Returning to Innocence [EDITING]

Chapter Twenty One

5 votes please this time guys. I got that last time and I felt so happy :)

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When I finished, I was sobbing and Peeta had tears in her eyes. Alex put his arms around me, letting me cry into his shoulder.

"It's okay Scarlett. It's all okay." he murmured soothingly, even though my tears weren't subsiding. He moved away from me and I heard him and Peeta whispering to each other. I pulled my knees in and rested my chin on top of them, trying to control my tears.

"Did that really all...?"

"Yes it did. Do you really think she'd lie about something like that?!" Alex hissed.

"No. But it's kind of hard to believe. Who the heck would to do that to a person? I like to knock his lights out..." I could hear Peeta pacing the room, muttering expletives. Alex sat down next to me again and I lay my head in his neck. He placed an arm around my shoulder and we watched Peeta as she walked across the room again. Occasionally my body would shake as another sob tore through my body, but Alex just held me tighter.

"I'm sorry Scarlett." Peeta said when she had eventually calmed down. "I just... can't believe that someone would do that. What would possess someone to even think of it? I mean..."

"Peeta, chill." Alex said, taking hold of my hand. I saw Peeta's eyes widen at the sight and she winked at me. My cheeks flushed red and she smirked. Shut up, I mouthed at her and she grinned. "Am I missing something?" Alex asked, looking bemused. Me and Peeta burst out laughing which just confused him further.

"Don't worry about it." I said, smiling. I hadn't failed to notice that our hands were still intertwined.

"I'm worried..." He let go of my hand and stood up, stretching. "I should probably go. Your parents won't like it if I'm here."

"Why?" Peeta asked.

"I'm 'corrupting' their daughter. It's because I'm such a badass." He flexed his arms.

"Alex you're a retard." I deadpanned and he fake glared at me.

"Hey." He whined. I rolled my eyes, and then noticed Peeta watching us. "What?" I asked her, and she smirked.

"You two are so cute." she squealed, and I blushed the colour of my name. Alex looked at the floor.

"We're not together." Alex murmured and she frowned.

"Why?"

"Because we're not." His tone was hard, and I felt guilty. It wasn't his fault I was pathetic.

"Okay." Peeta dropped the topic and the room fell into an awkward silence. I looked at Alex to find him glaring at the floor. Peeta was watching him and when our eyes met, she raised her eyebrows at me. I shrugged and looked away, concentrating on the clock on the wall. It was 4:30pm and I knew my parents would be home soon.

"My parents should be home soon, so if you want to leave before they come back, you should go now." I said, my voice sounding loud in the quiet of the room.

"Okay." Alex sounded sulky and stood up moodily.

"Alex can I speak to you for a second?" I asked and he looked at me, sighing. Peeta edged out of the room, giving me a thumbs up. I glared at her and she giggled, running out of the room. Alex sat down next to me and I rested my head on his shoulder. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." he answered, putting his arm around me.

"Are you sure? You seem pissed."

"Not pissed, just bugged. It's no big deal. Don't worry about it." I looked up at him and he smiled. "Seriously."

"Okay. You need to go don't you?" He nodded and stood up.

"Bye Scarlett. I'll text you later." I smiled and yelled a goodbye as they left, slamming the door as they went.

I yawned and lay back down, still exhausted even after sleeping for most of the day. My eyes closed as I heard a key in the lock.

(Dream)

"I have a surprise for you." I opened my tired eyes and groaned, my aching body desperate for more rest. He bounded over to me with something in his hand, but I didn't focus on that. I was watching his glee-filled face, dreading what it would mean for me. "Here you go." He placed a bucket of water on the floor and I looked at it with wide eyes.

"What?"

"It's for you." I stared and then scrambled to my knees, desperate to have a drink of water. I cupped my hands and placed them into the water, bringing them to my mouth and swallowing immediately. My face changed to a look of disgust as the taste filled my mouth. It was salt water. "Don't you like it? I thought you were thirsty. Drink up!" With the last words, he grabbed the back of my head and plunged my face into the water. My lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen and as I was about to pass out, I was pulled back into the air. I was gasping for air, black spots dancing in my line of vision.

"Please..." I gasped, as he pushed me in again. Water filled my mouth and began to pour down my throat. My eyes burnt from the salt and my vision turned black.

(Present)

I couldn't breathe. I clutched at my throat, trying to let air back into my burning lungs. It felt like the water was still filling them, even though the rational side of my brain knew it wasn't there.

"Hey Scarlett I forgot my phone. Do you know where... Scarlett!" In seconds, Alex was next to me. "Scarlett! Breathe Scarlett! Breathe! Suck in!" He grabbed onto my shoulders and pulled me to him, gripping me tightly in an effort to calm me down.

"Alex, what's taking so long?" I heard Peeta's voice as my eyes began to close. "What the hell is going on?" she screeched running across the floor.

"Breathe, god dammit!" Alex yelled, whacking me on the back. I gasped as air filled my lungs, sucking a long breath in.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." Peeta was repeating with a tear filled voice.

"Scarlett? Scarlett?" Alex seemed close to tears as well. He was still holding me as I sucked in huge breaths of air.

"Alex?" I murmured, gripping the back of his t-shirt.

"Oh my god Scarlett. You scared me. What the hell happened?" He kissed the top of my head and I clung to him, tired but too terrified to sleep. I glanced at Peeta, who had tears pouring down her face.

"Help me Alex." I began to cry, hating myself, hating my life, hating the man who made me like this. "Why can't I just be normal and happy and not have to worry about dying whenever I sleep? Why did he have to choose me and destroy my life? Why did he do it in the first place. Why couldn't I have just died when I was there?"

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Song of the day: Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People

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