I spent the whole rest of the day just walking around the mansion, enjoying my newly returned freedom. I introduced myself to every kid that walked by, shaking their hands eagerly.
At dinner, I sat with Alex in our original seats. Kids stared at me, but I was just glad I could be in the same room so they could stare.
I spent the evening in the rec room with Alex and a few other kids. Around eleven, we all headed to our separate rooms for the night. I got dressed in my pajamas, turned my main light off, turned my lamp on and stood next to my bed.
The blanket was folded away from the pillow and rested against the footboard. The way it was just thrown away, pushed away, reminded me of Azazel standing over me, the terror only beginning.
I felt the fear creep up on me and the fact that I was afraid of my own bed made me even more terrified. I took a step back from the bed and crossed my arms tightly against my chest. I slowly backed away and opened the door, continuing to watch the bed, waiting for a plume of red smoke to appear. I backed out of the room and slammed the door shut.
I turned my back to the door and took a deep breath, brushing the hair out of my eyes. Then, I found myself walking quickly toward Professor Xavier's room.
I reached the two doors leading into his room and stopped. Angst filled my heart as my hand hung in mid-air in front of the door knob. I had never been in his bedroom before and I felt almost as if I was invading his personal space, the one place where his students didn't bother him. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was allowed to go in.
"You can come in," I heard softly in my mind.
My hand moved to the door knob, turned it and the door creaked open.
"What can I help you with?" he asked sweetly.
I walked into the room and almost smiled. The professor sat in his bed, the covers pulled over his legs snuggly. His lamp was on and filled the room with a warm light. He was holding a hefty looking book.
"I, um…." I laughed, embarrassed. "I feel uncomfortable being alone…at night."
He looked at me with loving eyes. "You're safe now. You know that."
"Yeah, I know. I don't know what came over me, but I'm just…scared."
"She can stay with me."
I turned around and Alex was standing in the doorway, his eyes focused on me.
"I can fit another bed in my room," he said.
I turned back to the professor, smiling.
"That could work," I said. "Having someone there."
Professor Xavier's eyes shifted from me to Alex and back to me as he thought about what to do. He sighed deeply through his nose.
"Ok."
I smiled. "Thank you!"
I turned around and Alex was smiling too, his dimples spreading across his cheeks.
I shouted more thank you's toward the professor as I hugged Alex and we went back to our rooms. We went into my room first and the two of us lifted the bed and brought it into his room.
"Here," said Alex, "you can put your bed next to mine."
We turned the bed ninety degrees and placed it down or so to the right of Alex's. Once we set it down, we pushed the headboard against the wall.
"So," he said, brushing his hands off, "you're officially my new roommate."
I smiled as I took a seat on my bed and he sat on his. We began to talk an once we started, we didn't stop. We talked long into the night- I lost count of how many times I had to bite into my pillow to prevent myself from laughing too loudly.
Around two in the morning, I moved from my bed to his. As the night went on, we ended up lying down together- Alex laid on his back and I snuggled up against his chest, using his arm around my shoulder as a head rest.
As I continued listening to him talk, his heartbeat began to slowly morph into the melody of a lullaby. I felt my eyelids turn heavy and the sound of his voice grew quiet as the constant beats sent me to sleep. That was the first night I wasn't woken up by nightmares.
