Chapter 53 Nightmare

Chapter 53 Nightmare
Mia 

I fell asleep that night after the intense session.

But it wasn’t a peaceful sleep.

It was the kind that comes when your body is too tired to stay awake, but your mind is still unsettled enough to drag you into something darker the moment your eyes close.

At first, everything was just vague.

Noise without shape.

Movement without meaning.

Then it started forming properly.

I was standing somewhere I didn’t recognize.

The air felt heavy, almost suffocating, like it was pressing down on my skin from every direction at once.

And before I could even understand where I was, I saw it.

Me.

Or something that looked like me.

But I wasn’t alone.

There were hands grabbing me.

Pulling me.

Dragging me back whenever I tried to move forward.

I tried to speak, but no sound came out.

My voice just disappeared into the air like it had never existed in the first place.

And then it happened.

Pain.

Sharp.

Sudden.

Real enough that my entire body reacted even though I was asleep.

I gasped in the dream, trying to pull away, trying to escape whatever was happening, but every time I moved, I was back in the same position again.

Like the moment kept resetting.

Like I was stuck inside something that wouldn’t let me leave no matter how many times I tried.

I saw it again.

The end.

Over and over.

Each time slightly different, but always the same feeling.

Helplessness.

Fear.

A weight in my chest that made it hard to breathe even in sleep.

I tried to run, but the ground shifted beneath me.

I tried to scream, but nothing came out.

And then everything went dark again.

Only for it to start all over.

I don’t know how many times it happened.

Too many.

Enough that I stopped recognizing which version was real anymore.

At some point, I felt like I wasn’t even myself inside it anymore.

Just something being pulled through repetition.

Then suddenly—

Warmth.

Real warmth.

Something holding me.

Firm.

Steady.

Grounding me back into something that wasn’t that place.

My eyes shot open sharply.

My body jerked slightly as I gasped for air, disoriented and confused, my heart pounding so fast it felt like it was trying to break out of my chest.

For a second I didn’t even know where I was.

Everything felt blurred.

Then I felt arms around me.

Holding me tightly.

Not restricting.

Just holding.

Protecting.

“Hey…” Jesse’s voice came softly near me, low and steady. “It’s okay.”

My breathing was still uneven as I blinked rapidly, trying to pull myself out of the dream completely, but it was still clinging to me.

Still sitting heavy in my chest.

I didn’t even realize I had started crying until I felt it.

Warm tears slipping down my face without permission.

My hands trembled slightly as I grabbed onto him instinctively, like I needed something real to anchor me back into the present.

“It’s okay,” he repeated again, tighter this time, pulling me closer against him.

And I broke a little more at that.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Just quietly.

Like something inside me had finally cracked under the pressure of everything I had been holding in.

I buried my face slightly against him without thinking, my breathing still unstable as the fear slowly started to fade, replaced by exhaustion and confusion.

He didn’t rush me.

He didn’t ask too many questions at first.

He just held me there.

Firmly.

Steadily.

Like he knew I needed time more than words.

After a while, my breathing started slowing down again, little by little, until the panic in my chest wasn’t as sharp anymore.

Just a dull echo of what it had been.

He brushed a hand gently over my back, grounding me further.

“You’re safe,” he said quietly. “You’re here. With me.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to believe it fully.

Trying to let it settle properly inside me.

My grip on him loosened slightly, but I didn’t pull away.

Not yet.

After some time, he spoke again, more carefully this time.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

I stayed quiet for a moment.

The thought of putting it into words made my chest tighten again, not because I didn’t trust him, but because I didn’t even fully understand what I had just seen.

It still felt too close.

Too real.

Too messy to explain properly.

I shook my head slightly.

“No,” I said softly.

He didn’t push.

He just nodded once.

“Okay,” he replied gently.

There was a pause again.

A quiet one.

Then he adjusted slightly, still holding me, and guided us both back down properly into the bed.

Not letting go completely.

Just staying close enough that I could still feel him there.

Eventually, the silence in the room became softer.

Less heavy.

More natural.

My breathing steadied completely after a while, and the exhaustion from earlier slowly started pulling me back under again.

Not into fear this time.

Just sleep. And this time, it was peaceful.

When I woke up the next morning, the space beside me was empty.