duh, Cooper. All rainbows have pots of gold."

"Right, duh." He laughs and grabs a red marker. "What are you drawing, Char?"

"A flower."

Betsey looks over and smiles. "Can we put that in my room too?"

Charlotte nods. "If you want." She gets up and squeezes Cooper's shoulder as she walks into the bedroom.

He turns around and then looks at Betsey. "I'll be right back. Keep coloring." He stands up and follows his wife into the bedroom, shutting the partition.


Charlotte sits on the edge of the bed and looks up at her husband.

Cooper raises an eyebrow. "You ok?"

She nods. "She's callin' it her room, Cooper."

"Yeah, so?"

She rolls her eyes. "You did tell her this was just temporary, didn't you?"

He doesn't say anything.

"Cooper."

He sighs.

"She's getting attached."

They just stare at each other for a good five minutes, saying everything they need to say with just a squint or a slight raise of an eyebrow.

Betsey opens the screen and looks at them. "Did I do something wrong?"

Cooper turns around and shakes his head. "No, sweetie. Go back into the living room. Charlotte and I will be right there."

Betsey nods. "I'm gonna go put the picture in my room." She pauses. "I love my new room, Cooper."

He smiles. "Go find out where you wanna put it and I'll come hang it up."

"I wanna stay here forever." Betsey disappears into the living to grab her picture.

"Cooper." Charlotte shifts on the mattress and leans forward, resting her head in her hands. "This is just great." She swallows.

"I'll tell her." He starts to walk towards the living room, but stops and turns around. "What exactly am I supposed to tell her?"

She shrugs. "You're askin' the wrong person, Coop." She pauses. "You should have just told her in the beginning that this was just a temporary arrangement."

"Yeah, you're one to talk."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, we both know you're so great at being upfront with people."

She rolls her eyes. "If you're gonna be that way—it's your mess, so you fix it." She stands up and disappears into the bathroom. When she walks out, he's sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning all the way, so his back is flush with the mattress.

He turns his head when he hears the bathroom door open. "Please help."

She sighs. "Don't tell her anythin' yet. Give me some time to make my final decision. We can tell her together."

"Can you tell me what side you're leaning towards?"

She just smiles and that gets him to sit up straight and contort his body towards her. She doesn't need to say a thing.

"I'm gonna go hang up those pictures for Betsey." He stands up and gives her a soft peck on her cheek as he passes.

"Wait for me." She slips her hand in his and they walk into the living room, heading through the kitchen and into Betsey's room.


Glad you like this story so far

:)