A blood-curdling scream jerked Kazimir awake, expecting to find a killer at the foot of their bed. Heart pounding in his throat, Kazimir scanned the hazy room as he reached over for his glasses on the nightstand. Only moonlight shined in through the cracked open window, where a gentle breeze swept inside. It illuminated Emmett's figure, curled up beside him, wrestling with the covers.

"Emmett, baby. Wake up." Kazimir reached out, touching his lover's shoulder, only to be swatted away. He tried again, this time pressing both his hands against Emmett's cheeks to steady his head. "It's just a nightmare. Nobody's after you."

The screams morphed into soft whimpers as he begged, "Get off. Don't fucking touch me."

Something made Kazimir climb on top of Emmett, straddling him so he wouldn't thrash so violently in bed. Anything to get him to stop fighting in his sleep. Emmett had never did anything like that before. Kazimir wasn't sure what to do. He kept shoving Kazimir's hands away and nearly knocked him onto the floor. Emmett was hurting so much. He'd always suffered nightmares, but nothing so extreme never happened before. Kazimir wasn't sure how to calm him or what he needed to do. Should he get Alfie for help? Emmett probably wouldn't be pleased with him if he did that.

A harsh slap across the face made Kazimir freeze as his glasses were flung off his face. Carefully, he untangled himself from Emmett as he kept thrashing. Rubbing at his sore cheek, he bent over to retrieve his glasses that almost broke from the impact. It wasn't until Emmett quit moving when Kazimir sneaked another peek at him.

"Emmett? Baby, are you okay?"

Emmett's eyes shot wide open, panicked and frenzied as he sat up. Mouth gaped, he struggled to form any words as he looked around, taking in their bedroom. Kazimir awaited a response, anything to defend his wild actions. Instead, Emmett reached out and pulled him closer, tightening his arms around Kazimir's smaller body.

Gently, Emmett pulled back, kissing Kazimir desperately. When he touched his sore cheek, Kazimir involuntarily flinched, as the bruise was fresh. "What happened?" Emmett asked softly, his Adam's apple bulged. "Did I... hurt you?"

"You didn't mean to," Kazimir told him. "It was an accident. You were having another nightmare. I tried to calm you down, and you hit me. But it wasn't on purpose, I know that."

"Fuck, I'm sorry, sweetheart." Emmett peppered his cheeks in kisses then pressed his face against Kazimir's chest.

"What happened?" Kazimir asked. "You've never had one this bad before."

"I-I don't know. Barely remember it." Emmett averted his gaze to the opened window.

"Come on, don't lie to me. You can be honest. I'd never judge you." Kazimir stroked his fingers through Emmett's blond hair, wondering what upset him like that. He'd never seen Emmett so frightened, desperate to get someone away from him. They'd fought earlier over Kazimir coming home late with Jordy after snooping around, but none of that mattered now.

Emmett sighed. "It's not something I want to talk about."

"Well, I'm always here if you need to talk," Kazimir told him. "I know things are scary right now, but we've got each other. We'll get through this."

"I was dreaming about the past, not what's going on now," Emmett admitted.

"What do you mean?" Kazimir frowned. "Something bad happened to you before?"

"If I tell you this, you have to swear on your life never to tell another soul," Emmett said, moving away from his chest to come face to face with him.

Kazimir nodded. "I promise, I'll keep it a secret. Tell me what's been haunting you these past nights. I want to help."

"There's nothing you can do to help, sweetheart." Emmett closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath. "I'm fine, if you're worried. Just a little insomnia. Never killed anyone, I don't think."

"You're fighting in your sleep, begging someone to get away from you. That's not normal or healthy," Kazimir replied. "Is it someone who tried to kill you you're dreaming about? An old rival?"

"My uncle," Emmett replied. "That's who I was fighting off. He's dead now. Can't do shit to me but my mind just... It went back to those awful times. I don't know why, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately."

"Hey, it's okay." Kazimir reached down for his lover's hand. "I'm here. I won't let any ghosts get ya either."

