Training the Team (Dougie Hamilton)

Hanging Over While Hungover

Sunday, July 5

<Kylie's POV>

Falling. Falling. Falling. Wind is whistling through my clothes, whipping through my hair. I'm free-falling, with no way to catch myself. Pain is sharp in my chest, and I hold my hand up to my chest, and it comes away coated in red. Horrified, I look down at my chest. My heart is bleeding, and I'm falling. Either way, I'm going to die. My eyes squeeze shut, a few lone tears falling much slower than I am.

"Kylie!" I hear someone shout from above me.

"Kylie, no!"

My eyes snap open, and I look up. There's a man falling towards me, his arms outstretched as if to catch me. His red hair is being whipped in every direction, and his eyes are wildly shifting color.

"Dougie?" I breathe, and he falls even faster toward me.

"Kylie, Kylie, please, please be okay!"

He's frantic, and only a few feet away from me. I lean towards him, and our hands meet, and relief floods through me- but his goes right through mine. My stomach drops.

"Kylie!" He shouts, reaching for me again, but it's as if I'm a ghost: he can't catch me.

"Dougie," I cry, seeing the ground spiraling up at me.

"Kylie, don't go, please," he begs, his voice cracking, his multicolored eyes glistening with tears.

"Dougie," I whimper, looking up at him.

Dougie spots the red over my heart, and his hands move to cover it, even though he can't touch me. But as soon as his hands make contact with the wound, they stop. I'm real again, but the ground is too close, I'm falling too fast.

"Dougie!" I scream, frightened.

"Kylie, no!"

His voice is just as scared as mine, and I look down at the ground I'm about to hit and everything goes black.

I wake up with a scream on my lips and a headache splitting my skull. My heart is hammering against the inside of my ribs, and I'm panting. I press my left hand to my chest, relieved to not feel blood. My head is throbbing in unison with my heartbeat, and tears are running down my face. I bury my face in my arms, trying to calm myself down. I'm sweating, and the sheets are twisted around my legs. My head is pounding and I can't think straight and something is off but I don't know what and why can't I calm down? I'm gasping for breath and trying to make sense of the situation around my splitting headache when a hand hesitantly touches my back.

I scream and nearly throw myself off the bed, tensed, ready to fight. Dougie's sitting there, looking wide-eyed and concerned, his hand extended from his body. Seeing his face like this- even just seeing his face at all- sends my nightmare crashing back down on me. I break into a fresh round of tears, and Dougie doesn't know what to do.

"Kylie, are you okay?" He asks cautiously, leaning slightly toward me.

I shake my head, still crying, and hold my arms out for a hug. Dougie scoots to me on his bed, and hugs me awkwardly. He's sitting cross-legged, so I pull myself closer to him and sit on his lap as if I'm a child.

"Kylie, it's okay, I've got you," he says soothingly, gently rubbing my back with his hand.

I answer by pulling myself even tighter to him and crying into his shirt. I don't know how long this lasts, but Dougie doesn't move. I eventually cry myself out and recover enough to sit on his lap, curled against his chest, feeling numb and very, very hungover.