PROMISE - S. CLEARWATER

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄: 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃

𝘊𝘙𝘐𝘔𝘚𝘖𝘕 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘉𝘈𝘙𝘌
𝘈𝘚 𝘐 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘕𝘋
𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙𝘚 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘛𝘌𝘓𝘠.

- 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃, 𝐀𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐘 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐙

━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━

"Willow!"

    I wake once again, but this time Seth's shaking me by the shoulders. I shoot up in bed and scurry away from him. My whole body is shaking from fear of what this terrible vision had just included. Seth's eyes are dark with worry as he slowly moves closer to me again, his hands outstretched.

    "Willow, you're okay. It's just me."

I shake my head as tears fall down my cheeks. "Seth, no. She's gonna come back, and she wants to kill me, and she still thinks you're the enemy-"

    "Shh, shh," he says as he sits at my feet. He unclasps my hands from where they're gripping each other and puts them over his heart. "It's okay, it was just a dream. You're safe here. I've got you, Will. Just breathe."

    "No, no," I gasp out through sobs. "She's gonna kill you, Seth!"

    He pulls me into his grasp fully and hugs me as tight as he can without hurting me. In any other case, this would only send me into more panic. I think it's because it's him that I let myself sob it out instead of protesting. "No one's gonna kill me. I'm safe, and you're safe, and everything's okay. It was just a nightmare. I promise."

    "I don't want you to die," I whimper. "And I don't want to die, either. Don't let her get us. Please, Seth."

    "I won't. You're safe. You're okay, Willow. I've got you."

    I scrunch my fists in his shirt and turn my face to his chest. He smells so like himself I nearly fall asleep. But my heart's still going a million miles a minute, and every time there's even a slight creak, I jump. But Seth keeps his hold on me tight, his hands rubbing calming circles on my back as he rocks me from side to side. And when my sobs calm to a dull sniffle every now and again, he lays me back down on the bed and sets himself up behind me.

    "You're so warm," I mutter in my half-asleep state of mind. He smiles and moves closer. My whole back feels like it's just been in a hot shower. "I'm gonna turn around."

    "Okay." He opens his arms so I can flip over. I do, leaving my forehead pressed against his chest. His chin nudges the top of my head as he readjusts so he can both hold me and fall asleep himself. I nestle in, my hands curled in his shirt again. "You're gonna be fine. Go back to sleep."

    "M'kay," I whisper. I'm too far gone to notice the soft kiss he presses to the crown of my head, or the quiet, "I'll protect you," he murmurs as he gives my back one final circle. And once we've both stilled and fallen back asleep, the house gives up its' fight to scare me and quiets down.

    This time, my dreams are filled with Seth.

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    The second time I wake that morning, it's because Seth's failing at discreetly brushing through my hair. There's a few big knots I have yet to tackle. Somehow he's managed to find all of them and more. I know he knows when he hits one, because he makes a quiet hissing sound and moves his hand away for a few seconds. I pretend not to notice for the first few times, but by the fifth, I give up and just let my eyelids flutter open.