𝐀 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ⚠ 𝘑. 𝘉. 𝘉

𝟎𝟕 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘜𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯

TW: Not really a trigger warning, but some fluff and cuteness.

[Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles]
1:40 ─〇───── 2:13
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

Madelyn's POV

𝟎𝟕:𝟎𝟎𝐚𝐦

His soft breathing lifts and sinks my head as I lie on his chest, my eyes slowly opening. I blink a few times, having to remember where I am. The room is filled with bright, yellow light, shining against the polished wooden floors. My eyelashes cover most of my vision, but from what I can see, James is still asleep.

The bright light covers the room, shining through the windows and under the cracks of the door. It dawns on me, making me lift the top part of my body off of his chest. I scan the room, seeing our clothes still scattered on the floor. The light warms the room, creating a heat against my skin, my body getting hotter under the blankets. Or, it's the human body warmer beside me.

I shake his shoulder, stroking his cheek gently. His eyes shift underneath his eyelids before opening completely, looking into mine. he smiles up at me, my face masking his.

"We did it." I smile. "We made it to morning."

"What?" He sits up.

"It's morning."

"Oh, my god." He looks around the room, noticing the sun beaming inside.

He pulls me into a hug, kissing my cheek. I laugh into his chest, not being able to believe that we made it out alive. That I made it out alive. Suddenly, our bodies disconnect at the sound of an alarm. It blares through the streets, alerting everyone else that the horrendous and terrifying night is over. We smile at each other, it reaching our eyes and crinkling the skin beneath them.

"We get to go home," I whisper, smiling at my lap.

James reaches over, grabs our clothes and hands me my jeans, shirt, bra, and panties. I stand up, getting changed back into my clothes. James does the same, being careful when putting material over his wound. When we are clothed, we walk out of the back room, seeing the sun cracked through the holes of paper against the glass. James falters slightly as he walks, his wound taking a toll on him.

I lift up his arm, wrapping it around my shoulders, and leaning his body against mine. I walk us out of the store, closing the door behind us. We walk past the fire, and me closing my eyes at the sight of all the bodies. I saw it once, and I can't see it again. James hides my head in his chest, walking us further down the street. Other people exit their stores and hiding places, smiling at the sight of the horizon. They follow us down the street, returning to their normal lives.

"Where are you taking me? I can't go back to my apartment." James speaks up.

"I know, I'm taking you with me."

"Where to?"

"Back to the bar. To my dad."

We stumble down the street, following the signs and eventually making it towards the bar. I pass the church, seeing people trickle out of the doors, hugging others. The Pastor sees me walking past, holding James. He nods his head at me, smiling at my alive appearance. I smile back at him, happy to see that he was able to keep all those people safe. We make it to the bar's door, James leaning against the wall as I pick out the keys from my back pocket. I jiggle the key in the keyhole, getting to door open and seeing that the room looks the same as it did when I left. I walk James into the room, placing him on a stool.

"Dad!" I call out.

Looking around the room, everything seems normal. The cashier is closed, locked, and not stolen from. Even the glass from the last customer sits on the counter, the froth slowly decreasing at the bottom of his beer. Everything seems perfectly normal. Eerily perfect.

"Dad! Where are you?"

Still no reply. I begin to worry. I've already lost a family member tonight, I can't stand to lose another. Especially not my dad. The floorboard creak under a heavy footstep, the sound echoing in the room. My head snaps to the side, seeing a shadow walking closer to the door of the room. The door creaks open, revealing a tall, dark figure behind it. The smile is wide, staring back at mine.

"Maddy! Thank god, you're okay." Dad runs across the room, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm okay, dad. I promise." I smile into the hug.

Suddenly, his body tenses against mine. I look up at his face, seeing that his eyes are trained on James, sitting on the stool and watching the scene play out. I pull back from the hug, seeing that his face is stuck in a fearful expression.

"Dad, don't worry." I walk over to James. "This is James. He saved me last night."

"In the church?" He asks.

"Uh, no. In the Hospital."

"The hospital? What were you doing in the hospital?"

"Oh, uh." I begin to stutter. "Daisy was supposed to meet me at the church. But, when the doors closed and the alarm went off, she wasn't there. She called me, saying that she was hurt and lost. I told her to meet me at the hospital and I would bring her back to the church. But, I got attacked, and James saved me."

"Thank you, James." My father smiles at him. "Where's Daisy now? Is she okay?"

"Uh, dad. She didn't-"

"Oh, my god." He walks over to me, pulling me into another hug.

I hold his shirt in my fist, scrunching the material hard. He strokes my back, my hair getting knotted as he does. Kissing the crown of my head, he pulls me further away from him, looking down at my eyes.

"Why don't you two go and get cleaned up? You can rest in the spare room." He smiles.

"Thank you." I pull from the hug.

I walk over to James, lifting his body up and walking him over to the stairs. We begin walking up the staircase, holding onto the bannisters and pulling our bodies up.

"James." My dad stops us. "Thank you, again. You saved my daughter's life."

"No, sir. She saved mine."

We continue up the stairs, holding each other up as we do. I guide him through the door and into the spare bedroom. Placing him on the bed, I let go of his body, watching him groan. I walk over to the bathroom, turn on the shower, and wait for the water to turn hot. I walk out of the room, turning over to the wardrobe.

"You can have the shower first. I'll find us some spare clothes." I turn to James.

"Thank you." He stands from the bed. "Uh, Maddy."

"Yeah?" I turn around, an old shirt in my hands.

"What happens next?" He asks.

"Oh, uh. Well, I don't know about you, but, despite this horrible night, I still enjoyed getting to know you. And I would like to continue getting to know you. Maybe we could go out for that ice cream you promised me?"

"I would like that too." He smiles.

He hobbles over to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I hear the shower curtain shift against the bar as he steps into the shower. I place the spare shirt and pants on the bed for him, leaving them behind. I lean against the closed bedroom door, smiling to myself. Even though the night was horrendous, vicious, and bloody, I was still able to meet James. And for that, I am incredibly lucky.

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Thank you for reading this story! I am happy to say that this is another completed story on my account. I will continue writing 'ALEXITHYMIA - RECOLLECTION' now that this is finished!