The Island (girlxgirl)

Chapter 20

I woke up and decided that the first thing I wanted to do today was go see Hachi. I’m really glad she got Notus and Boreas to stop fighting, but I’m jealous that Hachi is really into Notus. The whole orgy thing is still on my mind too and how uncomfortable it made me. At least now it's over and I spent the day with the awesome Asexuality Association, so yesterday was actually pretty good, considering.

 

I went down the multiple hallways and up staircases to Hachi's room, cracked open the door, and then tip-toed in. I stealthily approached the bed, then looked to see who was inside. Hopefully it’s empty.

 

It was just Hachi there, with all her clothes on, and awake. She had her blankets pulled up around her, was shivering, and her eyes were full of tears. Hachi looked really, really scared of something, but of what - I don't know.

 

"Hachi?" I whispered.

 

Hachi smiled a small smile when she saw me, but the tears did not go away. "Pet? Come here."

 

I jumped up on the bed and Hachi snuggled her way into my arms. I laughed at the ticklish sensation and held her to me. Hachi's pulse beat rapidly through her chest, but I could feel her relax over time and her pulse slowed down.

 

"Sorry that you had to see me like that, Champion." Hachi corrected herself.

 

I sighed. "You don't have to call me Champion anymore. I don't like it as much as being called Pet."

 

"Okay. Anyways, what you saw...I don't usually tell people about. Can I trust you?" Hachi mumbled.

 

I stroked her hair. "You can trust me with anything."

 

"The outside world described it first. I get these anxiety attacks, which are extreme adrenaline-fueled flight-or-fight responses to little things. My body shakes and I feel paralyzed when I get one, Pet. It's horrible and it's a deep secret, because I don't want it being used against me by any adversaries who find out." Hachi explained.

 

I had seen people do what she did before, so I kind of understood how to calm someone down who was having one. My brother Quinton, the fifth oldest, was attacked by a sea snake when he was standing in the ocean fishing at the age of eight. He had a fear of snakes after that and whenever one made an appearance inside the house, looking for somewhere warm in the winter and cool in the summer, he would hunker down and freeze like a statue. Whenever that happened, I would take him to a different room, help him practice his breathing, and cuddle him close so that he felt safe.

 

Quinton was apprenticed to a cobbler when he turned ten, but this cobbler lived over near the edge of the snowlands, so I haven't seen or even heard from him very much. Hachi reminds me of Quinton and my family in this way, but in no other form.

 

I asked, "What triggers you?"

 

"It’s just this one thing that developed from a phobia from when I was young...I'm afraid of the dark. I was diagnosed with nyctophobia when I was three years old and I still haven't ever gotten over it." Hachi revealed.