When the fear of isolation pulls Ashton and Ria together, nothing can prepare them for the collision. An anomaly shatters the repetitive fabric of their lives, sending them on a journey of discovering themselves and one another.
Beneath Ashton's gen...
❝I've never been happy. I wouldn't know how it feels.❞
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SOFT WHIMPERS reach across the loft and breach Jared's slumber. He rubs his eyes and groans as consciousness urges it away. It takes a moment to adjust to his surroundings. A different bed, bigger and soft as cotton embrace his frame. Cream-colored walls surround him instead of white ones with years of age along the paint. He gradually recalls that he's in Ashton's spare bedroom and not his own.
Yesterday, he asked Dea if she thought it'd be okay to room here, giving her and Sophia much needed alone time as an excuse. Of course, he didn't tell her the real reason was so that Vivian wouldn't be alone, and she agreed without a second thought. Just for second measures, he sent Ria and Ashton a text as a heads up for when they fly back to New York.
The whimpering continues, turning into desperate sobs, jolting Jared out of bed. He clears sleep from his eyes and stumbles out of the room. The cries are coming from Ashton's bedroom, increasing the closer he creeps. Jared nudges the door open to see Vivian in bed curled in a ball, facing him so he can witness her slumbering face pinched in distress. She's crying.
Without thinking, he eases inside and kneels in front of her. He starts to say her name but stops when his gaze lands on one of her open arms.
Harsh furious scars reach from her wrist and stretch up her pale skin, at least five to six of them, and it looks to be identical on the other arm. "Oh my God," he hisses and his mouth falls. What happened to her?
Chains wrap around his lungs and squeeze as he stares at each thin scar. Crimson. Fresh. With a closer look, older white scars become visible across her arms. They're small and thin but rise from her skin with dark tales of a chaotic mind.
A desperate whimper comes from her trembling lips. "No. Please..."
His heart staggers. He brushes his fingertips over her scars. "Um...Vivian?"
"Please." Her face contorts in pain and tears slip from her closed eyes. "Stop."
"Vivian," he hisses. "Wake u-"
"S-stop!" she cries and twists her head. "Please stop!"
"Viv-"
She thrashes her arms out and nearly swipes Jared's face, but he jerks back in time and catches her small wrists in his hands. Her eyes fly open, piercing him with violent storms of lightning. "W-what are you doing?" Her voice trembles and she pulls her wrists from him. Lines of fear crease her face. She stares at him as if she's terrified of him, like he's trying to torture her.
"You were crying in your sleep." He forces his voice to remain steady, attempting to assure her of her safety. "I was just trying to wake you up."
Her lashes flutter several times and she sits up. As she presses her palms into her eyes the sleeves of Ashton's shirt bunches up. Those fatal scars are exposed again. His throat swells. What happened to you? "Are you okay?" he asks instead.
