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Julia was thoroughly confused when she woke up to the sound of stirring and groaning, not coming from her own body.Nightmares were common for Julia, rarely forgetting to appear throughout the night— but Kady was always the one there to talk her down from the disorientation that followed, and that knowledge only strengthened the instant shock that filled her veins at the sight of Kady writhing under their shared blankets. She could have recognized that fight between sleep and reality from a mile away.Kady was mumbling incoherently, dark curls plastered against the sweat on her face, muscles tensing in an effort to break away from her subconscious.Julia's body burned with confusion, unsure how to react to the situation that she usually found herself on the other side of."Kady," her hands ached to reach out and shake her to consciousness, but the logical side of her brain knew the movement could potentially startle the girl, and being scared was definitely not something Kady needed more of. She called out again when the sleeping girl didn't react."Kady," it held more volume than before, but yielded similar results, leaving Kady a mess of mumbled pleas and jerky movements. Julia's chest constricted at the idea of what was playing through Kady's mind, and the idea of letting her experience it a moment longer seemed unbearable."Kady!""Julia!" The taller girl rolled onto her back, yelling the name as if it was the last part of the dream haunting her. The shout caught Julia off-guard, replacing her previous ideas on handling the situation with blank emptiness."Are you okay?" She managed to gather up from her thoughts, her voice shaking faintly from the worry lacing through it. The sweat beading on Kady's forehead and frequent gasps for air answered the question clearly, but she offered Kady time to answer, anyway."I'm fine." Kady choked out, stopping between words to try and catch her breath. Julia's eyebrows fell low on her forehead, already disbelieving of the response."You don't seem fine." The shorter girl's heart must have been pounding just as fast as Kady's in secondhand fear, but she forced compassion to outweigh that panic in her words, hoping her gentle voice would be enough to calm Kady down."I am." The back of Kady's wrist found its way to her forehead as she spoke, the tone making Julia wonder who she was trying to convince.But the curly-haired girl's attempts to prematurely slow the rapid rise and fall of her chest proved futile when a particularly sharp intake of breath hiccuped in her throat, disproving her previous denial.The space between them grew strikingly silent as if the hush could somehow take back the sound they had both obviously heard. Kady's eyes were wide, like she had just slipped up and said something she shouldn't have, and the look forced a sympathetic frown to Julia's lips.The itching in her hands grew stronger with each passing second.Slowly— slow enough to ensure Kady would see it and not be startled— Julia pulled her arm from where it was tucked under her ear and reached out, allowing her hand to find Kady's exposed arm, one finger at a time.The heavy breathing was back— much more drastic than before— like Julia's touch was the gesture Kady had been needing to know that she didn't need to conceal the fear she was feeling. Julia could practically feel the adrenaline racing through Kady's veins, sending tremors of aftershocks through the distressed girl's body.So, Julia scooted closer, careful not to apply anymore pressure to the place where her fingers rested, and slid that hand across Kady's midsection until it found her side and curled around it, enveloping the taller girl in her grasp.Julia could see the shine pooling at the edge of Kady's eyes, glossing over the green with each blink, but tears never fell— and Julia never expected them to."I was back— after Reynard," Kady spoke abruptly, pausing after every few syllables to suck in another breath. Julia opened her mouth to protest— to tell Kady she didn't have to talk about it— but was cut off before she could say anything. "And I found you, and you were—" Kady stopped, her face going blank at the memory of what she had seen."I'm not, though." Julia couldn't bear to hear the end of the statement, much less from the girl who deserved to see that image the least. Kady nodded frantically, the look in her eyes still displaying a part of her that didn't believe it. "I'm here. And everything is okay." It felt cliché saying it, but she remembered Kady repeating the words to her during her own nightmares, and remembered how much they had always helped. Julia tightened her grip on Kady's side— just enough to remind her of the touch— and scooted closer still, until their faces were no more than a few inches apart.She could see Kady's eyes flick towards her briefly, but the action was enough for Julia to know she was getting through to her.Leaning in, Julia pressed her lips against the cold skin of Kady's cheek, which immediately began to grow warm under the sensation. She held the position for a few seconds before pulling away, adding on another, just-as-cliché sounding comment. But the way Kady's eyes fell shut in contentment told Julia she had said the right thing. She repeated it again for emphasis."I'll always be here."