Struggling to Breathe

Tiger lily

"Oh lord," whispered Iris in astonishment.

The carnival was shit. Like seriously, shit. We had been home about an hour now, and although I had probably the worse time of my life, Iris couldn't seem to get over how much of a disappointment it was.

We had gotten there, it was raining. We got on the rides, and I mean all of the rides, despite the rain. So basically:

Already dangerous rides + Water = A lot, and I mean a lot, of screaming, and sliding.

We were walking down the lane towards the house, wrapping ourselves up with our jackets. I could feel the cold rain sticking my clothes to my skin, and I shook my head, spraying water everywhere, finding it just got wet anyways.

We both began to run as the rain got heavier. "I don't get it, it was meant to be a great day!" Iris cried as we ran through the wind.

I sighed. "Well, Iris, hate to break it to you, but it wasn't a great day," I yelled through the loud wind. "It just happens like that some times, you can't cont-"

Thunder rolled deeply in the distance, and suddenly Iris started running faster than I'd ever seen her run. She reached the house in record time and shoved the door open. I stared in surprise, until the lightning woke me up. I ran after her, up the steps and into the house, closing it behind me.

"Yeeee-ow!" I yelled, putting on a cowboy accent. "That was mental rain!" I walked into the sitting room with a small smile on my face, expecting to see Iris sitting there on her game console or something. But when I entered, I didn't find her.

"Iris?" I called, looking around. "Iris?!"

Thunder boomed loudly outside and I heard a screech from upstairs. I swung around the railing of the stairs and belted up the steps, two at a time. I ran into the spare room, which had a double bed.

"What is it? Who's hurt you?!" I had a pillow in my hand, ready to attack.

Iris was under the covers. Once I realised there was no danger, I closed the door behind me and walked over to the bed. "Iris?" I said gently.

She had the covers covering her face, and I'm almost certain she was wrapped in a ball, rocking back and forth. "S-s-s-Sebs?" Stammered Iris, peeking out from the blanket. Her teeth were shattering from the cold.

"Oh, Iris, what's wrong?" I sat down on the bed and hugged her close to me. "What happened?"

She opened her mouth to speak, when another roll of thunder interrupted her. She screamed in fear and hid again, shaking under the covers. I watched as her shoulders shook as she cried.

"Is it... is it the thunder?" I asked. She nodded and stuck her head back out.

"I-I'm af-fraid of t-thunder," she stammered. Her face had gone pale as a ghost, her hair dripping and her body shaking.

"You need to change," I told her. She shook her head and hid again. "Iris, you'll end up sick." She remained under her blankets.

I stood up and walked into her room, opening her wardrobe. I got her all the clothes she needed and left them on the end of the bed. "Iris, I won't stay unless you get changed," I threatened. She poked her head out and grabbed her clothes.

"I'm sick as it is," she muttured. I turned around and let her change, listening to the rustle of clothes. She was changed in seconds, adrenaline attacking her system.

"Done," she announced hastily and jumped back under the covers. She was shaking uncontrollably now. I couldn't get in with her; I was soaked to the bone, and I had no clothes here... but she'd get pneumonia if I left her.