Beneath Your Beautiful (H.S. AU)

Chapter 3

The coldness seemed worse than any winter day. It came creeping in under your clothes layer by layer until it collided with your skin, and then it dug further down removing every layer of skin on your body only to leave you completely naked, weak and vulnerable.

The wind felt like ice against my body almost leaving me bruised by its touch. It hurt. It hurt severely, like a stinging wound where you were unable to subside the pain no matter how hard you tried.

With each step, it felt like nails were piercing through my feet that connected with the hardwood floor beneath me. Every touch was like it's own battle, and I wondered if I could ever let go of that excruciating pain that was held deep within every bone and cell of my body.

I heard noises from outside the room, but I couldn't reach the door. No matter how hard I tried or the amount of steps I took, I would be standing in the exact same spot, helpless and incapable of doing anything.

A loud scream from downstairs penetrated my soul, and I stood frozen, while I felt my heart burn up in flames leaving a black hole that used to be my heart.

I woke up by the sound of the front door being opened. I assumed it was Maya as she hadn't been here when I had come home earlier.

It was 5:30 in the morning, and I wondered where she had been all night and if it was normal behavior for her to stay out all night.

Sweat prickled at my forehead and my chest was galloping, but knowing I was no longer alone made me somehow more relaxed. It was a relief that she had woken me up in that moment, as I couldn't take anymore of my nightmare I walked outside into the hallway and found Maya tiptoeing to her room, looking like she didn't want to be caught. She heard my footsteps and her body flinched in surprise. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," I apologized.

"I thought you were asleep," she stated, with a relieved sigh.

"I was. Had a bad dream," I told her with a shrug and headed for the kitchen. She was following.

"What time is it?" She questioned me with half open eyes. She looked exhausted.

"5:30. Where were you?" I wondered, pouring water into the coffee machine. I knew there was no way I'd be able to sleep again even if I only had around six hours of sleep.

"I don't remember," she slurred out with a laugh, and I thought the best thing would be to get her to bed. I wasn't going to get mad at her for just disappearing like she did, though it would have been nice to have known. "Night, see you later," she told me and without any force from my side she went to bed.

That night as I stared blankly at the clock counting the minutes to get off from work, pictures from my nightmare resurfaced in my mind and goose bumps arose on my arms. It was like the cold was suffocating me. The room was around 70 degrees but it felt more like 34, and I started quivering. However, it was only my stupid imagination making me feel that way.

I watched as my grandma once again burned up in flames and felt something wet on my cheeks, realizing I had started crying. 

"You'll lock up," Brenda my colleague told me and headed out the door, and I snapped out of my thoughts once again.

Two minutes had passed since last time I had looked at the clock and I hated myself for taking the late night shift. It was creepy as hell being here all alone, but I needed the money and didn't really have much of a choice. I felt cold sweat run down my spine one vertebra at a time, and I wished I could escape this stupid nightmare that right now felt like my entire life. I wanted to escape this place and go home, but no matter what, home no longer existed and I wondered if it ever would.