🌙 Chapter One — The Dreams Return
The dreams came back three nights later.
This time, they felt different.
Not softer.
Not romantic.
Worse.
She woke up gasping, her chest tight, sheets tangled around her legs as rain battered against her bedroom windows. The room was dark except for the pale glow of lightning cutting across the walls.
Her heart pounded violently.
Because she could still see it.
Him.
Standing alone in the middle of an empty road, breathing hard, blood running from his knuckles as someone shouted his name in the distance.
And then—
The dream shifted.
Fast.
Too fast.
A hospital hallway.
White lights.
His sister crying.
And him—
Broken.
She sat upright immediately.
“No…” she whispered.
The image burned behind her eyes like it had actually happened.
Not like a dream.
Like a memory.
Thunder cracked outside.
She pressed trembling fingers against her forehead, trying to steady her breathing.
Ever since she had met him, the dreams had never fully disappeared.
But they had never felt this real before.
Never this detailed.
Never this terrifying.
Her phone lit up suddenly on the nightstand.
A message.
From him.
Are you awake?
Her stomach dropped.
Because the timestamp matched the exact moment she woke up.
For a second, she just stared.
Then typed quickly.
Yeah. What happened?
The typing bubble appeared instantly.
Disappeared.
Came back again.
Finally:
I don’t know. I just… needed to hear from you.
Her heartbeat slowed slightly.
But not enough.
Because deep down—
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
She climbed out of bed and walked toward the window, rain sliding down the glass in silver streaks.
The dream replayed again in her mind.
The blood.
The hospital.
The fear in his sister’s face.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Did something happen tonight?
she typed.
This time, his reply took longer.
Too long.
Then finally:
No. Why?
She swallowed.
How could she explain it without sounding insane?
Because she dreamed it.
Because somehow, she always dreamed him before reality caught up.
She typed anyway.
I had another dream about you.
Three dots appeared immediately.
Then disappeared.
Then:
Bad one?
Her chest tightened.
Yeah.
Another pause.
And then:
Come see me tomorrow?
Her breath caught.
Even through text, she could feel it.
The exhaustion in him.
The heaviness.
Of course,
she replied.
The typing bubble appeared again.
Good.
Then:
I think I need you.
Her heart melted and shattered at the same time.
Because he almost never admitted things like that.
Not directly.
Not openly.
And somehow—
That scared her more than the dream itself.
The next morning, Westbrook High felt colder than usual.
The sky remained grey, clouds hanging low over the campus as students flooded through the front gates.
But something felt… off.
She spotted him near the basketball courts before he saw her.
And instantly—
Her stomach twisted.
He looked exhausted.
Dark circles shadowed beneath his eyes, his hoodie sleeves pushed up messily as he rubbed a hand over his face.
And worse—
His knuckles were bruised.
Exactly like the dream.
Her breath caught sharply.
He looked up then.
And the moment he saw her—
Something in his expression softened instantly.
“There you are,” he murmured when she reached him.
But she couldn’t speak.
Not yet.
Because she was staring at his hand.
His gaze followed hers.
Immediately, his jaw tightened.
“What happened?” she asked quietly.
“Nothing.”
“That’s not nothing.”
He exhaled heavily.
Looking away.
And suddenly—
The dream flashed through her mind again.
Blood.
Rain.
Anger.
Her pulse quickened.
“You lied to me,” she whispered.
His eyes snapped back to hers.
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“You said nothing happened.”
“It didn’t,” he insisted quickly. “Just some guy being stupid after practice.”
But something about the way he said it felt rehearsed.
Incomplete.
And she realized something terrifying.
The dreams weren’t just dreams anymore.
They were warnings.
“You’re hiding something again,” she said softly.
Pain flickered across his face.
Real pain.
“I’m trying not to drag you into it.”
Her chest tightened.
“You don’t get to decide that for me.”
Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then quietly—
“I know,” he admitted.
For a moment, neither moved.
The wind pushed through the empty court, cold against her skin.
Then he stepped closer.
Close enough that her heartbeat stumbled.
“You still came,” he said softly.
“Of course I did.”
Something vulnerable cracked through his expression then.
