A/N: Very short, but I'm uploading two chapters...Okay it's still short, but I hope you'll like them anyway.
Her breathing is even. I watch as her chest rises and falls. I wonder if a nightmare is inevitable or if they are a thing of the past. I pull my knees to my chin and rock slowly back and forth to the sound of her breathing.
The decanter hit the fireplace and shattered. Red wine seeped out as I jumped and turned to see Nikolas' face contorted. At once he seemed heartbroken, betrayed, furious and frightened.
"That bastard!" He grabbed a vase filled with flowers Kristina had picked yesterday and threw it against the hearth. "Bastard!" he screamed. "If you weren't dead I'd kill you myself."
"Nikolas..." I whispered his name. I'd never seen him so angry, so out of control. Tears were tracking down his cheeks unheeded.
"Sick son of a bitch...how could you?"
"Nikolas, who are you talking about? I told you, Alexis never said who it..."
He looked at me oddly, as if he'd forgotten I was in the room at all. "Sam."
Sunlight creeps through the drapes. She had made it through the night without a bad dream. This makes me oddly happy. My head is heavy, I crawl onto her bed, kiss her, tell her "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry for everything," and let sleep overtake me.
We stared at one another for an eternity. Nikolas finally looked away, covered his face with his hands. Therewas another emotion I hadn't recognized at first. Shame.
Part of mewas angry. This didn't happen to him, it wasn't his mother, it wasn't his..."Oh my God."
"Sam."
"Oh my god, oh my god, ohmygod."
"Sam." Nikolas said urgently, he grabbed both my arms and forced me to meet his gaze. "I could be wrong...'
"You aren't wrong. Oh my god Nikolas, it was Stavros..."