black hole sun

XII. Sleep Paralysis

Jacob still came by and walked with you every day, between learning defensive and offensive spells. It was comforting in a way the wand becoming an extension of yourself sooner than you'd realized. The imprint becoming a bridge rather than the wall it had caused before, he was still protective and with the smell of the Cullens lingering around around your home caused slight tension. It wasn't as difficult to deal with now but it was a work in progress, Jacob's thoughts lingered on the battle and your safety. 

Jasper and Alice would come at night, Alice would complain about the wolf smell that lingered in the area. Jasper would be more concerned with the distance and strength your magic held. Ames had come to be on your side about leaving Forks High, getting out of mundane classes had eased the metaphorical weights on your shoulders. She wasn't happy with the thought of you fighting against the newborns, but in a sense she understood why you'd decided to help. She only hoped there was more time and preparation.

Bella spent most of her time at the practices with Jacob when he wasn't training and you spent most of it with Rosalie and Emmett as they'd try to catch you off guard. Edward didn't seem bothered by the proximity of the two, it gave a sense of comfort to you. Carlisle would check your preliminaries before and after the practices, he was concerned of possible strains or physical manifestations of the power subjected by each spell. It was easy to fall into a routine, even easier to hold all the Cullens in place, but being able to stretch the magic more than a mile was difficult. It was a precaution, in case Victoria had a strategy, for Bella's safety as well. The problem held when focusing the power onto specific people amidst the wolves and vampires, specifying on them took more strength and would hold for shorter periods of time. 

It seemed that while there was no physical strain, you suffered from night terrors and emotional distress. Carlisle was worried enough with the fight ahead you couldn't find it within yourself to confess the terrors you'd suffer after the practices. Edward's continued attempts to read you were futile unless you tried to share your thoughts onto him, but most of the time you'd only do it so to bother the man with funny out-of-context jokes. Jacob would come over after patrols and find you still awake, you wouldn't sleep until you forced him back out the window. The sleep paralysis was the least of your worries, the uninvoked screaming that came before the paralysis was the most troublesome. Ames was thankfully out the first time it had occurred, the spell of soundproofing the bedroom was put up before you went to bed and removed when you'd wake.

-

You couldn't move. Not a finger. Your eyes blinked as they darted around the darkness of the room. You wanted to scream or sit up, something. Anything. You thought you'd be safe, it was only a nap. The window was open and the dread that filled you only thickened. You couldn't use your powers to close the window, the force holding  you down was stronger than anything you could've imagined.

The flutter of the curtains almost teased your unmoving figure, it was cold the thin duvet wasn't enough from the unyielding cold. The figures that typically lingered from your night terrors were missing but the dread still filled every corner of the room. The negative charge in the room and the cold caused goosebumps even under the body warmed sheets. Your throat burned, you knew your voice would be raspy for the day to come. The time on the clock stuck at 12, it was unmoving as you were, it was the first time you noticed it.

 Jacob's grunt came as he climbed into the window, the stiffness of your form puzzled him. You were unmoving, as his eyes crossed to your face your eyelashes fluttered, consciousness. The feeling of dread and distress rolled off of you in waves that were unfathomable. 

"Can you move?" He asked which he got no response too. If he could've read you mind as you were reading his he'd be insulted with the curses you threw at him. "That was stupid." He grimaced as he thought of what to do, he'd picked you up and his thoughts went onto your sister. 'She is a doctor, perhaps she'd know what to do.' You wanted him to put you down, Ames couldn't know, not now at least. You were helpless and Jacob was just trying to help, you couldn't blame him. Tears welled up in the corners of your eyes and you felt the release as you grabbed on to him a small whimper the only noise that managed to escape.