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I'm startled awake by Lisa screaming out in her sleep. Then she wraps herself around me tightly. So tightly, in fact, that I can't move at all.

"Too tight," I whisper. I try to squirm, but it's of little use. "You gotta let up, Lisa."

She doesn't. A second later I feel a drop of water on my arm and Lisa gasps for breath. She's crying. She's having a nightmare. My heart immediately splinters open for the pain she must be feeling. I need to wake her and make her realize we're both okay and nowhere near Everett.

"Lisa, wake up," I say gently while rubbing her arm. "Come on, baby, open your eyes. You're dreaming." Maybe if I use the pet name she has for me, I can cut through the nightmare. She has never called me that until we finally got together. Hopefully, I can trigger something in her to make her realize it's just a dream.

She calls out again. "No, you have to stop." She's crying hard, choking on each word. "Please, no more."

Tears well in my eyes. I'm crying along with her. Suddenly, she lets go and rolls away from me. I quickly sit up and move so I'm facing her. The early morning sun is coming through the window, giving me just enough light that I can see her eyes are squeezed shut. Her legs are spread as her body arches off the bed. Tears are cascading down her cheeks. Oh, my God, Everett must be touching her in her dream. I'm going to hurt that motherfucker for ever touching Lisa.

I find the switch on the lamp by the bed and turn it on. Then I get up and go to the other nightstand and do the same there. I'm afraid if I touch her she'll mistake me for Everett.

"Lisa, wake up. It's not real. Come on, baby. Listen to my voice. He's not here. He's not touching you. It's only you and me. No one else." Her body relaxes a little, but she still doesn't wake. I snap my fingers. Nothing. I clap my hands loudly. That works. She sits straight up in bed, her eyes wide, her head swiveling around trying to figure out where she is. They eventually land on me and hold my gaze. Her breathing is coming fast, and I notice a bead of sweat slide down her face.

"It was only a dream," I say, softly. She doesn't move or acknowledge she understands me. "Can you hear me, Lisa?" She nods. "You're in Mino's home. You're safe. It's only us here."

Hesitantly, I close the distance between us but don't reach out to touch her. She lifts one of her hands to caress my cheek, and I don't miss how it trembles. Then she gently moves me so my back is facing her. She lifts the shirt I fell asleep in and runs her shaking hand up and down my spine.

I glance over my shoulder. "I'm okay."

Her voice is hoarse. "He hit you."

I shake my head. "No, I've been right here with you all along. I'm safe. We're safe."

She reaches forward to wrap her arm around my waist and pull me back onto the bed, my back to her chest. She brushes my hair aside as I settle between her legs. Her nose lightly drags over my neck. I lay my hands over hers, which are holding me tight.

"It felt so real," she mutters against my skin.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help in some way. I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull you out of your nightmare."

"You are helping. You're here. That helps more than anything else."

I want to ask her what happened to me in her nightmare, but I don't dare. I also won't ask what was happening to her. My mind can imagine that all on its own.

We sit on the bed for a while, me staying in her arms as she begins to relax some, so I can turn and place my ear to her chest to hear her heart beat steadily. She runs her fingers through my hair while the room remains bathed in silence.

Around ten thirty in the morning, Mino comes home. Lisa's bedroom door is open since we were the only ones home. Lisa has drifted back to sleep while I stayed awake. I wanted to be able to wake her again, just in case she had another nightmare.

I can hear Mino walking up the hallway. She stops in front of Lisa's door and peers in. I hold my finger to my lips, then as carefully as possible, rise from the bed. Mino's eyes rake me over before he quirks an eyebrow at me. Shit. I'm still in a t-shirt. My bag is still in Lisa's truck. I open one drawer quietly, then another. Luckily, I find a pair of mesh shorts to put on. They are too big, but it's better than nothing. I forgo the bra. I'm covered. That's what matters. Plus, Mino has no romantic interest in me, and he would never go behind Lisa's back like that.

Gently closing the door behind me, I leave the bedroom, then follow Mino to the kitchen. My stomach growls, alerting me that I need food.

Mino says nothing as we enter the kitchen. He reaches in one of the upper cabinets and takes out two bowls and a box of cereal. He places them on the table while I grab milk and juice. He takes out a glass for each of us and we sit down to eat. I don't smile, nor do I speak. I'm still wrapped up in my head, worried about Lisa and wondering if she'll ever fully be able to escape Everett.

"Did she have a nightmare?" Mino asks.

I lift my head and nod. "It wasn't easy waking her. She's been back asleep for a little bit."

"I've tried waking her and can't do it every time. Some nights are easy; others it's impossible. I'm not sure what to do."

"She's still seeing the doctor, right?"

Mino nods. "Once a week. She doesn't tell me much, but I notice when she comes home she's in a better mood. Seems to be lighter, if that makes sense."

"It does. She talks to someone, and maybe it lifts some of the weight she's been carrying around."

