Trauma Bond

Chapter Eleven: Anxiety

(TW: Mentions of PTSD from last abuse)

The silence from both sides of the call was deafening. After a short moment, which felt more like years, you finally responded. "Why are you calling me?" Your voice came out as a whisper. You didn't dare to look at Eren, choosing to stare at a small scuff on the countertop instead. Your anxiety was through the roof.

"It's been months, (Y/N). Please... come home. I swear I've changed, let me prove it to you." Brad's voice sounded desperate. "I can sweep you off your feet again, just like when we first started dating."

The silence after he spoke was deafening. You glanced over at Eren for a split second, averting your eyes back to the spot you were staring at before. He looked pissed. His back was leaned against the counter, staring straight at the phone in your hand. It was obvious to you that he could hear what was being said on the other end of the phone and who it was.

You swallowed a lump in your throat. You didn't want to have this conversation, you were past this breakup. Truth be told, you were mostly over him before the breakup even occurred, but you didn't think much about him anymore. He was in the past, the only reminders of him was the trauma that he engraved in the amygdala, hippocampus, and pre-fontal cortex of your brain. You were suffering from the effects of undiagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder because of him, which was made apparent during your argument with Eren earlier, as well as the horrific nightmares you've been enduring and the spike in cortisol levels that's caused your anger outbursts. The man on the other end of the phone ruined your life.

The moment of silence was interrupted. "Baby, please answer me. Come home."

Your anger was starting to rise again. "Don't call me that. I've already told you, I'm not coming back. Ever. Get that through your thick skull."

Out of your peripheral vision, you noticed Eren becoming less composed. The tether of strings keeping himself together becoming thinner, being made apparent in his body language and facial expressions.

Suddenly, your blood turned cold again, eyes widening and jaw becoming unhinged as Brad's unhumored laugh filled your ear. "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way then. I know where you live, (Y/N), and I always get what I want."

Tears threatened to spill out of your eyes. "H-how do you know that?"

His villainous hum caused shivers to run down your spine. "Let's just say a few little birdies told me."

Eren could no longer compose himself, the final strings of his sanity had snapped. He grabbed your phone out of your hand and put it to his ear, his empty hand shakily placed on the side of your head and pressed your head into his chest.

"Listen here, you piece of shit, if you ever show your face around here, you're not going to walk away with much of it left." Eren's voice was seething. You've never seen him so angry before, you swore you saw red flashing through his normally emerald eyes.

"Aww how cute, someone has a little crush." He almost cooed, his tone sounded condescending. "As I told her, I always get what I want, and I'm going to take back what's mine. Your threats are meaningless."

Eren laughed humorlessly. "Fuck around and find out." Then he hung up the phone before a response could be formed, setting it on the countertop next to him.

He wrapped his other arm around you, caressing your body. His heart was beating fast as he pressed a kiss to your forehead, calming himself down. You quickly pulled away from him, frantic. "We can't stay here, Eren, it's not safe. We need to get out of here."

"I'm not scared of him, (Y/N)-" He looked at you, how your anxiety was presenting itself and how you were on the brink of a full-on panic attack, then changed his course of speech. "But we can stay at my house tonight, let's pack you a bag."