Aaron had his eyes wide open and he looked around the dark room, he saw in the corner of his eye that Robert was asleep next to him. He tried to move his hand so that he could hold Robert's hand... But he could not move. He tried to call his boyfriend's name, but he could not speak. His eyes darted around the room until he saw a shadow in the corner next to his side of the bed. The figure stood up and began to stalk towards to the bed, Aaron's eyes widened when he saw who it was, and he gulped.
The person leaned over Aaron and he smirked: "Sweet dreams, little boy" he snarled before he quickly placed his hand over Aaron's mouth.
Aaron tried to scream but nothing came out, he felt like he was glued in place as he stared into the dark eyes of his lifelong tormentor. His hope slowly draining away when he realised that Robert might not wake up. He tried to scream again as the darkness closed in on him, but no sound was made, and his heart began to thunder even harder.
Aaron willed himself to try and scream again, but a small whimper echoed around the room instead as the shadows finally reached him. Thankfully, Robert was a light sleeper.
Robert woke up and he looked at Aaron, he saw that his boyfriend's eyes were wide open and that his mouth was open "Aaron? Babe, what's wrong?" He stroked back Aaron's hair.
Aaron gasped and he sat up, he was trembling, and he quickly looked around the room "He was here. He leaned over me and he put his hand over my mouth. I couldn't move and I couldn't scream".
Robert rubbed Aaron's arm "No one's here, baby. It just me and you".
Aaron looked at Robert and he choked on his tears "Hold me".
Robert wrapped his arms around Aaron, and he hugged his boyfriend "You're safe now and I'm gonna take care of you. I promise".
"What the hell just happened?" Aaron sniffled.
"I don't know" Robert answered before he kissed Aaron's head.
They attempted to go back to sleep but Aaron remained too shaken up to even think about sleeping, which could have resulted in him experiencing yet another horrible nightmare. Therefore, they decided to stay up and watch TV until it was time to wake up, both of remained silent as they held each other close. Robert had noticed how tired Aaron was, but he knew that his boyfriend could not face another nightmare, so he kept an eye on Aaron until it was 7:10 am and time to get up.
Whilst everyone rushed around to make breakfast, Robert was sat on the sofa with his laptop and he was trying to figure out what had happened to Aaron the previous night. He knew that his boyfriend had been scared and that he was confused as to what had actually happened, Robert needed answers and an explanation.
Aaron walked into the living room and he walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat, he made himself a sandwich and he walked around the corner to look at Robert "What are you up to?"
"Trying to figure out what happened lasts night" Robert answered without taking his eyes away from his laptop screen. "What actually happened to you?"
"I couldn't move, and I could speak, I saw Gordon and he spoke to me" Aaron walked over to sit on the arm of the sofa, next to Robert.
Robert typed 'inability to speak or move but still awake into the search engine and he waited for it to load. "You might have had an episode of sleep paralysis".
"What? Like the horror stories about demons and stuff like that?" Aaron asked.
"Seems like it" Robert shrugged.
"An answer is better than no answer" Aaron said as he wrapped his arm around Robert, so that his hand was resting on his shoulder.
Robert looked up at Aaron "You okay?"
Aaron nodded and he smiled at Robert "Yeah, what about you?"
Robert went to answer nut he went silent when he heard the sound of the door opening, looking over at the door as Victoria walked into the room.
"What are you doing here?" Chas asked.
"Marlon asked me to come in" Victoria stated with a shrug.
"Why?" Charity asked before she sipped her coffee.
"Because of how Liv is causing chaos for everyone, how Paddy has refused to come over to taste test anything and how Chas is struggling to deal with Aaron's nightmares" Victoria answered, and everyone looked at her.
"One, Liv will be punished. Two, Paddy is being dramatic and three the only one who is struggling to deal with my nightmares is me!" Aaron stated before he glanced at Robert "And Robert because he's the one who wakes me up".
"Nice one, Vic" Robert raised his eyebrows before he slouched in his seat.
"Hey, I can speak for myself" Liv grumbled.
"Eat your breakfast and go to school, Liv" Aaron said as Vic began to talk to Chas.
Liv and Noah left for school, while Charity went to open the bar and Chas to wash up whilst Aaron tried to get some work done. Robert had gone upstairs to have a quick shower. Chas was in the kitchen, washing up the dishes. A persistent stain refused to scrub off of a small glass and the woman became angered very fast. She finally lost her temper and threw the glass at the wall in frustration. Aaron jumped at the noise and began to hyperventilate as he had flashbacks.
