"It's Not Love If It Hurts" //5sos

/18/

It was raining again.

Thunder shook the house, making it impossible to sleep. Calum walked out of his room, about to ask Annie if she wanted to watch a movie with him, when the front door slammed shut.

He quickly jogged over to the door, opening it and getting a face full of rain. A flash of lightning illuminated the street, and Calum just had time to see... Annie?

Running down the street when just the other day she was barely able to leave the house.

Calum grabbed his jacket, shoving his feet into shoes and bolting out the door after her. The rain was intense, and Calum had no idea what he was doing up. He must seem crazy. No, they must seem crazy, because Annie was running to, except he was running after her and Annie was running- well, Calum didn't know why Annie was running. But he had to follow.

  She sprinted full speed, feet kicking up rain from puddles. She was barefoot, and hadn't bothered grabbing a jacket. Even Calum, who had a raincoat, was shivering, so he couldn't imagine how cold Annie was. She might be shivering, but she was to far away to tell, and showed no signs of turning back or slowing down. Finally, Calum had to stop. He couldn't keep up with her, and had to catch his breath.

**********************

Annie lay on the grass, her legs uncomfortably twisted. They weren't broken or anything- sure she had slipped down the grassy hill, but she was fine, really. She had bigger problems then some slight bruising.

  The rain wailed, and Annie covered her face with an arm, trying to shield it from the harsh rain.

  But that wasn't her biggest problem.

  Her biggest problem was that it happened, it happened and it was horrible and Annie would do anything to make it not have happened. What did she have to do to change it? She was desperate- she was willing to do anything to change what happened to her. What did she have to do? What did she have to do?

  What if there's nothing I can do? What if I have no choice, no options- what if there's nothing I can do?

  But surely there had to be something she could do. Something she could do to fix everything, to make everything great again.

  But nothing came to mind.

  Annie didn't know how long she had lain there before Calum found her. Her talked in worried tones, picking her up and wrapping his jacket around the two of them, and Annie realized she was close to him and she felt safe. She was getting better- she must be getting better, right? Calum wouldn't hurt her- right?

  He asked if she was okay, and she nodded. She was fine- maybe a little chilly.

  When they got back, Calum insisted Annie change into warm clothes, and she listened, though she didn't really mind the rain-soaked clothes. She then was wrapped in blankets, and her and Calum sat in front of the tv with cups of hot chocolate in their hands. Hair damp, still warming up, Calum smiled as if he was perfectly content. Annie wasn't so happy, but at the moment, everything was good. Everything was perfect. She just needed to enjoy it.

  But Annie couldn't help the sinking feeling in her chest, the question repeating over and over in her head.

  What if there's nothing I can do?