"That sounds almost as bad as my brother, the sleep-screamer," he spoke fondly of his brother, eyes flicking to the lump of sleeping bag and blanket that housed David. "Thankfully, he doesn't do it anymore, but for a while there during his teen years I thought I was going to have to resort to putting a muzzle on him. I'd be sound asleep, and the next thing I know I'm leaping out of bed, scrambling to get across the hall to see who'd broken into the house and was terrorizing David. But when I got there? The dweeb would be sound asleep."
His lips quirked at her compliment. "I never said I wasn't better company than a book, only that I could keep you company. If you'd prefer to catch up on your reading, that's fine." He shrugged. "With the noise factor as loud as it is right now, I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep right away. Sleep is only better than Rae when sleep becomes more insistent, and right now, the urge to sleep is fairly quiet."
It was too late to take back his offer now, wasn't it? If Rae truly didn't want company, she'd say so, which may have been considered impolite, but Elliot appreciated the honesty, even if it did disappoint him sometimes. "I can always walk with you out to the hall, then go for a walk on my own. Whatever you want."
Rotten oranges set ablaze because a clown needed the ash. Somehow, no matter how strange his own dreams got, Elliot's were always overshadowed by the absurdity of David's. Elliot rolled his eyes, raking his fingers through his hair.
"He probably won't remember when he wakes up, either." Another yawn, this one he shook off as he pushed his jacket and blanket off of him.