I See Why He Didn't Say No (Marliza)

This is a Nightmare

"So you're okay with sleeping on the couch, right?" Eliza asked Maria, "I can take the couch and you can sleep in my room if you want."

Maria shook her head, "No, no. I don't want anything to change because of me. I-I don't want to be a burden."

"Maria..." Eliza sat down next to the girl, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You are not a burden. I'm the one that told you to stay here. And Angie and Peggy are glad to have you. None of this is your fault."

"Okay..." The shorter girl said, but she didn't seem convinced at all.

Eliza sighed, "Well, we should go to sleep. Goodnight, Maria."

"Night."

Eliza left the room and Maria sat down on the couch slowly, thinking about everything. Her life had changed so much in such a short time and it was still hard to believe it was real. Part of her felt as though she'd wake up back in her apartment with James sleeping next to her. But she knew she couldn't think that and so she decided to go to sleep. 

Maria woke up to a blinding pain in her  head and right arm. She looked around to see she was on the floor of her apartment's kitchen. "Eliza?"

"She's not here, Maria."

The woman looked up to see James with a sick smile plastered on his face.

"What?"

"She gave up. She doesn't care about you. No one cares about you," He spat, bending down to look her in the eye.

Maria shook her head and bitter tears stung her eyes, "You're lying to me. She told me that she cared about me!"

James laughed, "She tried. But she didn't, not really. No one can care about you for long because you are simply... unlovable." 

Tears flowed down her cheeks and she looked down, "Please don't hurt me again."

James's laugh rang out once more and he kicked her in the side, hard, "I do what I want, slut."

Maria screamed and flinched away, but James grabbed her by the hair and then pulled out a knife. He pulled his hand back and then the knife was rushing toward her gut.

Maria let out a terrified scream and shot up, sweating. She took in her surroundings and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Angelica's living room. It was just a dream. But it felt so real and the things James said about Maria were so true in her mind. She began to sob loudly and hyperventilate. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, trying to breathe slowly because she didn't want to wake any of the other girls.

-

Eliza's eyes shot open as she heard a loud scream come from the living room, followed by panicking sobs. She jumped out of bed and ran to the doorway of the living room, looking at Maria, who hadn't noticed her yet.

The small girl sat up on the couch, sobbing and breathing heavily. Her hand was over her mouth in an attempt to ebb the sound of her cries. It broke Eliza's heart into millions of pieces.

Eliza made her way to the couch and slowly put her hand on Maria's arm. Her heart broke further when the smaller girl's eyes shot open and she flinched away.

Maria took her hand off of her mouth and Eliza could hear how much she was hyperventilating. Her eyes were wide and her chest was heaving as tears still ran down her cheeks.

Eliza took Maria's hand and placed it on her own shoulder so that Maria could have something to steady her. "Maria, match my breathing," she said calm and collected. She had dealt with this before. Then she took large, slow breaths in and out.

The smaller girl began to match her breaths, shakily at first, but they evened out and became steadier until she was finally breathing normally again. Maria was still crying, but her anxiety attack had subsided and she crashed herself into Eliza's chest.

Eliza pet her hair soothingly as the girl sobbed into her. 

Maria clutched at Eliza's shirt desperately, her hands forming into fists. "Please don't leave me."

"I won't leave you, Maria. I won't. I promise." And Eliza knew there was no way in hell that she would break that promise. For some reason, she cared about Maria more than she had ever cared for anyone else. And she would never leave her.