“Please hug me, just one last hug.” The strength she has pulling at my arm is surprising in her upset state.

And this is the moment I know for sure that she is still in her nightmare and talking in her sleep, because she told me straight up that she doesn’t like to be touched.

“Please.” She is now begging me, and I can’t walk away from that.

Lifting her over further on the bed, I tentatively lie down next to her, and before I can even worry about touching her, she has crawled into the side of my body.

Her head is on my bare shoulder on the opposite side to where she is lying, and I can feel the tears on her wet cheeks. Her ear is pushing hard against my chest above my heart. She starts to settle down on top of my chest, and she then latches her arms so tightly around my torso and her knees are curled up in a ball next to mine.

The moment I wrap my arms around her, she stops sobbing and her breathing starts to steady.

I continue to stroke her back and whisper to her, “I’ve got you, sweetheart. I won’t ever let you get hurt like that again.”

I want to kiss her, but I stop myself and instead say the words I know I will never take back. “And that I can promise you.”

She might not be able to commit to a promise, but when I make one, I never back down from it.

Harper might not remember this cuddle in the morning, but I will never forget it.

There is much more to this woman than she has ever let anyone see, but I’m not walking away until she shows me. There is something between us, and now I just need to find out if it’s worth fighting her to see what it is.

“Sleep, Harper. Let me take it all away. Lean on me.”

And as if she understands, she takes a deep breath and then settles into a calm sleep state.

I know I should move her back onto the bed and leave, but I just want a few more minutes.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see her this peaceful with me again.

Just holding her a little tighter and knowing she needs me is something that I never knew I needed… until now.

HARPER

When I wake up this morning, things don’t seem right.

Thinking back to last night and my discussion—well, borderline argument with Forrest, and it explains the uneasy feeling in my stomach.

I don’t think I slept great, which I blame on the three glasses of red wine, but at least I didn’t have the dream.

Like I said to Felisha, hopefully it was a one-off, and I can move on and forget about it again.