Trauma ➸ Audrey Jensen [1]

23 ➸ good

twenty three ; good

♕

HARLEY

My toes met with the water as my body fell into it in slow motion. I took a deep breath, preserving my oxygen as my head went under—and I sunk to the very bottom. The area around me was familiar. A bed, toys, closet. It was my childhood bedroom filled with my worst fear. I was paralyzed as I sunk down to the bottom of the room, hitting the small princess rug in the middle of the floor.

I prayed to god that it would end soon. With my arms up and flowing around the room, I lost my breath quick. Coughing, choking, unable to find a damn way out of this hell. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. All I could do was sit there and wait for the water to fill my lungs slowly. "Harley! Please wake up."

I broke free of the paralysis, looking around the room to find who the voice belonged to. I swam around to find an exit, but there was no exit to be found. I felt arms on my shoulders, shaking me around.

The next thing I knew—I was awake and breathing, choking and crying in Audrey's arms. "I'm so sorry," she cried into my shoulder as I took deep breaths. She loosened her grip on my shoulders—wiping away my tears with her right thumb.

I was sweating very heavily, causing me to kick the blanket away from me so I could get some air. Breathing heavy, and trying to catch my breath was a hard task due to me still coming down from the fright I had experienced. I remember nothing. I can't remember why I was in the hospital—and the previous month had been a blur.

"Why are you crying?" I asked Audrey—who still had tears running down her face, and it confused me. She knew I was alright, so why was she still crying? "Audrey, I'm alright now." She looked up at me, the tears staining her face and sniffled. "Still thinking of Brooke," she replied. I tilted my head in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked her, and I could see the panic in her eyes. I don't remember a thing. "I can't go through this again, Harley, I can't do it," she said. "Brooke is dead. The killer is back I can't I—"

She cut herself off to release a sob, putting her head against my shoulder. I could already feel her tears dripping onto my shirt. I wrapped my arms around her; holding her tightly as her sobs filled the room in a loud echo. I shushed her crying, rubbing her back and the back of her head.

I let out a few cries myself for Brooke, and I didn't know how I'd get through this either. Although, I couldn't even imagine what Audrey, Noah, and Emma are feeling about this. "We should get out of here," I said. "We can't let him finish what Piper and Kieran tried to start."

"There's no point," she said. "He'll find us again."

She was completely vulnerable, and it felt like for the first time, Audrey Jensen had been completely broken to the core. I never thought I'd see this side of her. I rubbed her back, bringing her with me while I laid down on the mattress. "I love you," I said. "I'm so, so sorry."

She stayed silent while I held her—and she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

_____

"Baby, how are you doing?"

I walked slowly and carefully into the grindhouse, feeling very afraid and vulnerable. "I'm okay, I think."