Demi Lovato Imagines

Birthday Present pt.2

TW - mentions of rape, violence 

The rest of your birthday was actually really great. Once you'd gotten past the whole 'almost-being-raped-for-the-second-time-under-the-nose-of your-whole-family' thing, it was fun. Dallas eventually arrived, everyone sat around while you opened the couple of presents your mom brought back, and you all had a piece of Demi's cake after dinner. 

It wasn't until you were tucked up in bed that things started to falter. Every time you closed your eyes, you could see him. At the door. In your room. On your bed. As if your brain was telling you to constantly be on guard for his arrival. Which sucks, if that wasn't obvious already. Because it's almost as if you would prefer it if you had actually gone with him. Got the job done and then just pushed it to the back of your mind. Then you wouldn't have to lie here and worry about him coming back to get what he came for. Then you would be able to just suppress the fear for another eight years until he comes back. 

Surely that's not right. Surely you shouldn't be thinking like this. 

Oh, how meta...

So you lie awake for hours, your eyes stretched open in fear. It's not real. He's not real. But your internal affirmations do nothing to erase his biro-marked figure etched on the inside of your eye-lids. You need some sort of special solution for that. Therapy, maybe? But you don't want to ask for it because then your parents would ask why. And you would have no choice but to tell them the whole story of how their other daughter was so far gone that she was willing to-...willing to...

Ugh. How are you even supposed to tell your parents if you can't even tell yourself? So, no, you're not going to say anything. You don't need therapy. Maybe you can just go the rest of your life without sleeping? 

In your exhausted state of mind, this makes perfect sense.  

***

"Y/n! Y/n, wake up!"

In your nightmare, hands wrap around your arms. But they don't feel like the kind of hands that would belong to Nick's gnarled face as he gets closer and closer. They feel soft, squeezing gently as your screams to get away from him gets louder and louder. 

"Y/n, please!"

That's not Nick's voice either. You're sure of it. And, all at once, he disappears, dissolving into the air like the last spray of water from a hose. Weak and finite. 

He is replaced by Demi. She is real and concrete, holding you tightly beside you on your bed. 

"Demi?"

"You're okay, I've got you," she soothes, stroking your hair. It's only now that you notice your heaving breaths and sore throat. 

"You were screaming," she states sadly.

"Oh...sorry...I didn't mean to wake you," you mumble, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable in her arms. You had thought that maybe, after yesterday, you would be able to rebuild some sort of relationship. Maybe not. 

"It's alright, you don't need to apologise," she whispers, lowering her head right next to your ear. Your memory of the nightmare is already fading. You don't remember any of the details, just that it was about Nick.

"You were dreaming about him, weren't you?"

Should you lie? Protect her feelings? Probably not. It will only come back to bite you.

"Y-yeah," you nod, feeling your whole body tremble at the admission. 

"Oh, sweetheart," she sighs, pressing her lips to the top of your head. She lies the both of you down, never once letting go of you.