"How are things going between you two?"

"It's still new, but I feel like I've been with her for a long time. Maybe it's because I've known her for years. Well, not known her. I never really knew her until that day at her house. But she's not a stranger to me."

He chuckles. "I don't know if that's good or bad."

I smile. "It's good. I care deeply for her. Everything between us is very intense."

"I've noticed that about Lisa, especially when it comes to you. There's no middle ground, especially not now that you two are finally together. I think she'd burn down the world if it meant you never felt an ounce of pain again. She regrets everything that happened in high school. It weighs on her a lot."

"I know. We've talked about it. There's not much more to say. She needs to trust that I'm being truthful with her. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to. I also wouldn't be with her if I were still hurt over the past. What she went through," I shake my head. "I still can't wrap my head around it. Yes, she picked on me in high school, but I would never have guessed she was going through all she was at home."

"No, me neither. She kept it buried deep."

Lisa's bedroom door flies open a second before she races down the hallway. When she sees me sitting at the table with Mino, eating breakfast, she stops and stares at me. Her chest heaving. I'm not sure what happened, but I immediately stand and walk toward her. She engulfs me in her arms when I'm close. Mino gets up from the table and drops his bowl in the sink. He winks at me as he walks by to go to his room.

I pull back from Lisa and gaze up into her eyes. My hand softly caresses her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I thought you left."

"I wouldn't leave without telling you, and how would I get anywhere?" I smile. "You drove me here. I don't have my car."

"I wasn't thinking about that. Only that when I woke, you weren't in my arms or bed. I panicked." She releases me and runs her hand through her hair. "I'm sorry," she mutters. "I keep waiting for you to bail. I'm a mess. I know that, yet you stay and I have no idea why."

I lean forward and press my lips to hers for a moment and pull back. "Because you're worth it."

She squeezes her eyes shut and rests her forehead on mine. "You've always been my weakness."

"I want to be your strength. The person who helps lift you up and makes you see just how amazing you are."

Days blur into weeks in the blink of an eye. Being with Lisa is explosive, intense, and so fucking worth every second. Every day during the week, I work with Jisoo, and every night I spend in bed with Lisa, whether it be hers or mine. The weekend we spend mostly at mine unless Mino goes out. I do love being at his cabin. It feels like a vacation every time I'm there. The way it's nestled in the mountains, away from everyone and everything, it's perfect.

Lisa's nightmares have lessened, thankfully. She still gets them and I'm usually in them, but she's been working with her psychologist weekly. I've been to one of her appointments and am scheduled to go to another with her. The more she understands why things are happening, or why she behaves a certain way, the better she deals with it. Knowledge really is power, especially in Lisa's case.

Her business has also really picked up. Jisoo had a problem with her laptop one day and Lisa was able to come over and fix it easily. She got lucky that it wasn't a major issue. Since then, she's spread word to her friends locally and around the country about how good Lisa is. Lisa gets calls from all over and can remotely connect to their machine and diagnose what's wrong, if they don't live near us. There are some times when she can't, but mostly she's able to fix it. Work keeping her busy has also been good for her. It leaves little time for her mind to remember all the awful things that have happened to her.

I also thank the stars above every day that neither of us runs into Everett. With me working so close to Lisa's old house and her coming up to fix things as needed, it's been nothing short of a miracle. It's only a matter of time, though. There's no way we can avoid Everett and Risa forever. I'm not worried about me. I can take whatever they have to say. It's what they, well, mostly Everett would say to Lisa that has me on edge. It's like things have been too good, and I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Jisoo is leaving tomorrow for a signing in California and asked if I'd like to come with her. I've never been to a book signing and am excited to go. It's only for two nights and then we'll be back in Arrow Falls. I'm nervous about leaving Lisa, though she has Mino. I made Mino promise to stay with Lisa all weekend and not go out trolling for his next conquest. He laughed at me and said he'd be happy to watch over her while I was away.

I'm hoping Lisa stays at the cabin and doesn't leave. It's wrong of me to hope that. I mean, she's an adult. She can do whatever she wants, but Everett is out there somewhere. He has to leave his house to go shopping, get gas in his car, or whatever. Or what if Lisa sees her mom and she says something to trigger her? She's been going to therapy and doing so well, I just don't want anything to set her back.

Then there is the stress of my job. This is the first time I booked travel for Jisoo. Sure, I did it a ton for Risa, but this is different. Jisoo needs a lot of things to go with her to an event. We shipped books, and anything else we could, out to one of her friends who is local to the signing. She will be driving them in for her. I'm nervous about fucking up during the event. She's a hugely popular author. What if I do or say something wrong?

Maybe I should stay home. I don't want to let her down and knew this was part of the job. It's only two nights. I can do this. I have to look on the bright side. I'll get to meet some authors I've only ever read. Plus, I'm sure the signing will be a lot of fun, and I've never been to California. Here's to hoping for a great weekend for us all.