Light scratching woke me up a few hours later.  It sounded like fingernails raking over the windowpane. Childhood terrors whipped through my mind in the seconds between dreaming and waking. Visions of green claw-like fingers with long pointy black nails running slowly over the glass had me paralyzed with fear.  Ghastly skeletons with empty eye sockets staring back at me from the other side haunted me as a piercing cackle cut through the room.

I jumped up, clutching the blanket to my body as my heart thudded inside my chest. Sweat was clinging to my skin and slowly slid down my spine, giving me chills in the humid room.  The darkness was empty and silent except for the pounding in my head.  I took a few deep breaths trying to calm myself and began to lay down again to fall back under into my restless sleep.

The light scratching against the glass broke the stillness again.

I nervously climbed out of bed to see where the noise was coming from.  I walked to the window and debated my next move.  I could throw open the blinds and confront it head-on, or I could stand here like a chicken shit and lay eggs the rest of the night every time I heard the noise again.

I decided I had to face my fears.

"You're a big girl Jess. There's no such thing as the boogeyman." I whispered to myself as I began to raise the blinds to peek through them.

"J-E-S-S-S-S-A." I heard my name in the wind.

What the fuck?

I jumped high in the air and almost fell back onto the bed as I clutched my chest. I was just imagining things.  I had to be; it had been such a long night. My brain felt like tapioca pudding. My mind was stressed as far as it could go.  Being on edge and afraid was a normal reaction after what I went through.

"J-E-S-S-S-S-A." The voice whispered again.

I knew I heard my name.  

The scratching started again, this time just slightly louder than before.  I stood up and went back to the window. I placed my ear against the cool glass to listen for more.

THUMP!

A loud sound ricocheted through the room like someone was trying to shatter the window to get in. 

Hell no.

I turned on my heels and sprinted out of the room, almost tripping over my own feet in terror.  I had seen too many scary movies and I had already lived through another one tonight. You don't go chasing that shit.

I ran out into the pitch-black hallway and threw myself at Cameron's door. I tried the doorknob to the bedroom, but it was locked.  I needed him. I needed Cameron right now.

"Cami, Cami, Cami! Open the door, Cami." I pounded on his door, screaming.  I tried the doorknob again without any luck. I beat the door as hard as I could as I shouted at the top of my lungs. "Open the fucking door, Cameron!"

"Seriously, Jess." Cameron groaned from the other side. His turtle self was taking his sweet time to open the door. If someone murdered me tonight, I was going to haunt his perfectly shaped ass for the rest of eternity.

He slowly pulled open the door just wide enough for me to see him. His eyes were sleep heavy and his hair was sticking up in all different directions. Of course, he was just in his boxers. He always slept in his boxers. If I wasn't so terrified, I would have studied his gorgeous body longer. Right now, I just needed to get to safety.

I launched my body against the door and then crashed into him.  I pushed him back into the room as far as I could until he gathered his senses enough to stop me.

"What is it now?" He looked annoyed as he tried to hold me still.

"There's someone outside trying to break the window. They...they're calling my name. Get your gun, shoot them."  I was flipping out against his bare chest.

"Jessa, you were probably just having a nightmare. Go back to bed." He scolded me like a child.

"I'm scared, Cameron, please." I started trembling as I tried to burrow into him.

"Fine. Stay in here. I'll go check it out." Cameron said, taking my hand as he pulled me further into his room. He sat me down on the edge of his bed. I was shaking in fear. I was scared he would get hurt and that the intruder was back to finish the job.

"Cameron, don't go. Don't leave me." I said, clinging to his hand.

"It will be fine.  I will be back in a few seconds."  He did his best to reassure me as he pried his hand from mine. 

I sat on his bed anxiously waiting for him to come back.  I grabbed his pillow and pulled it over myself like it would protect me. I heard the sliding door open. Cameron had left me alone in the house.

The door closed a few seconds later and I was overtaken with fear again when light footsteps made their way back down the hall towards me.

I looked around for a weapon or some way to defend myself. Of course, there was nothing within reach. The pillow was my only defense.  I stood up by the door, ready to swing.

I saw a shadow round the corner and I gave it all I had. I beat the fucker over his head with the pillow.

"Shit, Jess. Stop." Cameron yelled, throwing his arms up to block the assault.

"Where is he? Did you hurt him?" I asked. My body was shaking and I still hadn't managed to catch my breath.

"Calm down. There was no one there. It was just a limb from a bush tapping on the window." 

"How can you be sure?" I asked. My body was trembling as I clutched the pillow tightly in my hand, ready to swing again if I had to. 

"The gates were still locked. All the windows are locked.  You are safe."

Cameron paused for another second and studied me like I was crazy.

"What?" I asked, panicking.

"Do you really think my pillow would have stopped an intruder?"

"Yes."  I huffed.  How dare he make fun of my choice of weapon.

"Darling, you are overly tired.  Go back to the room and go to sleep. It's been a long night."  He said, crossing the room to settle himself back in for the evening.

"Can I stay with you?"  I pleaded with him.

"Are you sure this wasn't just a ploy to get in my bed?" He asked suspiciously.

"You know what, Cameron. If you are going to be like this, I'll find somewhere else to go. I have enough going on right now. I don't need this from you."  I said, walking towards the door with his pillow still tightly clutched next to me. I was going to take it with me since he was such an asshat. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I just knew that he didn't deserve to keep it. 

Cam was behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist before I could even walk over the door's threshold. He pulled me back into his warm body and whispered into my hair.

"Quit being so dramatic and just get into my bed."