Page 107 of Pretty Little Fears

Weall laugh and the feeling of support and friendship washes over me.

Feelinga little better,Idecide to spend the day withAspenandVerena.Emmetthad explained to me what happened withLoreleiand her psychotic fucking delusions, how she was behind the man in my room.Ialways knew something was off about her.Iknew she was out to get me.

Ineed to trust my intuition more often.

Withher no longer residing in our unit,or anywhere for that matter, we have a new girl coming into the house soon.Theysaid her name wasHeather?Hailey?I’mnot sure, butI’mstill debating on whether or notI’llbe staying atBlackwoodafter this year, soIdon’t know ifI’llget the chance to meet her.

Therest of the day is spent catching up withVerenaandAspen.Westay in, andI’mgrateful for it.Itgave us a chance to talk about what a mess the past few months have been.Theydidn’t probe or ask questions on what happened to me, and it felt nice to get to hangout with them again.Welaughed, cried, and then laughed some more, the hours were later filled with snacks and movies.

Bythe end of the third movie we’ve watched,I’mstruggling to keep my eyes open.Aspenyawns next to me as she stretches, “IthinkI’mgoing to call it a night, girls.Ihad so much fun today.”Shesmiles softly.

“Metoo,”Irespond, the same smile filing my own face.Ilook over toVerenawho has passed out and we both chuckle.

Imissed this.

Wesay goodnight and head towards our rooms.Itried wakingVerena, but she just swatted at me and rolled over, mumbling something in the process.Iended up throwing a blanket over her in favor of not getting hit again.

Walkingback to my room,Ilet out a sigh filled with contentment.Ifeel good.Spendingthe day with the girls really helped me feel a sense of normalcy again and that's allIwant.Forthings to go back to normal, even ifIknow it’ll never be the same.

Shuttingthe door behind me,Iflop back onto my bed.Myphone vibrates in my hand andIlook down at the text fromEmmett.Thisis his fifth text in the past minute.I'vealready told him though,Ineed to do this.Ineed to sleep here in my bed andIneed to do it alone.Ihaven't slept alone since the day he ended up trapped in that hell with me.I'vebeen able to find comfort in his body next to mine every night.

Iwant to be able to do this.

Ineed to be able to do this.

Droppingmy phone,Ipull myself from the comfort of my bed and go to my closet to change out of my clothes.OnceI'min more comfortable attire,Imake my way back towards my bed.Placingmy phone on the nightstand,Ipull back the sheets and crawl underneath, letting my body relax and get comfortable.

Iclose my eyes and quickly succumb to the promise of sleep.Imay not have done a lot today, but it was emotionally and mentally exhausting nonetheless.

Mydoor swings open, waking me from my sleep as familiar faces fill its frame.Thetwo men who had dragged me around from room to room, who beat me, who laughed at my pain, are staring back at me.Mylungs seize and burn asItry to take in a breath of air.Ican’t fucking breathe.Howare they here?

Theshorter one of the two, the one whose dickIattempted to bite off, walks closer to me.Hissmile is evil and too large for his face.Itcontinues to grow as the corners of his smile seem to split the skin of his cheeks, allowing it to continue growing.

Itgrows,

Andgrows,

Andgrows,

Untilits devilish curve has taken over the lower half of his face.Itry to back up further in bed, to get away from him as he stalks towards me.Iinch closer to the edge of the bed, attempting to run away, when my movements become restricted.Chainsconnect to my wrists and ankles, keeping me tied to the bed.

Ilook back up at him as blood starts to pour out of the large gash of a smile in his face.Iopen my mouth, to scream for help, as liquid bubbles up in my airway.

Ichoke and sputter on the liquid as it fills my throat and mouth.Itpours out and onto the bed, the color, crimson and the taste, metallic.Iattempt to breathe, butIcan’t asIdrown from the inside on my own blood.

Istart to clutch at my throat, trying to find a way to breathe.Lookingup from the pool of blood surrounding me, my scream finally leaves my throat as the nose of my nightmare bumps his own with mine.

Myeyes shoot open asIwheeze and gasp for air.Mylungs burn and my throat feels scratchy.Tearsline my cheeks and the mattress is wet underneath me from my sweat.Icontinue to suck in air while placing a hand to my erratic heart, trying to calm it down beforeIgive myself a heart attack.

Itwasn’t real.

I’msafe.

Despiteknowing both of those things,Ican't ward off the panic.Thepanic of being trapped once again.Theonly difference between being there and being out is thatImay no longer be physically trapped, but mentally my mind has created its own prison.

Withshaky hands,Iquickly unlock my phone and findEmmett’sname.Itrings once beforeIhear his raspy voice filling my ear. “What’sthe matter, little obsession?”

“Nightmare,”Icroak out, still feeling likeIcan’t take in enough air.Ionly have to say one word andIalready hear him shuffling around, getting ready to come to me.

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