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

/129/

  He was on top of her again. Annie couldn't moved as he thrust above her, his eyes closing as he moaned. She couldn't scream. Her arms and legs lay limp, as if the nerves had been disconnected from her body. She couldn't even breath as he groaned again, his red hair practically glowing in the dawn light, giving his face a red glint. He ran a shaky hand through her hair, murmuring "because I love you."

  Annie blinked, and watched as he went faster, sweat pouring out of his pores fast, faster than realistic. It rolled down his cheeks, poured out of his arms, drenched his purple hair. Annie could hear her vocal chords opening up again, but instead of screaming, all she said was 'Goodnight Calum.'

  She lay on the boys' kitchen floor, her hand held up to her stinging cheek. She pulled her hand back, and it was stained with black ooze. Calum stood over her, blocking out the sun. His hand was held perfectly still mid swing, like he had slapped her and frozen in time. The black ooze covered his hand, and it grew, popping and oozing down his arm, eating him alive like acid. Annie looked at her hand, which disintegrated under the black tar. She could feel it on her face, dripping, stinging and eating away at her vision.

  Then Annie was back in bed, in a bed she didn't remember. Michael was over her again, laying on top of her, running his fingers on her skin only they weren't fingers, they were nails. He was naked- she was naked- and he slithered over her, a snaked tongue darting out between his teeth. He pushed himself down on her, and pain spiked through her body as he moved, hissing. She could move this time. She thrashed, screaming as he dug his claw nails into her arms, forcing himself on her. She closed her eyes, and just kept screaming, screaming, screaming.

  "Annie wake up, Annie, wake up!" She was spoken awake, and she thrashed up, almost hitting Calum. "You were screaming," he said worriedly, with prominent eye bags and a tired appearance, but eyebrows furrowed with worry. "What happened?"

  Annie felt her entire body tremble with shivers. "I... I don't know," she whispered, barely audible. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Calum, waiting for him to attack her. "Are you real?"

  He looked at her glassy eyes, trying to stay calm. "I'm real Annie. You're shivering. Here..." he pulled the comforter off the bed, wrapping it around her. She flinched at his touch, and Calum tried to keep a straight face. "I'm going to make you some... some... some tea, okay? I'll be right back. Just... warm up."

  She curled into the blanket, clutching the blanket so her knuckles were white. "Yeah," she whispered, not sounding very convincing. Calum didn't want to leave her, but didn't know what else to do.

  He got up, pulling his boxers up around his hips. Once he left the room, he found his eyes filling with tears.

  I shouldn't cry, he scolded himself. What's wrong with you? You've seen her like this before. It's just part of life. Why are you still crying?

  He wiped his eyes, trying to ignore it. He just needed to make Annie some tea.

  Calum's boxers were rumpled, his eyes red and baggy as he poured the water into a mug and put it into a microwave. His hair was tousled- and not in the 'I woke up like this' way but in the 'I just woke up to my girlfriend screaming her head off' way; chunks stood up on their own, his hair was matted and tangled and sticky. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, falling asleep standing up. But whenever he closed his eyes, he just heard her screams again.

  The microwave dinged, startling him. He pulled out a tea packet and the mug, carrying it back to his room drowsily. Annie sat right where he'd left her, her eyes glassy, reflecting every strand of light that came in through the doorway. She was no vision of beauty either- she was no goddess, no angel. She wasn't cute or hot or pretty or lovely- at that moment, she was the embodiment of brokenness. She was the personification of shattered glass, a splintered toothpick that took on human form, molecules connected and split apart in distress, all of this in one fraile body and an even more fragile mind. Her breaths were almost as shaky as her hands.

  Calum trudged in, closing the door behind him. He tried not to look at Annie's broken figure, and she tried not to look at his sleep deprived one. Instead, he walked to the bedside table, turning on the lamp so there was at least a little light in the room. He unplugged and unlocked his phone, turning it to a soothing music station. He pulled out his biggest sweatshirt from his closet, and carefully crawled back onto the bed, still avoiding looking at Annie. Not because her hair was messy, not because she was crying, but because her mind was already likely going too fast for him to keep up with and she deserved to be able to experience emotion in solitude. He laid out the sweatshirt on the bed in front of her, and took a sip from her tea. "It's peppermint. I think it's just the right temperature." He looked up at her eyes tenderly, offering her the cup. Slowly, Annie unclenched her hands from the blankets, reaching out her trembling fingers to clasp around the mug. She closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of peppermint leaves and warmth. She gingerly took a sip. It was still extremely hot, but Calum was right when he said it was the perfect temperature. She needed burning hot right now.

  He climbed under the covers, propping himself up against the headboard. "Can I touch you Annie?" He asked softly.

  She took in a deep breath of warm peppermint before nodding. He set his arm around her shoulders do gingerly you'd think she was made of fine China. Annie found herself curling into his side, and he held her in his arms as he began to drift back to sleep. Annie sipped her tea slowly, listening to the gentle piano music and willing her heart to beat in time with it. After a few long minutes, she finished her tea, and the mug slipped out of her relaxing hands and onto the soft mattress. Before too long, she rejoined Calum in the world of slumber, where she dreamt a dream of white clouds and blue skies that would fade into the morning light when she awoke.