"Nikka! Nikka, wake up!" a voice woke her up and she sat up, trying to push the person behind the voice. She didn't recognize him and she thought it was Philip.
"Shhh! It's okay, Nikka. It's me, Marcus," he whispered as he hugged her. Finally recognizing him, she hugged him back. It took awhile for her to calm down and he held her during that time.
He soon released her and cupped her face.
"You're safe now, okay. I'm here," he assured her and she smiled as he brushed her hair away from her face. He wiped the tears from her cheeks.
She straightened herself as they sat on the bed. Marcus continued to brush away a few more strands of hair from her face.
"Looks like you had a nightmare," he said, as he looked at her with worried eyes. "Do you always have these nightmares?"
"Y-Yes. Eversince..." she stopped, trying not to cry as the nightmare of her past came back to her memory. She tried to shove it aside as she looked away from him.
"It's okay. You don't need to tell me everything now. I understand."
She looked at him and wondered how he was able to get in.
"How do you get in here?" she asked finally.
"I was trying to call you but you haven't been answering. I wanted to invite you for dinner. So when you didn't answer your phone, I decided to come by. The doorman knew me so he let me up. When I was about to knock, I heard you screaming and saw that the door was unlock so I just barged in," and he held her hand. "I was so worried. Hearing you scream like that, I wanted to hurt anyone who wanted to hurt you."
She didn't say anything and just looked at him. How she wished he was really there when it all happened! He could have stopped it... and Daniel would still be alive.
"Do you want anything to drink? I'll get you-," he offered and was about to get up but she pulled his hand.
"C-Can you stay with me?" she asked.
"Sure but we need to get some food. We need to fatten you up a bit," he teased.
"Thank you. But I need you to stay with me... tonight."
He stared at her for a moment, wondering if she was serious of her offer.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"Okay. I just need to get some clothes from my apartment and I'll come back. But first, let's order some Chinese and eat," and he stood up and went outside the bedroom to call.
She knew she was letting her guard down but she just felt more secure if he was around. He was right. She needed to give him a chance... even as friends and the first thing she needed to do was to trust him again. This might be a start for her to finally heal... and move on.
********
Hours after they had dinner, Marcus and Nikka were sitting together in her grey couch, watching TV. He was wearing a white shirt and blue stringed pajamas while she was wearing her pink pajamas. Neither one didn't say anything for awhile and just stared at the screen.
Marcus cleared his throat and started to speak, "So, I actually filed a one week leave from work and... I was thinking that maybe we could.. go upstate after the... after we filed the papers," the wedding, that's what he wanted to say but stopped himself and said the latter instead.
"Where are we going?" she asked and looked at him.
"I thought you might want to go horseback riding."
She smiled. She always wanted to go horseback riding but never had the chance to do it. She once told him that and they were planning to go one summer until that incident happened..
"Okay. But I don't even know how to do horseback riding."
"Don't worry. We have guides. Also there are other activites we can do together aside from that."
'Activities?' she thought, suddenly feeling nervous. Alone with him in the same room and... suddenly she panicked. Apparently, Marcus saw her reaction and held her hand.
"Nikka, you don't need to worry. I will honor our agreement. I just wanted to spend time with you and I know you need a different scenery after all you've gone through."
She sighed in relief and smiled faintly.
"S-So what kind of activities are there?" she inquired, trying to sound excited.
"Well, it's a big resort...." and he went on, describing the different facilities it offers.
Nikka listened carefully as he continued to talk about the resort. She studied him again as he talked. Slowly, her mind remembered every good memories she had with him. How excited he gets whenever they went on a day trip or if they would watch a movie together. This was the Marcus she knew. The Marcus she trusted... her friend... whom she had loved dearly...
An hour passed and she slightly opened her eyes as she saw Marcus carrying her to her bedroom.
"You fell asleep so I thought I'd just take you to your bedroom," he said as he laid her down gently on the bed. "Go rest now. Just call out if you need me."
He was about to go when he felt a hand on his arm.
"Don't leave me here please, Marcus," Nikka begged. "You can sleep here beside me."
"But-"
"It's okay. I trust you... I just don't want those nightmares anymore. I'm just afraid it will come back again.... ever since I slept in your apartment, I never slept better... I need you, Marcus."
He sighed. Hearing that last word had brought joy in his heart. All he wanted to do is for her to feel secure again... to trust him fully... and to comfort her. He did not want to see her hurt again nor would he wanted anyone to hurt her. God knows what he would do if that happened again.
"Okay," he resigned and laid down with her. He pulled the blanket over them as she closed her eyes and placed her head and hands on his chest. The steady breathing of his chest lulled Nikka to sleep.
Marcus kissed the top of her head and placed his arm on her waist.
"A promise is a promise, Nikka," Marcus whispered in her ear. "I will never leave you again."
He kissed her cheek and closed his eyes. He pulled her much closer to him, never letting go.