Gone as quickly as it appeared.
His fingers brushed hers carefully.
Like he needed reassurance she was real.
“I missed you,” he admitted quietly.
Her heart melted instantly.
“You saw me yesterday.”
“Still missed you.”
A small smile tugged at her lips before she could stop it.
“There’s the flirting again,” she murmured.
His mouth curved slightly.
“Told you I was gonna earn your trust back.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
And despite the fear clawing at her chest…
Despite the dreams.
Despite the secrets.
He still made her feel safe.
Which terrified her most of all.
Because if the dreams were true—
Something terrible was coming.
And somehow—
It was connected to him📖 HIS TRUTH, MY HEART
Chapter Ten — Almost Too Much
She didn’t think her heart would ever recover from the things he said to her.
Or the way he looked at her after saying them.
“You’re becoming my favorite part of surviving.”
The words stayed suspended between them long after the kiss ended, filling the room with something too big to ignore.
Something terrifyingly real.
She could still feel his breath against her lips.
Still feel the warmth of his hand tangled gently in her hair.
And worst of all—
She could still feel herself falling for him faster than she knew how to stop.
Neither of them moved immediately.
The room stayed quiet except for the soft rain outside and the uneven sound of both their breathing.
Then softly—
“You keep saying things that emotionally damage me.”
A quiet laugh escaped him, forehead still resting lightly against hers.
“Sorry.”
“You’re not sorry.”
“No,” he admitted quietly.
“I’m really not.”
Her stomach flipped embarrassingly hard.
He smiled faintly before finally pulling back slightly, though not far enough to stop touching her.
Like some part of him still needed reassurance she was there.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
The question made her blink.
“What?”
“You got quiet.”
She stared at him for a second.
Then laughed softly in disbelief.
“You kiss me like that and then ask if I’m okay?”
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Fair point.”
“You are unbelievably unfair.”
“And yet,” he murmured, thumb brushing gently across her cheek again, “you’re still here.”
Heat flooded her chest instantly.
“That line is losing effectiveness because you keep using it.”
“Nope,” he said immediately.
“It keeps working.”
Unfortunately—
He was correct.
She rolled her eyes weakly and tried to look away.
But he noticed.
Of course he noticed.
“What?”
“You’re staring again.”
“I’m literally just looking at you.”
“Exactly.”
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
And for a moment—
Everything felt normal.
Dangerously normal.
Then her eyes drifted toward the sticky notes scattered across his desk again.
The reminders.
The unpaid bills.
The schedules.
The responsibilities.
The reality of his life returned instantly.
Her smile faded slightly.
He noticed that too.
His expression softened.
“Hey.”
She looked back at him.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“That thing where you start worrying about me instead of yourself.”
Her chest tightened.
“You make it kind of impossible not to.”
Something emotional flickered across his face.
Then he sighed quietly and leaned back slightly against the headboard.
“I didn’t want you seeing all this.”
“What? Your room?”
“My life.”
The honesty in his voice hurt.
Again.
Everything about him hurt lately.
Not in a bad way.
In a way that made her want to hold every broken part of him together with her bare hands.
She looked around the room slowly.
The textbooks stacked beside basketball medals.
The medicine receipts partly hidden beneath papers.
The exhaustion hanging invisibly in every corner.
“It’s not ugly,” she whispered softly.
His eyes lifted to hers immediately.
“My life,” she continued carefully. “It’s hard, yeah. But it’s not ugly.”
For a second—
He looked genuinely stunned.
Like nobody had ever described his struggles that gently before.
“You really see things differently than everyone else,” he murmured.
“Maybe everyone else is boring.”
That earned a quiet smile.
“You know,” he said softly, “I think you might actually be the strangest person I’ve ever met.”
She gasped dramatically.
“And yet you’re obsessed with me.”
A slow grin spread across his face now.
“Oh, absolutely.”
Her heartbeat betrayed her immediately.
“You admit that way too confidently.”
“Should I lie instead?”
“You should have some shame.”
“I lost that around the second time I kissed you.”
Her entire face went hot.
Again.
He laughed softly at her reaction before his expression slowly softened once more.
