Stitched up Heart

Shadows

The rain was still beating against my window when I woke up the next morning. It was still quite dark outside. I looked at my clock, it was barely 5 o'clock and Rhys wouldn't be awake for ages. With a disappointed sigh, I sat up and swung my legs over the edge over of the bed. I sat for a minute letting my mind focus and wake up too. It was pathetic but I wanted to be with Rhys.

Slowly, I stoop up and went to the window. I pulled back the curtain and looked out. The light from the street lamps made me squint as I wasn't used to the light level. There were no cars outside; nobody waiting to get me. I reached out and shook my head. I needed to calm down, no one was trying to get me. I turned and let the curtain fall back into place. Shadows climbed the walls of my room, making everything looks so much bigger. The details on things were lost; it all looked so solid. For some reason, this freaked me out more than it should have.

I began feeling ill and dizzy, anxiety was taking over again. "Oh, god. Calm down Lewis." I tried getting my breathing back in order but It was so dark there was nothing to focus on while I did it - that made it worse. With my entire body trembling, I stood up and opened the door. The cool air landed on my skin as I stepped out on the hall way. I was careful not to make the floorboard creek as I stepped over to Rhys's door. Howeve, I stopped, what if he was still asleep? Would he be annoyed if I woke him up?

After a moments thought I knocked on the doer gently. "R-rhys... are you awake?"

"Yeah, I can't sleep. Come in." He called out. Relieved, I pushed the door open and stepped in. The light faded a I shut it behind me. There was just enough light to see Rhys prop himself up on one arm.

"I-I think I'm having another attack." I mumbled.

"Come here." He replied calmly. I walked over to the bed and sat down, pulling the sleeves of my t-shirt over my hands. "It's going to be alright. I'm going to find my dad today and sort that out, then we won't have to worry about anything for a while." I nodded and sniffed as tears fell from my eyes yet again. "Please don't cry, Lewis, come on." He pulled me back, making me lay down. I didn't resist it. If I was going to getting any more sleep then it would be here with Rhys.

We lay there together facing each other. Even though he was inches away from my face, it was so dark I could only just make out his silhouette. Rhys wiped away my tears and rested his hand on my cheek. "You are the most hardworking and kindhearted person I know. So you don't deserve to be bullied, to be this worried constantly. But I'm here now, and I may seem like the most unsociable, rudest person there is but I love you. It's going to be ok." His voice was calm and relaxed. He wasn't angry with me or annoyed that I kept crying - he understood.

"T-thank you." I stammered.

"Its ok... kitten." He said hesitantly. I giggled.

"Kitten? That's cute." I said with a smile.

"I came up with it earlier... after you fell asleep." He told me, "is it ok if I... err... call you that."

"Of course it is."

I turned over and Rhys out his arm around me. Feeling his warm breath on my neck made me relax. With him, the anxiety disappeared, like none of the monsters in my head could reach me here. I locked my fingers with his hand that he'd put over me and stayed with him for the next few hours. Luckily, I managed to sleep a bit more.

We woke up again a few hours later. "Were not going to school again today. You've been through enough and I have stuff I need to sort out." He whispered as I checked the clock.

"That's f-fine by me." I said as I lay back down. He kissed the back of my neck making a shiver run up myself spine. "Rhys!"

"What? We're a couple, I'm allowed to kiss you." He told me, whispering the words in my ear. I giggled.

I told myself: when everything's fixed I'll be ok and I'll let it happen. But not now, not while things are still messy. Soon though.