Once A Fighter

Chapter 9

Ria's P.O.V.-

My nightmare was what woke me up at 3:00 in the morning on Sunday. I instantly shot out of bed and into the nearest bathroom and puked up everything in my stomach. My breath was coming in short bursts and my whole body was sweating and shaking as tears flowed down my face.

"Ria!" A panicked Sam ran into my room, followed by a groggy looking Josh. "Oh God, are you okay?" He asked as he knelt beside me. I now had my back against the wall with my knees up.

"Get away from me!" I yelled. "Get away! Don't touch me!" I kept screaming. These guys were going to hurt me..everyone was just trying to hurt me..everyone...

Matthew's P.O.V.-

I heard Ria's voice screaming at someone to not touch her. I thought someone got in the house, which made me jump up and run to where I heard her, remembering to grab my gun. As soon as I got there though, I realized it wouldn't be necessary.

Sam and Josh stood in the bathroom, staring dumbfounded at Ria, who was backed against the wall and looked terrified. Her hair was matted and her whole body was shaking as her eyes darted around wildly.

"What the hell happened?" I asked. They both just shook their head, then Sam said, "We heard her get up and run in here and puke, then she started screaming when we tried to help her. I don't know what's going on."

I ran a hand through my hair, then commanded Josh to go get Zach, who knew a lot about this kind of stuff. He studied medical and psychological things often. While Josh left, Sam and I continued to stare at Ria who was crying and still shaking. I was careful not to do or say anything in case she tried something.

Zach finally came sprinting in the bathroom and as soon as he saw Ria, mumbled "Shit. Okay, everybody out. I'll handle this." We all looked at him questioningly but did as we were told and exited the bathroom, and walked down to the living room.

"What do you think happened?" Josh asked as he glanced back up the stairs. 

I sighed, "I don't know. Maybe she had a nightmare." I suggested.

"Well shit, it must have been a pretty bad nightmare if it freaked even her out that much. She wouldn't even let us talk to her without freaking out at us." Sam said tiredly. "I feel bad. I wish I coulda done more." Josh and I both nodded in agreement, then I walked into the kitchen to make us all some coffee, figuring we weren't going to get much sleep anyways.

So many things were running through my mind. I wondered if it really was a nightmare. And if so, is it a regular thing? Would we ever be able to help her?

I was so indulged in my thoughts, I almost didn't notice Zach walk into the kitchen. "Hey." He said quietly. I turned to face him, and my eyes widened when I saw the big cut on the side of his cheek that was now bleeding at a steady pace. 

He shook his head when I was about to ask him about it. "As soon as you're done with the coffee, we all need to talk." All I did was nod, then continue making coffee.

**

We all sat in the living room, with cups of coffee in our hands. Everyone looked worried and tired, waiting for Zach to speak.

"Well?" Josh asked impatiently. Zach looked up and met our eyes. "It was a nightmare. She finally told me when I got her to calm down a bit. I had to give her a shot after she did this to me." He pointed at his face. 

"What's wrong with her?" Sam asked.

"I don't know exactly. She was really reserved and hardly opened up at all. But we know what she's been through and never seeing a counselor or having anyone to talk to after that would probably result in serious phsycological issues. As we've all just experienced."

"What do you think we should do?" Sam questioned quietly.

"We have to make her trust us, guys." Zach replied determined. "We have to be there for her no matter what. We can't let her distance herself from us. She's already so far gone that if she goes anymore there'll be no saving the girl inside of her. I think tonight we really saw her weakness, and she's not gonna like that. Being weak in front of us. We have to help her and make her realize she's not alone anymore."

Everyone was quiet after that, but we all nodded. "Is she asleep?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, she's in her bed. We can't let her go to school tomorrow though. It could be dangerous."

We all agreed, put our cups in the sink, and walked back to our rooms. Ria's frightened face and darting eyes kept appearing in my mind, and my want, my need to help her was tremendous.

So right before I crawled into bed, I promised myself that from now on, she would be my number 1 priority, and I wouldn't let anything happen to her.