Tiny Tim полностью

“Claire ... I appreciate the thought. I really do. But I have a broken rib and a fucked up arm on my left side, and a bruised kidney and another fucked up arm on my right side. So, unless you’re planning to roll up like a cat and sleep between my feet, I’ll have to be in this bed alone for now.”

I had to suppress a smirk when I saw her actually look at my feet for a split second before looking me in the eyes again.

“Okay, Baby. I love you.” she said, after giving me a kiss on the forehead.

Then she just stood there, like she was waiting for the answer I couldn’t give without lying, and watched me close my eyes.

“Good night.” I mumbled instead.

I didn’t know how long I actually slept, because I had no idea at what time I crawled into bed, but it was dark outside when I jolted upright, panting heavily, and covered in sweat. My heartbeat was hammering up to my throat, my hands were shaking, and my body trembling. I Jumped out of bed and searched my surroundings. Not finding anything unusual, I looked through the window overlooking our driveway. It had happened almost every night since Bill and I went to Austin, so I knew what I had to do before I could calm down again.

Slowly and determined to make as little noise as possible, I made my way through the house. Carefully stepping into every room of the house to make sure everything and everyone was safe, and make sure the room’s windows were firmly closed while not showing any entry marks.

I found Maggie and Danielle sleeping soundly, cuddled up with Ava in her bed. Claire and Aaron were lightly snoring in their bedroom. Logan did the same alone in his own room, while Granny and Grandpa were enthusiastically snoring in the guest room.

I continued to check the rest of the rooms, doors, and windows, paying extra attention to the big patio door in the living room, and relocking the front door just to hear it actually lock. But, unlike all the other times I woke up in this state, I was still feeling uneasy after I had walked through the entire house.

Back from the basement, I paced through the living room for a few minutes, trying to figure out what I was missing, until I decided to get myself another drink, hoping it would help. I knew that fear was (probably) irrational. I also knew that waking up like this in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly a good sign, and using alcohol to combat it was downright stupid. But I thought it would pass once it really settled in that we were safe.

Holding my whisky glass, I suddenly realized what it was that kept nagging me. I couldn’t find John! Everyone else was accounted for, only he was missing, and after finding his wife and daughter in the house, I would have expected him to be around as well. Sure, he probably just preferred his own bed over crashing on the sofa or sharing with Logan, but I wasn’t exactly thinking rationally at that moment, so I decided to shoot him a text.

I knew by then that it was half past three at night, he would be in deep sleep right now, so I was reluctant to call. Then I remembered that my phone was busted, which meant that I couldn’t send any texts. After unsuccessfully trying to just calm down once more, I grabbed the landline and called him, my anxiety growing slightly with each ring tone that went unanswered. Finally, I heard his tired voice.

“Walker residence?” I could almost hear him suppress a yawn and rub his eyes.

“John? You Okay?” I asked, immediately feeling embarrassed about waking him at that hour over my own shit.

“Tim!? Yeah! Why, what happened?” Shit. The tiredness had instantly vanished from his voice, and was replaced with alarm.

“No! Everything’s fine! Sorry. I just ... I couldn’t find you when I made my round, even though Maggie and Danielle are here. I thought, maybe ... I may ‘ve ... overreacted. Sorry, again.” I stammered, trying to explain my reasons without admitting to what actually went on in my head.

“Oh. No problem. Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. Thanks for checking, though!” Fuck, that was embarrassing!

“Yeah. Well, sorry for waking you up. Good night!” I said, greatly appreciating him not asking too many questions.

For a few minutes after the call had ended, I remained in the dark living room and watched a cat walk around our backyard. I was pulling down a single panel of the blinds, so I could watch it without exposing the rest of me standing there and scaring it away, while sipping my drink. Suddenly, a voice ripped me out of my funk. When I spun around, I saw Danielle leaning against the doorframe leading into the living room.

“Good Morning, Tim.” she half whispered as to not wake the rest of the house, while I was still blinking at her in surprise.

“Morning. Why are you up? Everything alright?”

“John called me a few minutes ago.” she explained, giving me a meaningful look.

“Oh. Sorry about that.” I said, looking back out the windows to hide my embarrassment.