Arabelle Vine, a 22 year old photographer in Seattle Washington, is happy with her current life. She has friends, a great family, and a job she loves. But Arabelle wants to be more than just content with her life. She wants excitement, and she wants...
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I feel Belle flinch against me as she sleeps. I tighten my arm around her and pull her closer, nuzzling my face into her neck. A soft whimper comes from her, and her breathing picks up.
I squint my eyes open, seeing the bright red number of her clock. It's 4:57 in the morning. I rub my eyes and glance down at Belle seeing her eyes tightly squeezed shut. I watch as her chest quickly rises and falls. Her head begins to moving back and forth, like she's shaking her head no.
She must be dreaming.
Arabelle cries out softly, thrashing her arms. She balls her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palm. She's still on her side so I quickly roll her onto her back. I put my hands on her shoulders, attempting to shake her awake.
"Belle!" I call out to her softly, "Arabelle!"
I watch as tears begin to pour down her cheeks. She's beginning to struggle to breathe.
"Stop it please." She mumbles, "No! Please!"
"Arabelle. Darling, wake up." I place my hands on her cheeks, cradling her face in my hands. She flinches at the contact, but quickly begins to calm down.
"Beautiful, wake up." I brush my thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away the tears. I watch as her eyes begin to open.
"Hey beautiful. It's okay." I brush her hair out of her face.
She flinches, sitting straight up in bed. She frantically glances around her dark room. I reach over to her nightstand and turn on the light.
"Hey, hey hey." I sit up next to her, "it's okay. It was just a nightmare."
She turns her tired, swollen eyes towards me, taking me in. "I'm so sorry."
"For what Love?" I ask, "you did nothing wrong."
"I woke you up." She brings her right hand up to her left arm and begins to roughly scratch at it. "I didn't even think I would have one or I never would have asked you to stay. I am so sorry." She apologizes again.
"Arabelle." She glances down, continuing to scratch at her arm. I notice her beginning to bleed and place my hand over hers. I pull her hand away and hold it in mine.
"Belle." She still won't meet my eyes. "Look at me." I say sternly. I grip her chin in between my thumb and pointer finger, tilting her chin up.
Her eyes glisten with tears. Her bottom lip quivers slightly before she begins to sob.
I pull her into my chest. My one hand still holding hers, while the other goes to the back of her head. I run my fingers through her soft hair as she buries her head into my neck.
