PTSD | Sequel to Little Clifford

5

Michael's POV

I stepped off the plane and rubbed my eyes. I held Arden, who was starting to fall back asleep, in my arms.

All of us had slept on the plane ride and just been woken up 10 minutes ago because we were landing. We now had to grab our luggage and then we had a car waiting for us to take us to our new house.

We went to the baggage carrier and patiently waited for all of our bags to come around. Ash helped me grab Arden's bag and then we made our way towards the exit of the airport. Dave met us near the exit as well as a few of our other body guards who we all greeted with hugs.

"There's a lot of girls out there. You up for taking some pictures?" He asked us.

The boys and I all looked at each other. We were so tired, but we wanted to make our fans happy, "Yeah, can you just make sure they're in a single file line and we will take selfies with them all?" Ash asks.

Dave nods before going around the corner and out the door. He returns a few minutes later to tell us that we are all set to go out.

Our bodyguards took our bags to the car for us which we were very grateful for. Then, we made our way out. There was a few flashes but nothing we couldn't handle. All of the girls were very respectful and I was very appreciative of that.

We went down the line and took pictures with each girl. Arden had fallen asleep on my shoulder and I laughed as her sleeping body was in the photos. A lot of girls talked about how cute she was and I couldn't help but agree.

It took us about 20 minutes to get through all of the girls but we made it and it was worth it to see them all so happy. We got into the car and we all sighed or groaned because now we were fighting hard to stay awake.

Arden, Cal, and I sat in one row and Ash and Luke sat facing us. Arden was awake now, but on the verge of falling asleep once again.

"I'm cold, Mikey," she tells me softly.

I nod before reaching into her backpack and pulling out her blanket. I wrapped it around her before pulling her into my side the best that I could considering we had our seatbelts on. We made the drive to our house which took a little while.

Our house was located on top of a huge hill so it was a bit secluded from the city. Of course, there were lots of other houses up there as well. When we finally pulled up to the house, I forced my eyes open and unstrapped my seatbelt. I lifted Arden out of the car as well and I walked up to the front door as Dave was unlocking it.

The first thing I did was go lay Arden down on the couch and cover her up with her blanket. The boys and I had looked at this house a few months back so we already knew what it looked like. There were four bedrooms, seeing as management was thinking a house for the 'band' and Arden isn't in the band, so she would be sharing a room with me. It wasn't that big of a deal though because she almost always slept in my bed anyways.

We went back out to the car to grab our suitcases. The boys and I carried them up to our rooms and that's when we realized a problem; all the beds had only mattresses. No sheets, comforters, nothing.

"Well... we should have thought this one through," Luke huffs.

"All of the stores would be closed by now," Ash states.

"We just have to look around and hope to find some blankets," I say and we began looking. We start looking in the closets and then we move on to the bonus rooms.

I was looking in the laundry room when I heard Arden start to cry. I rushed as fast as I could out of the room.

"Mikey?!" I heard her call out.

I made my way down the stairs as she called my name out again. I went to the living room to find her no longer on the couch but starting to search through other rooms.

"I'm right here, baby," I tell her softly and she turns towards me with a tear stained face. I also noticed she had a bloody nose. I picked her up immediately and place her on my hip.

"You're ok," I whisper and I gently smooth down the back of her hair and walk to the kitchen. I gently sit her down on top of the counter and reach over to grab a tissue.

I held it to her nose to help stop the bleeding and luckily it didn't take long. However, soft cries still escaped her lips and her tears kept flowing.

I threw the tissue away and then stood right in front of her, wrapping both of my arms gently, but at the same time tightly, around her. Both of her hands fisted my t-shirt as she cried into it. I gently hushed her and continued to smooth down the hair on the back of her head.

Cal walked into the kitchen, "Is she ok?" he asks.

I silently nod and make eye contact with him, "We found a bunch of blankets so I put a few on your bed. They will just have to make due for tonight," He tells me and I nod again before thanking him.

I keep my hold on Arden until she finally calms down, " I had a nightmare and then I woke up and you were gone and I didn't know where I was," She says and hiccups a bit.

I totally understood why that would be scary, especially for an 8 year old, "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry. How about we go cuddle and fall asleep and then tomorrow we can explore the house, ok?"

She agrees and I pick her back up. I carry her up the stairs to our room. I had to have her stand on her own while I made the bed and after I did that, I helped her change into a nightgown before lifting her onto the bed. I was really just too tired to change and I was wearing sweats anyways so I left them on and turned off the light before laying down next to Arden.

She cuddled into me and we both fell asleep. However, it was NOT a nightmare free night.

A/N

This chapter is short :(

-Red