"I didn't want you to be alone."
some meme i reblogged and forgot whoops
It’s strange to hear such a gentle, even caring, tone coming from a man who one time flicked his wrist and wiped out whole groups of people for no other reason than the fact they might have crossed him wrongly. A lot had changed in the last couple of years for both of them, and although his gentle moments weren’t as surprising anymore, there would always be a part of Allison that was shocked at least for the briefest moment when they happened.
It had been a particularly bad week for Allison between a deeply rooted desire to relapse back into her drug habit and the nightmares that had plagued her for days. Halfway through the week, Allie had completely given up and moved back to the guest bedroom, feeling guilty for waking up Jack in such a disturbing manner. The frantic screaming and flailing was a given, but the night he’d attempted to knock her out of it and gotten an elbow to the throat that left a bruise the next morning Allie knew she needed to remove herself until she got over it. It wasn’t unusual, but it had been so long since it had been that bad that it was a bit terrifying. Allie had gotten strangely used to sleeping through the night with Jack by her side, as odd as it sounded.
But the repeated nights with no sleep, more than likely feeding into a desire to snort as much cocaine as possible, and fighting the urges to call up her old dealer combined with the visuals in the nightmares had left her exhausted in every sense of the word. She hadn’t even gotten out of bed that Sunday, merely cocooned herself in the large comforter and put on a calming baking competition show on in the background. He’d left her alone, though she wasn’t sure if he was afraid to be near her after the attack or just busy with work things. Regardless, the fact that she hadn’t seen or slept with him in the past week merely added to the low mood that Allison found herself in.
She isn’t aware of when she falls asleep, but after watching the opening credits of the third episode the next thing she knows, she’s opening her eyes to a few episodes later. Disoriented eyes take a glance around the room before realizing that the décor was not anything she had picked out. A glance around the room reveals that she was back in their room, in bed with Jack propped up against the headboard next to her and reading. Her show had even been put onto his tv, though lowly so as not to disturb him. “What-----?”
“I didn’t want you to be alone. Sleeping alone clearly isn’t helping you so you might as well come back in here with me.” Eyes slip up from his novel to meet hers with a hint of what seemed to be concern behind them. “You’ll just have to excuse me if I don’t bare my throat to you anymore.”
Despite how serious the situation was, Allie can’t help but let out a huff of a laugh. She hesitates for a moment before unwrapping herself enough to wiggle over to Jack’s lap, resting her head on it. There was a chance he’d turn her away or recoil, even after everything they’d been through. But if the way he opened his arms to give her more room was any indication, she was fine. Especially when he rested a hand on her hair and began stroking her hair. It was comforting, and even despite the very high chance that she would wake up screaming and fighting old demons again that night, something about being there with him made her feel safe. He made her feel safe. It was one of the reasons why she loved him, all his weird quirks and fear of intimacy aside.