josh's pov
//
"arlette what are you doing? come out of there, baby."
she hid under the covers in the large bed, curled up in a little ball. she was shaking.
"no!" the windows lit up and she screamed.
i went under the covers and found her. i rubbed her back the way she liked it and breathed normally.
"ar...are you scared of thunder?" she whipped her head around to face me.
"and lightning? yes."
//
i slowly opened my eyes to the bright light of morning, waking my body into reality. arlette was snoring on my chest, and her hair was messed up and crazy, but i loved it. i took a picture on snapchat and captioned it "dj sleepy jim". (HAHAHAHAhah im actually laughing at myself for that) i didn't want to wake her up, but my groin was starting to get heated, and i could feel my boxers getting tighter. i was trying to avoid moving to much, so i started to rub her back. her eyes fluttered open and she quickly sat up when she realized she fell asleep on me. her wide eyes looked down as she mumbled nervously, "sorry im just-uh gonna get some food-or i don't know," and left.
shes scared of you.
i got up from the couch as quickly as possible and ran to the bathroom.
arlettes pov
fuck. fuck. fuck. fuck. fuck.
i fell asleep on josh.
he started rubbing my back.
he wanted to fuck you.
i could feel...something.
he said lots of things last night, so maybe he was drunk, or just messed up.
he was drunk. he needed someone to fuck. you're the next target.
i went to the living area and found an apple in the fridge. jenna, mark, and ty were sitting down and talking, but mark hugged me as soon as i got in the room.
"im so happy you're safe," he muffled through my hair. "how are you feeling?" he motioned me to sit down.
"i'm just tired. glad he's gone." i sighed.
tyler patted my back and smiled weakly, understanding the mixed feelings.
we were already at the next venue for the day, so jenna and i went out to eat while the boys did a soundcheck.
"did you fall asleep with josh last night?" she asked as we walked down the empty sidewalk.
"yeah...i didn't mean to, i just..." i trailed off and pulled my sweatshirt tighter around myself.
"you, what? arlette c'mon you know you can tell me."
i looked down at the cracked cement. "i basically had a bad dream, and josh told me to talk to him if i did, so i went to him and we just fell asleep."
"okay ar, can you tell me about the dream?"
i sighed and felt umbra at my ribcage. i looked up at jenna and shook my head, before holding my ribs. i touched the bruises up my sides, reminding me of ethan.
"jenna, im gonna go back to the bus. mark just texted me," i lied. she nodded and walked to the cafe.
my mind was racing as i walked back to the venue. i didn't know what was going on. nothing seemed real. the shadow i knew all too well danced on the wall beside me. her boney fingers touched my back and she laughed.
going to see josh?
i ignored her as i stepped into the back entrance, showing security my pass. i walked around, trying to find josh as umbra scratched my cheeks (stay in place (sing a chorus) reference).
i was panicking. my breaths became uneven and my fingers were shaking. i couldn't find josh.
"josh?" i shouted, ignoring the tears coming from my eyes.
silence.
he isn't coming arlette. he doesn't care about you.
i sat in the middle of the cement area in between the dressing rooms and the stage. i was still shaking, and with every tear that flowed i could feel everything blurring.
"josh..." i could barley whisper, "where the fu-"
"arlette? are you okay?"
he was here. he came. i lifted my head to see josh with his red eye makeup on, along with a worried look. i shook my head.
"can you just...be with me?" it came out all too quickly.
"do you want me to sit with you or do you want to go in a dressing room?" he squatted down to my level and stared into my eyes.
"dressing room," i whispered. he helped me up, and walked with his hand over my back, barley touching it.
we arrived at his dressing room without bumping into anyone on the way, thankfully. he sat me down on the couch. with him, then softly held my hands. he played with my fingers as i calmed myself down.
"can i tell you what happened?" i whispered to the boy interested in my hands. he looked up into my eyes, "wait," he softly grabbed my waist and pulled me onto him.
he smiled and nodded. i took a sharp inhale and breathed it out before setting my head on josh's chest, finding his heartbeat.
i listened to the beat and closed my eyes. "i was walking with jenna, and she asked me about last night. so, i told her about the dream, and when she asked me about it, umbra starting grabbing my ribcage. it hurt so bad and i needed to leave or something. i told jenna that mark told me to go back to the bus, and when i was walking, the hallucinations got bad. but they were also so real. she was next to me and scratching me and i needed you."
he sighed and rubbed my arm, "i think you need some more rest. and food. i want you to be healthy. okay?" i nodded. i set my head down again to find his heartbeat.