Then quietly—
“Come here.”
Her pulse stumbled.
“You say that like I’m a stray cat.”
“You kind of act like one.”
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
Unfortunately—
Again—
He was correct.
Slowly, she moved closer until she sat beside him properly near the headboard.
The mattress dipped slightly beneath their weight.
And almost immediately—
His arm slid around her waist.
Natural.
Instinctive.
Like he’d already memorized how holding her felt.
Her breath caught softly.
“There,” he murmured quietly.
“Better.”
Her heart was genuinely becoming a safety hazard at this point.
They stayed like that for a while.
Quiet.
Warm.
The rain outside softening into a gentle rhythm against the windows.
And eventually—
She rested her head carefully against his shoulder.
The second she did—
His entire body relaxed slightly.
She noticed immediately.
“You really are touch-starved,” she whispered.
He looked offended.
“I am not.”
“You literally relaxed the second I touched you.”
“That proves nothing.”
“It proves everything.”
A quiet laugh vibrated through his chest beneath her cheek.
And honestly—
That sound alone could probably fix her entire mental state.
“You know what’s embarrassing?” he murmured after a while.
“What?”
“I used to think relationships were distracting.”
She tilted her head slightly to look up at him.
“And now?”
His gaze dropped toward her slowly.
Warm enough to make her stomach flip.
“Now I can’t focus on anything except you.”
She immediately buried her face against his shoulder.
He laughed softly.
“Was that too much?”
“Yes.”
“But you liked it.”
“…Maybe.”
His hand rubbed gently against her side absentmindedly, warm and slow and affectionate in a way that made her chest ache.
Nobody had ever treated her like this before.
Like she was precious.
Wanted.
Chosen.
And maybe that was why this scared her too.
Because she could feel herself depending on him emotionally already.
Dangerously.
“You got quiet again,” he murmured.
She hesitated.
Then finally—
“I’m scared.”
The honesty surprised both of them.
His arm tightened around her slightly.
“Of what?”
She stared down at her hands carefully.
“That this is gonna hurt someday.”
Silence settled heavily around them.
Not because he didn’t understand.
But because he did.
Completely.
“I think about that too,” he admitted quietly.
Her chest tightened.
“Then why keep doing this?”
she whispered.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Like he was trying to put something impossible into words.
Then softly—
“Because I’d rather have you and risk losing you than never have you at all.”
That almost broke her emotionally.
She looked away immediately before he could see how affected she was.
But of course—
He noticed anyway.
His fingers tilted her chin gently back toward him.
“Hey.”
Her heartbeat stumbled again.
“You don’t have to be scared alone either.”
And suddenly—
Everything inside her softened painfully.
Because maybe that was what this really was.
Not just romance.
Not just attraction.
But two exhausted people slowly learning how to let someone else hold part of their pain.
The room stayed quiet for a while after that.
Comfortably quiet.
Eventually, she yawned softly without meaning to.
His eyebrows lifted immediately.
“Tired?”
“No.”
Another yawn betrayed her instantly.
He grinned.
“That looked convincing.”
She narrowed her eyes sleepily.
“You’re annoying.”
“And yet,” he murmured softly, “you’re falling asleep on my shoulder.”
Unfortunately—
She actually was.
The emotional exhaustion from the hospital, the storm, the crying she’d tried not to do earlier—it was all catching up now.
He noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“You can sleep here.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“In your bed?”
“That’s usually where people sleep, yeah.”
She stared at him.
“You are unbelievably confident for someone who blushes every time I touch his hair.”
His ears immediately turned slightly pink.
“Aha,” she whispered victoriously.
“I knew it.”
“Go to sleep.”
She laughed quietly before finally lying down carefully beside him.
The room suddenly felt very small.
Very warm.
He turned off the lamp moments later, leaving only the soft blue glow of rainlight through the windows.
And in the darkness—
His hand found hers again automatically.
Like he couldn’t sleep unless he knew she was still there.
A few minutes passed quietly.
Then softly—
Almost too quietly to hear—
“Thank you for staying.”
Again.
This time—
She squeezed his hand gently in the dark.
And whispered back:
“Always.”
