The Fog

Chapter 24

I went through the kitchen and grabbed some of my favorite snacks and Michael make some chicken nuggets and fries. We grabbed our food and loaded it onto a cart and went back to our room. Michael set me on the bed and pushed the cart next to me, he turned on the TV and we had a picnic in bed. I loved these special moments when it's just me and Michael with no one else around. This was just what I needed after everything that happened, I needed to feel safe and Michael made me feel safe. We're laughing and having a great time together when there's a knock at the door. Michael gets up and reassures me that nothing bad is going to happen. He opens the door and it's Ethan, I breathe a sigh of relief and he walks in.

"Hey kiddo! I was just seeing how you were holding up." He walks over and sits on the end of the bed.

"I'm doing better. Thanks for helping to get me out of there." I rub my arm and look at the floor.

"No problem. You know it's okay to not be okay right now, right? You just went through a traumatic experience, no one expects you to bounce right back, and you shouldn't bounce right back. You need time to heal." Tears start streaming down my face and Ethan and Michael both rush over and engulf me in a huge hug.

"I thought I was going to die down there." I say sobbing harder. I turn to Michael and put my hand on his cheek. "But I was willing to die for your safety." Tears slid down my cheek as I said this as memories flooded my mind. "He tortured me for hours wanting to know about you but I said nothing to protect you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he hurt you because of me." Michael engulfs me in a tight hug and then pulls away to look at me.

"A life without you is not worth living, when I went outside and saw blood and a piece of your hair, a small piece of me died at the thought of you being dead. I couldn't sleep and I barely ate or drank with the though that you might be dead or I'd find you too late." He was now crying and my heart broke to see how much I truly hurt him but I wouldn't have said anything to Trenton even if I could go back in time because if I died, Michael may have a broken heart but at least he was still alive. I hugged Michael as he sobbed into my shoulder. Ethan rubbed my back a little and left the room, shutting the door behind him. We stayed hugging for a while and then got under the blankets and went to sleep cuddling with each other.

I woke up and saw I was in the chair again, I struggled even harder than I had before and Trenton just laughed as he held a knife. He lunged forward at me. I quickly opened my eyes and jolted up, I looked around to see I was in Michael's bedroom still, it was still dark out so I realized it must be early in the morning. I touched my stomach and arms to see I was still all bandaged up. I look to see Michael still asleep. I'm sweating from the nightmare so I get up and take a shower. I can't sleep after that so after my shower I lay back down and read a book. I watched as the sun slowly rose and peaked through the windows. Michael finally woke up and saw me reading.

"How long have you been up?" He asks as he rubs his eyes.

"Since like two in the morning." I say still reading.

"Why were you up that early?"

"I woke up after a nightmare."

"A nightmare, princess why didn't you wake me up?" He asks worried and takes my book and sets it on the nightmare.

"You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to trouble you about a silly nightmare." He takes me hands in his and looks at me sincerely.

"Hey, you will never trouble me, and it wasn't a silly nightmare. It was obviously scary since you couldn't fall back asleep."

"Okay, next time I have a nightmare I'll wake you up." He nods and kisses me cheek.

"Please do, I want to be here for you darling." I nod and get up. We get dressed and head to breakfast with everyone. Michael makes me some waffles as I sit down at the table. It was quiet as everyone talked about themselves and luckily no one asked how I was. Michael or Ethan must've told them not to. I finish eating and head to the library.