Finding the Orphaned Luna

Nightmares and Other Hauntings

Conley awoke quite early, used to training first thing in order to have time in the day for all of the pack responsibilities. Assuming Avery would be asleep for a while, and sensing nobody stirring behind the door, he found a spare towel and strode into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He didn’t have spare clothes with him, but he needed to wash Avery’s scent off him before they headed home; it would not do for his father- and other pack members- to assume that she had already fully accepted him and her role as Luna. Come to think of it, once he got out of the shower he would have to call Dalton and his father to ensure that they hadn’t, and wouldn’t, spend the news. At least not until the week was over. He didn’t want Avery to be pressured into any decision, especially because of him. He turned the water on, and let it heat up before stepping inside and pulling the curtain shut behind him. 

He was mostly there for the hot water, but he did use the bar of soap and a little touch of the shampoo in the shower. He was surprised to see that there was men’s soap in the shower, and tried not to get jealous. Maybe she used it herself, and even if it belonged to another, it was none of his business what she did before he met her, and even now, until she decided whether or not to make it his business, it wasn’t. And though he knew that, and knew he needed to give her the space to make her choices, he couldn’t keep the tiny seed of jealousy from burning in his gut. He took a few deep breaths and directed his mind elsewhere. He was just stepping out when he heard screaming coming from outside the door. Without another thought, he raced out of the bathroom and found that the screaming was coming from behind Avery’s closed door. It quieted, and he hesitated to invade her space. But when another scream sounded out, he couldn’t stop himself from barging in.

What he found surprised him. Avery was still lying in bed, asleep, the sheets and blankets mussed from her thrashing. Her shirt had hiked up, revealing the smooth pan of her stomach, a few stretch marks inching up her hips like ivy. He barely had a second to marvel at her beauty, and the scars he was trying not to dwell on, before she screamed again, sounding for all the world as if she was in utter agony. Conley quickly knelt next to the bed, and very gently, carefully slid his fingers through her hair, attempting to calm her as tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. She softened the instant he made contact, and whimpered rather than screamed. She mumbled something and tensed again. 

“Avery, it’s okay. Wake up. You’re safe. Avery, please wake up,” Conley kept murmuring similar things in her ear, running his fingers through her hair, his other hand gently drawing soft circles on her shoulder. She finally relaxed, but then the sobs started and they wracked her body. He gently shook her, trying again to wake her up. At least, her eyes cracked open and she sat up, looking more exhausted than he’d seen her when she’d gone to bed last night. He only realized he was wet, and completely naked in front of her, when her eyes slowly slipped down his chest, lower, and came quickly back up, a blush growing in her cheeks. He stood up quickly, strode to the bathroom and put his boxers on, completely embarrassed. When he returned, he noticed a small hint of humor in Avery’s eyes, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he sat back down next to her bed, at her feet. They were nearly the same height with her sitting on the bed and he on the ground. 

“Does that happen often?” He asked, his eyes not leaving her for an instant. His heart still pounded in his chest. She averted her eyes, and he swore he saw something like shame creep into them as the humor went out like a light.

“A couple times a week. It’s no big deal. Sorry you had to see that. Foster care was no walk in the woods, I can tell you that. I hope I didn’t disturb you,” her voice getting quieter with every word, her walls raising themselves high and strong with every second that passed. That, he was most certainly not having. He needed her to understand that she could trust him. It broke something in him when he watched her hide from him, when he saw that she didn’t want to tell him, to burden him with her pain. 

“Hey, talk to me. I get them too. I might have no idea what you went through, and I hope someday you’ll tell me what you can, but I have my share of skeletons in my closet. You’re not alone. You didn’t disturb me, you could never disturb me. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I’ll always want to make sure you’re alright, ” he said, embarrassed that he’d forgotten to put on clothes when doing so, and hoping he wasn’t overwhelming her with the feelings that were already quite clear in his words. She was quiet for a minute before slipping down to the ground and sitting next to him, knee to knee and shoulder to shoulder. He looked at her, but she kept her eyes on the spot between her feet on the floor.