"Do you have a good reason for not helping me around the house? You could've come over just now and taken over washing the dishes up, but no, you decide to be useless and to watch as I got frustrated!" Chas shouted.
Aaron gulped and he pulled the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands "I'm sorry."
Chas accidently ignored Aaron and she continued to shout "I have to do everything around here. You never even lift a finger unless Robert wants something! You're useless!" She shouted.
Chas did not notice that Aaron had flinched, she was too busy shouting to even realise that her son was hyperventilating. Aaron did not say anything else because he knew that his mum was struggling with her PTSD and he wanted to support her. Aaron stood up and he went to pick up the shattered glass as Chas continued to shout. He hissed in pain when the glass cut his palm, but he stayed silent so that he did not stress or worry his mum. Chas left and Aaron slumped down onto the floor and he began to sob softly. Robert ran down the stairs once the shouting had stopped and he had heard the sound of a smashing glass. Robert's heart broke when he saw that Aaron was sat with his hands over his eyes whilst the muffled sobbing covered up the repeated words, 'I'm sorry'.
Robert went and he fetched a blanket before he sat down next to Aaron and he wrapped the blanket around the both of them. The older man hugged his loved one and softly shushed him until he stopped sobbing and began to calm down.
"Baby, what's wrong? What happened?" Robert asked as he stroked Aaron's hair.
"I just want my mum back. I miss her." Aaron admitted.
Robert had heard what Chas had said and his heart broke because he knew that Aaron was already struggling with his own barriers and troubles "I know. She'll be okay, we'll get her some help".
Aaron gripped Robert's shirt and he sniffled "I'm trying to help with the pub and the house. I'm really trying, I would've gone to help her, but a glass smashed, and I had a flashback again. Can you tell her that I'm sorry?"
Robert's heart melted and he kissed Aaron's head "I know that you're trying your best. I know that you want to help but you're exhausted and you're not sleeping very well. Explains ".
Aaron lifted his hand and he saw the blood "I tried to pick up the glass, but I accidentally cut myself. I didn't say anything to my mum because she is already stressed".
"Alright. Let's get you cleaned up" Robert kissed Aaron's head and then he helped the younger man up. He walked over into the kitchen and he grabbed the first aid kit. Aaron had cleaned the cut, but it was still bleeding so he had held his hand under the cold tap. Robert walked over and he wrapped a bandage around Aaron's hand before he pulled the younger man into a hug. "Why don't I cook a meal for everyone tonight and then we can do something, just me and you?"
Aaron smiled "Sounds great".
Robert kissed Aaron's head and he rubbed his back "Let's tidy up the house and then we'll see if Chas needs any help in the bar".
Aaron nodded and he started to tidy up the kitchen with the help of Robert.
The couple managed to tidy up the whole house, finish the washing up, wash and iron everyone's clothes and they sat down to watch tv. Robert was lying on the sofa with his head on Aaron's lap and the younger man was stroking his hair. Robert was holding Aaron's other hand and he kissed it, earning a smile from Aaron and he smiled up at his boyfriend.
"I love you" Robert mouthed to Aaron.
"I love you too" Aaron mouthed back to Robert.
However, the door flew open and Aaron flinched when it slammed against the wall. Robert squeezed Aaron's hand and his boyfriend nodded at him.
"Aaron, have you even moved for three hours? You could've asked if I needed any help in the pub, but you'd rather laze around with the cause of my PTSD!" Chas shouted.
Aaron said nothing but he squeezed Robert's hand slightly. His boyfriend comforted him by squeezing his hand and Aaron relaxed slightly.
"You know what? I want the both of you out of my house in three days!" Chas shouted before she stormed back towards the pub.
Aaron and Robert sat in silence before Aaron spoke. "I think that you should stay at Vic's tonight."
Robert sat up and he looked at Aaron "What if you have a nightmare? I don't want to leave you on your own if you feel unsafe".
Aaron held in his emotions "My mum can't deal with us right now. She needs to feel safe and it's for the best if it will help her".
Robert moved and he wrapped his arm around Aaron's shoulders "But what is best for you? What will make you feel safe?"
Aaron looked at Robert and he rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder "I'll be okay. I'll call you if I need you".
Robert was hesitant to agree to staying away from Aaron, but he knew that it might help Chas and Aaron only wanted what was best for his mother "Okay, but not until later on when you are asleep, I want to be here so that you feel safe".
Aaron smiled "Thank you".
Robert kissed Aaron's head "No problem".