Emmett cracked a half-smile at that. "I mean, that's about it. Just fighting him off."

"Why? Was your uncle abusive toward you?" Kazimir asked. "Unless that's too far and you'd rather not talk about it."

"I'm not really sure where to begin. Um, I've never told anyone this." Emmett scratched the side of his neck. "The old fucker used to crawl in my bed at night. Messed around with me and stuff. You get the gist without me being explicit, right? I don't wanna go back down that fucked up memory lane."

"He molested you?" Kazimir asked softly, squeezing his hand tighter.

"Yeah." Emmett looked away. "Threatened to hurt Everly if I ever told anyone. I was a stupid kid. I didn't know any better and kept my mouth shut. Better me than her. So I just let it happen. He pulled us out of poverty and away from that disgusting trailer full of roaches, let us into his home and helped my mom, who's wheelchair bound."

"Jesus. Emmett."

"I'll spare you the gritty details of what he did, okay? You don't need those images in your mind. I wish I didn't have them either," Emmett continued. "One night, my mom found us in a very awful position. I think she'd started piecing together what was going on. Wasn't a great detective for nothing."

"Wait, your mom was a detective? I never knew that."

"Yep, sure was. That's a story for another night though. Uncle Vernon was a cop too. Corrupt pig, he was. Anyway, after my mom caught us she pulled her gun on the fucker. Got him right in the head too. Blood splattered everywhere and he stopped moving. Man, I was so scared. Thought she'd be so angry with me. I didn't really understand everything at the time, aside from it being wrong, but I thought it meant I did something bad too. Kid logic, you know?"

Kazimir couldn't help the tears that fell as he hugged Emmett tightly. He'd never known something traumatic happened to him as a child. And the way he spoke about with barely any emotion broke his heart more.

"Hey, don't cry." Emmett rubbed his back. "My dear mother made sure I never endured that again. She had me help stage his murder as a suicide. We cleaned the blood off me and called 911 to tell them that he'd offed himself."

Kazimir could stop shaking, not even when Emmett pulled him close. It took a moment for him to realize Emmett shed some tears too, but he wiped them away before parting.

"They believed it then? That he killed himself?" Kazimir asked softly, removing his glasses to daub his eyes.

"Sure did. Nobody bothered to look further into the death of a pervert like him anyway." Emmett shivered, rubbing at his arms. "Telling my mom about everything had to be the worst part. Seeing her cry like that... Seeing how angry she got at her brother... Mom could be scary." He forced a chuckle. "Always put me and Everly above everything though. I was their accident baby, but she never treated me like a burden. Sometimes my dad did, but he could be a jackass. Everly was always his favorite."

"You never talk about your mom," Kazimir said. "What's she like?"

"She can be really sweet," Emmett replied. "Unless you mess with her or our family. I'm sure you don't remember it, but they both came down here when Everly was shot a few months ago. You were pretty blitzed. I mean, I was too though."

"Sorry. I don't remember seeing them," Kazimir admitted. "Does your mom know... about us?"

"I haven't kept in contact with my family, but I mentioned you once. We haven't had many good conversations together. We just argued when Everly was in the hospital. She kicked me out of their room before our folks got there. You were in the waiting room with them, but you guys didn't know each other. I dragged you away before any arguments could break out."

"So, you're not on good terms with them?" Kazimir asked.

Emmett shook his head. "Not really. My father's the most disappointed in me. Expected me to do great things and get my shit together. Wanted me to run my own business and marry a nice girl from their church, someone who'd help keep me grounded."

"Ah, I see. He's upset with you not starting up your own business," Kazimir said.

"That, and he hates having a fag for a son," Emmett replied. "Doesn't matter now though. It's not like that fat sack of shit cares about me anymore. He loved me as a kid. But after what happened with my uncle... He couldn't be anywhere near me. It was like he thought I was contagious. He never hugged me again, never read me those fun bedtime stories, never tried to be a good father again. I guess he just saw me as damaged goods."

"You're not," Kazimir told him. "Your father was an ass for abandoning you when you needed him most."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Emmett muttered.