Chapter Ten: Sharing a Secret – 1

“Alyssa! You are not going home. It’s late. You’ve been drinking, and so have I. I can’t drive you, and I’m sure as hell not letting some stranger take you home,” he states firmly.

“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. You’re not the boss of me!” I whine. I am a little tipsy; I had too much wine because I was nervous after thinking about our conversation at dinner. I drank to try and calm myself. I’m not drunk enough to make an idiot of myself.

“I am the boss of you. You are staying. End of discussion.”

“At work, yes, not my life. Why won’t you let me go home?” I groan.

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m not doing this to be an asshole, Alyssa. I’m only looking out for you. Will you please stay here, and I will take you home in the morning?” he says with a softer tone.

I huff, “Fine. I will stay.”

He smiles, “Thank you.”

“Where am I sleeping?” I ask.

His lips curl into a smirk, “My room, in my bed.”

“What? There’s no chance in hell I am sharing your bed!” I protest, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him.

Wyatt laughs loudly, “I am messing with you. You can sleep in the bedroom next to mine. Follow me. You need some water to take to bed with you.”

I nod, too tired to say anything else. I follow him to the kitchen. He grabs two bottles of water from the fridge and hands one to me: “Make sure you stay hydrated. If you need any more during the night, come down and get some.”

“Thank you. Um, I have nothing to sleep in,” I whisper.

“I will give you something.”

Wyatt motions me to follow him upstairs to his bedroom. We pass the mysterious room on the way, and my interest is again piqued. I know there is no point in asking questions because he won’t answer them. He leads us to his bedroom. I stand awkwardly in the middle of the room, rocking on my heels.

He went into his drawers and handed me one of his tees and boxers. “Here. You know where the bathroom is to change.” He smiles.

I thank him, taking them and disappearing to the bathroom—not the one he has in his room, but the one down the hall. I take my makeup off and change. Why are guys’ tees always more comfortable than women’s?

When I step out, Wyatt is waiting for me. I raise my brow at him, “What, are you coming to tuck me in?” I ask sarcastically.

He smirks, “If you want me to, I will.”

I shake my head, “I was joking.”

He extends his hand to me, which I take. He takes me to the room next to his, where I will be sleeping tonight. It is a beautiful room with a king-size four-poster bed.

“There are more pillows in the closet if you need them. I am right next door if you need anything. Now, get into bed and get some rest,” he demands.

I roll my eyes, “Yes, father.”

He looks at me with a “what the fuck” look on his face, “Please, don’t ever call me that again.”

“Then stop treating me like a child,” I say, annoyed, and climb into the bed.

He comes over, standing at the side of the bed. He bends down and places his hands on the bed, “Then stop acting like one.”

Chapter Ten: Sharing a Secret – 2

I turn my back to him, “You can leave now.”

He doesn’t say a word. He chuckles, switching the light off. I can’t see his face, but I know he will have a smug look on his face as he closes the door behind him. I am surprised he didn’t leave it open in the same way he does at work. I sigh and roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling. I don’t know if I will be able to sleep. I don’t do well sleeping in places that aren’t home. It will be a long night.

I am surprised when I wake up. I must have fallen asleep. It couldn’t have been for too long because it was still dark outside. The bed is comfortable, and I hate that I need to move to use the bathroom. I check the time, and it reads three o’clock. I slept for a couple of hours.

I gather myself and switch the lamp on so I can find my way out of the room. I make sure to be careful and quiet. I don’t want to wake Wyatt. I step out into the hall, and when I do, I hear noise coming from his room. He is yelling. I tiptoe to the outside of the door.

“No, stop. Please, don’t hurt her,” he cries.

He must be having a nightmare. Whatever it is about, it’s clearly upsetting him.

“Daddy, stop! Leave her alone,” he whimpers.

My heart breaks listening to him. Whatever he is dreaming about sounds terrible. He continues to whimper and call for his mother. I am confused. His parents are still alive. He sounds terrified.

