Remembering Rose

Chapter Five- Promising Always

Walker's POV
It was almost 2 in the morning when my phone so rudely began blasting out "No Control" by One Direction. Cursing loudly I fumbled in the darkness to find the offending technology, swearing I would murder Farley for changing all my ringtones.
A moan sounded from the bed beside and the blonde beauty I'd met earlier turned to bury her head in my pillows, "Walker, shut that god damn thing off."
The sound of the boy band atrocity ended, but before I could even turn triumphantly back to the girl it erupted again.
As I began my search again dread slowly filled my stomach--no one called you twice unless they meant business. My fingers suddenly found my phone, which had fallen under the bed. Upon seeing the caller Id the dread in my stomach suddenly turned to ice.
Peony.
"Hello," I answered, unable to mask my grogginess.
Peony's voice erupted across the line and her voice was panicked, the sound of anguished screams filled the background. "Walker," she sobbed, "Walker, something is wrong! Something awful is happening and I can't stop it. I need help, please! Oh God, Walker, I need you!" My heart constricted at the sound of her words.
They were so much like the words she screamed out all those months ago, back when the boys and I had been powerless.
"Hey hey, calm down, just tell me what's going on," I cooed attempting to soothe her.
"It's Rose!"
The ice in my stomach shot through my veins and froze my heart. Suddenly the screams intensified and I knew what was happening. I shot up from the bed and snatched a pair of discarded trousers from the floor. "I'll be there in a minute, Love," I said, not even aware that the term of endearment had slipped off my tongue.
I hung up the phone and looked around wildly for a shirt. As I grabbed a faded Captain America T-shirt the girl laying in my bed finally spoke, "Are you really going to leave me all by myself?"
Without even pausing I took a couple pounds from my pocket and tossed them at her, "That's for a cab." Then I was gone, sprinting out my door and up two flights of steps to the seventh floor. I ran past Galen's unopened door, which was third down from the stairs, to the end of hall where a familiar yellow door stood. My knuckles scraped as I pounded roughly on the chipped surface, but I didn't care.
The door opened to reveal Peony, her chestnut hair wild and her usually bright green eyes teary and red. She didn't waste any time with a greeting, she just grabbed my calloused hand in her smooth one and pulled me through the dark flat. When we got to Lilith's old room the door opened and the scene before me shattered the ice that had filled my body.
Rose was laying in Lilith's old bed, curled into a little ball. Her hands clawed at her ears and tears had left a heart-wrenching trail down her cheeks. A scream tore out of her throat and I knew instantly she was witnessing some horror in her dreams. It was a scream that could only come the darkest recesses of ones existence, fueled by anguish and pain. She writhed in the bed, feet tangling with shed blankets, and arched her back as though she'd been stabbed.
"She won't stop," Peony whispered, her voice thick with angry sadness. "She is in so much pain, and I can't help!" Her hand left mine and tugged at the long strands of her hair.
With a certainty that would send chills down the others' backs I told Peony, "She is having a night terror. They are like nightmares, only they feel more terrifying. Something from her past has scarred her."
"What do we do to stop it," Peony gasped as she looked between Rose and me.
I shook my head, ran my hands through my own dark blonde hair (a shade just slightly darker than Rose's), and let out a sigh. "We can't."
Peony looked so lost. She hated being helpless, with every fiber of her being, she hated not being able to protect.
"EVIE, he he'll kill you!" Rose suddenly screamed, her voice clearer than I'd ever heard it. Then Rose shot up in the bed, her usually ice blue eyes were a shifting sapphire color wide with terror. "Evie," she called out--searching for someone that wasn't there.
I took a careful step forward, the movement catching her attention, "Rose, darling?"
Peony attempted to grab my sleeve, but I pulled away from her. My Rose was lost and I needed to guide her back.
"Darling, you're safe now. Your monsters aren't going to find you here. I won't let them," I cooed. With each sentence I moved closer to her until I was at the edge of the bed. She stared up at me and I watched in wonder as her eyes lightened from a dark sapphire to pale ice blue.
"Walka?" She asked me, her voice shaking, "O-any?"
I'm not sure what took over me then, but in an instant I scooped Rose into my arms and held her tightly to my chest. I felt her shuttering gasp just before she released a broken sob. My legs gave out and the two of us collapsed on the ground.
Peony walked over to us and wrapped her arms around us. We sat like that until Rose quieted. Then as we slowly pulled apart and Peony wiped the tears from Rose's cheeks.
"We are here, Rose, and we'll always protect you from your monsters," she promised quietly.
Rose smiled warmly and then said, "Always."