Painkiller

9

    The next week ran smoothly for Elena - mostly. She ended up sleeping with Luke every night and, most of the time, she wouldn't leave his side. Cars were still a struggle, too. After coming home from the airport, Elena had been so tired she had barely registered that she was driving in one, but now, she couldn't climb into one without suffering from heat palpitations and rapid breathing.

    She still missed her parents, although, that was to be expected. Luke, whilst mourning himself, did well at cheering her up, and when the rest of his band were around at the home, so did they.

    Michael took to being irresponsible to cheer her up, or fun, as he put it. His ideas were spontaneous and ridiculous - both he and Elena nearly always ended up being told off by another member of the band (or any nearby adult for that matter), although, they were never truly angry. If it made Elena laugh then Michael could continue.

    Calum took her out of the house to make her smile. Whether Elena wanted to go or not, Calum would drag her out of the house. He didn't want to have her hiding herself away in her room. Usually, Elena didn't mind, but she had made it extremely clear that she wasn't going anywhere in a car.

    Ashton spoke to her. Whether it be about the crash or her favourite film, Ashton didn't mind. He listened as she spoke and then responded with answers he knew she wanted to hear. He didn't respond with it'll get better or it'll stop hurting soon because he knew that didn't help. In fact, it made it worse. Ashton didn't want to sit back and watch her mental health deteriorate just like his had at her age, and he was so scared that it would. He feared missing any signs, so he watched and he listened and he analysed her, paying attention to every little detail.

    Luke was always nearby, whether he chose to do so or not. His mind now unconsciously made sure he was stood by the girl at all times, and it wasn't until Calum pointed it out that he realised. When it was only the two of them, they usually stayed close together - Elena didn't like being alone anymore and Luke knew this. At night they would stay up for hours watching films, Elena curled up against her brother, and she would drag it as long as possible before Luke would put his foot down.
He knew she didn't want to sleep but she needed to.

Elena felt at home with Luke and his best friends, and although everyone was still adjusting and mending, things seemed to be going alright. Seemed.