I am still determining if my next move will be the right one, but I enter his room. As I step in, he shoots awake from his sleep.

“Wyatt, are you okay?” I ask softly.

“Get out,” he hisses.

“No. I want to make sure you are okay.”

“Leave now, Alyssa. Get out of my room,” he snaps.

I sigh and back out, closing the door behind me. I don’t know what happened, but whatever it was did not sound good. He doesn’t want to talk about it, and I can’t force him.

I stop at the bathroom and return to the bedroom. I climb back into bed but don’t lie down; I sit up and bring my knees to my chest. What happened to him? Yes, we all have bad dreams, but that was different. He was genuinely terrified. Does his dad hurt his mom? I assume from the use of the word “daddy”; it is from when he was a child.

A knock at the bedroom door grabs my attention. “Come in.”

It takes a moment, but it opens, and he steps inside, coming over to the bed. He is flushed and sweating. His eyes are filled with sadness; no, brokenness is probably the best way to describe it.

Chapter Ten: Sharing a Secret – 3

He sits at the bottom of his bed, sighs, and runs his fingers through his hair, “I am sorry I snapped at you.”

“It is okay. I had no right to walk into your room. I wanted to make sure you were okay because you sounded terrified,” I whisper nervously.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You were concerned. Sadly, what you heard is a normal thing for me most nights,” he says sadly.

“I am sorry that happens to you. Can I ask why it happens? If you don’t want to tell me, it is okay.”

I don’t want to push him. We barely know one another.

“I will tell you some of it, but not all of it. But you need to promise me you won’t say a word about it.”

I place my hand over my heart, “I promise, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

He takes a deep breath, “I am adopted.”

“I didn’t know that.”

He shakes his head, “It is not public knowledge. The only people who know are my parents and siblings. The Suttons adopted me when I was six. The first six years of my life were not good; I have a lot of trauma from my childhood. My biological father was a bastard, and my mother had her issues. She was an incredible mother, but sadly, her upbringing was not good, and she had her demons.”

The emotions while talking about them both were so different. He was angry when he spoke about his father, but with his mom, it was sadness.

“Was?” I ask.

“Yes, both of them are dead. I don’t want to go into any more details; I am not ready. I don’t talk about it to anyone,” he whispers.

I crawl down the bed to him. I place my hand over his, “You don’t need to tell me anymore, Wyatt. I am sorry you had such a terrible life to start, and you are still suffering for it now.”

My heart broke for him. My childhood wasn’t great either, but something tells me his was a lot worse.

“Anyway, you should try getting more sleep. I will go back to my room and leave you to it,” he says.

“You can stay in here with me if you want?” I suggest.

I don’t want him to be alone, not after what happened.

“No, you don’t need me in here with you. I will probably have more nightmares. There is a reason I don’t usually let people stay over, and if they are, I usually stay awake. No one needs to see or hear me being so weak and broken. Anyone who has seen me like that leaves. I would understand if you wanted to also.”

He tries to pull his hand away, but I don’t let him. I hold it tighter.

“Stay. It is okay if you have nightmares when you are in here with me. They don’t make you broken or weak, Wyatt. You have been through hell. And anyone who has left because of them doesn’t deserve to be in your life. Please, stay in here with me,” I say, making eye contact with him.

I can see the hesitation on his face, but he nods. I smile, letting go of his hand and climbing back under the covers. I lift the other side and pat the spot next to me. He smiles and climbs in next to me.

“We should both get some rest,” I say, switching the light off.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

“For what?”

“For listening and not judging me. For not running.”

“I would never judge someone on their past. If you ever want to talk to me about it, you know where to find me, Wyatt,” I reply.

“I appreciate that. Please, get some rest now.”

I turn my back to him since it is the position I sleep in. Hopefully, I can get some sleep. I don’t know what he has been through, but I hope he can find a way to heal from it someday.