Petal [h.s.]

Chapter 16

Violet.

I awoke with a jolt and a loud gasp as I immediately sat up straight in the bed, eyes wide and trying to accustom to the darkness in my bedroom. Harry grumbled next to me, his arm still hanging over my abdomen as I leaned back on my hands, heartbeat ringing in my ears and my breaths shaky. 

"Sorry." I muttered, grabbing his arm and removing it from me before I slid out from beneath the sheets and made my way to the door. I was a bit dizzy from the headrush and my hand blindly patted the dark wall in order to find the light switch in the bathroom once I closed the bedroom door behind me.

The bright lights made me squint my eyes as I wobbled my way to the sink, trembling hands trying to open the tap to get some cold water on my face. I felt like I was burning, which is exactly what the dreams were always about.

"Violet?" Harry's hoarse voice caused me to flick my head to the side, seeing him standing in the doorway, hand covering his mouth as he yawned. It reminded me of when I slept at the mansion and the same thing happened. Well, the same thing happened most nights to be honest.

"I'm fine. Go back to bed." I mumbled, letting out a sigh of relief as I felt the cold water running down my hands. I brought my wet hands up, rubbing my own arms, neck, face and chest as I was slowly calming down. Harry didn't move from his position as he stood there, watching my ritual intently. 

I tried to ignore his heavy gaze as I hesitantly brought my wet hand over my shoulder, beneath my shirt until my cold palm finally landed on the large burn on my shoulder. I closed my eyes as I felt calm, even though I was mainly unable to feel the cold against the dead skin.

"What are you doing?" Harry was curious as he finally approached me, eyes glued to my hand on my shoulder blade. My eyes were still closed as I stood there for a bit, calming down still. "Don't worry about it."

"Will you stop brushing me off for just one second?" He sounded annoyed and I opened my eyes to see him standing behind me, looking at me through the mirror. I brought my hands back beneath the stream of cold water, wetting them again and just feeling the droplets on my skin. 

"I have nightmares." I responded.

"I figured." It was Harry's turn to be sarcastic, and the change of dynamic caused me to cock up an eyebrow. I felt instant annoyance towards him and wondered if this is what everyone felt every time I made a snide remark. Maybe I was as annoying as people made me out to be.

"I have nightmares about fires." I elaborated, turning off the tap as I let the drops run down my fingertips, eyes glued to them landing in the sink and slowly running down to the drain. 

Harry was quiet for a bit as he seemed to be thinking. "What happens in the nightmares?"

I sighed and dried off my hands, turning around to lean against the counter so I was finally facing him. "Um... I'm stuck in a burning house. It's really warm and... I can't get out. I'm suffocating." I spoke the last word as I brought my one hand up to subconsciously rub against my chest with my palm. I sucked in a deep breath to confirm that my lungs were working just fine, causing another wave of relief to wash over me.

"It sounds like a horrible dream." Harry eventually spoke and I nodded slowly. "It's scary as fuck."

"Is it a true dream? Is that how you got..." His index finger pointed to my shoulder. "That?"

I nervously shifted on my feet a bit as I looked down before nodding. "Yes. About 10 years ago."

"You were stuck in a burning house 10 years ago?"

"Yes."

"What happened?" It hadn't gone unnoticed that he scooted a bit closer to me, palms now leaning on the countertop that I was standing against. It felt both intimidating and comforting.