The Phoenix

My Secret

The walk home had been stressful enough as it was. The fact that Lucy was soaking wet, shoeless, and alone didn't help. Surely, she thought she'd feel safer when she got to her apartment, but it only made her feel more vulnerable. At least on the street she had been moving, here she was a sitting duck.
    Overwhelming panic took over as her body and mind went into fight or flight mode with nothing to fight and nothing to run from. Instead of heading for the door like her brain was screaming at her, she went into her room, sliding under the bed and pulling out a bottle of alcohol. Lucy took a swig and immediately felt relaxed. The drink was her secret, made to calm her down during anxiety attacks, which meant into was incredibly strong.
    The anxiety attack had to take a backseat when her wet clothes began to bother her. She had tactile sensitivity, meaning that certain fabrics could bother her at random times. That was the real reason she hated wearing pants. She quickly yanked her shirt and underwear off, replacing them with nothing but a towel wrapped around her.
    Lucy walked into the kitchen, pink hair still dripping water. She grabbed a glass and filled it, placing it and the bottle in front of her on the kitchen counter. She was so out of it after only a few sips that she hadn't heard Aaron come in until he spoke.
    "What the hell are you doing?"
    "Anxiety attack. I needed to calm down." she said, turning to look at him as he walked in.
    "Are you okay?"
    "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
    "For starters, you're sitting here in nothing but a towel. What is this stuff anyways?" he asked, smelling what was in the bottle.
    "My secret. It has to be super strong in order to calm me down, so you probably don't want any. I know where Emily keeps her alcohol if you want some of that."
    "I think I'll pass."
    Lucy shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'Your loss.' while taking another sip.
    "Oh, and I'm going to need you to not tell Emily about this."
    "You realize you're asking me to keep a lot of secrets from your sister, right?"
    Lucy let out a small laugh.
    "She'll kill you too if she found out you let me get this far." she said with a smirk while drinking.
    Aaron sighed.
    "This goes against my better judgement."
    "Try some this, you won't have any. Trust me, I can't even see straight, which is ironic, but true nonetheless."
    "You're drunk." he said, scoffing.
    "Yeah, and I've been aggressively sober all day, not to mention I didn't sleep last night. Cut me some slack." she said in exasperation.
    "Wait, why didn't you sleep?"
    "The same reason I had an anxiety attack," Lucy said, her voice shaky as she fought off a second mental breakdown. "You try to sleep with your psycho and possibly homicidal ex on the loose. Why are you even here, anyways?"
    "For the same reason you can't sleep. She's out there somewhere. You aren't safe."
    "Wow, thanks Aaron. I feel so much better." she said, accompanied by a sarcastic eye roll.
    "I'm trying to be realistic here. Besides, how do you think you're going to keep this from Emily? She's going to wonder why you aren't sleeping."
    "I've always hated sleeping alone, now it's almost impossible. I'll be fine when she gets home." Lucy explained.
     Aaron sighed again and looked at her for a few moments.
    "Go. Get some rest. I'll stay."
    "I don't need a babysitter, nor do I want one."
    "Yeah, well the only other way you're sleeping is by downing that entire bottle, and you really don't want that."
    "Fine," she sighed, taking the last sip of her drink, placing the cup on the counter, and walking back to her room.

A/N: Hey, guys! Currently in the car on the way to school so I have to make this quick, BUT HOLY SHIT. WE HIT 2K! AHHH! This is so insane guys! I love you guys so much and thank you for all of the support!