Nightmares

It was the nightmares that woke her. They were always the same. She'd wake up, her hands clutching her throat, sweat dripping from her body. Every night they got worse, and she'd spend some nights lying awake, refusing to let her mind drift away. She'd often mumble in her sleep, words and phrases that made no sense. She always found herself screaming as she woke and most nights she couldn't sleep. Dark, blurred faces would cloud her mind and rugged voices mumbled in her head. The nightmare always ended the same, it never changed. But she'd changed. She could feel it within herself, and she knew others could see it. They looked and spoke to her differently; with pity and sympathy. She hated it. She knew the nightmares, that night had changed her for the worst, and there was nothing she, or anyone, could do about it.

The nightmare would end as the blurred face of a man with hollow eyes drove his razor into her throat as she—

She shot up from the pillow, her heart racing, tears rolling down her cheeks, clouding her eyes. Her voice pierced the silence and Ghastly jumped up, wrapping his muscular arms around her bare body.

"Tanith, Tanith, Tan, calm down baby, it was just the nightmare. I'm here, I'm here." Ghastly whispered into her hair as he pulled her into his chest. She buried herself into his exposed torso as he ran his hands through her hair, speaking softly into it. "I'm here," he said again, softly. "I'm always here. I'll never let him hurt you again." Tears streamed down Tanith's face as she cried through short, panicked breaths. She slowly pulled herself away from him and he looked into her sparkling, hazel eyes. With his thumbs, Ghastly wiped away the tears that dripped from Tanith's eyes. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, holding it for a few moments before pulling away. Tanith could see how exhausted he was. She instantly felt horrible for waking him up every night, but she knew how tired she looked too. She fell back into his arms as he pulled her into him and he kissed into her hair again. She buried herself as far into Ghastly's chest as she could, feeling how rugged his bare, beautiful skin was against hers. She let the tears fall silently as Ghastly fell back to sleep, his arms wrapped around her body. She ran her fingers through the scars that were embedded into her arms and chest. She cried into Ghastly's chest, her tears splashing onto his skin, running through the scars of his own.

Tanith POV

Tanith woke, her naked body sprawled out across Ghastly's bed. Ghastly however, was nowhere to be found. Tanith knew he'd left for the sanctuary hours ago and she laid still, pushing her hair back through her fingers. The nightmare had yet again woken her. But this one was different. There was another man there. She replayed the nightmare through her head, the blurred face of another man popping up every so often, but she couldn't make out who it was. She saw the dim face of Sanguine like she usually would, but the other face wasn't clear. She shook her head and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She looked up and her eyes scanned the room. They fixed on a golden symbol on one of the walls across the room, and her eyes widened. She blinked and let the nightmare play in her head. That was it. That was the face she'd been seeing. She had the face on the edge of her mind, torturing her, playing with her. She wasn't sure and couldn't understand why this specific person was in her nightmare, playing along with Sanguine. But she knew them, she recognised the eyes. Those golden eyes.

Ghastly POV

Ghastly unlocked the door to Bespoke Tailors and stepped in, shrugging off his coat and sighing heavily. He was relieved to have returned from the sanctuary, but he also knew this would be another night of no sleep. He dragged himself into the back room and flopped down onto the sofa. He heard the water running from the shower and climbed the stairs. The bathroom door wasn't properly shut and his bedroom door was wide open. He could see from the landing that Tanith wasn't still asleep in his bed, so he slowly pushed open the door to the bathroom. He looked in and saw Tanith sat in the shower, her back to him, her body shaking. He could see how broad her shoulders were and how slim she was, as her spine arched, trying to break out from her perfect skin. He slipped his shoes off and loosened the tie from around his neck as he walked toward the shower. Tanith's blonde, tousled hair was stuck to her back as the water rained down on her. He stepped into the shower and Tanith turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were red and tired. She turned her head back, hugging her legs. Ghastly sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her wet body. He was still fully clothed as the water drenched him, but he didn't care. Tanith moved her head, resting it on one of his arms. Ghastly pulled her onto his legs, holding her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, pressing her forehead into his chin. Ghastly turned and kissed it.

"The nightmares won't stop." She whispered through her tears. Ghastly squeezed her and pulled her in tighter. He could feel her whole body shaking against his.

"They will. I promise they will." He said into her hair.

"I just want them to be over." Ghastly looped an arm underneath her legs, his other arm supporting her back. He stood up, taking Tanith with him. He turned the shower off and walked out, putting Tanith down. He put both of his hands to her face and kissed her, turning away to grab a towel. She stood silently shaking in the middle of the bathroom, her arms crossing over her bare chest. Ghastly wrapped the crisp, white towel around her body. He scooped her up in his arms again and carried her into the bedroom. He left her wrapped in the towel and went off into the bathroom to change himself. He returned, with nothing but a towel wrapped around the lower half of his body, droplets of water dripping from his muscular torso. Tanith was sat against the bed, her legs in her arms, the towel hanging off her. She was gazing down at the floor and Ghastly leant against the doorway. He picked her up from the ground, letting her stand on her own two feet.

"Please just, stop them." Tanith whispered and Ghastly raised her chin with his finger.

"I will, I just need you to do something for me." He replied and they stared deep into each others eyes.

"Anything." Tanith said, and Ghastly leaned in and kissed her. He lifted his head and gazed at her, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Marry me."