Something There

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty:

I suddenly shoot straight up in bed, my heart racing faster than it ever has before.

I had just had a flashback in the form of a nightmare, but it all felt even more really than it usual does; being dragged into the room, a door slammed and suddenly opened, being slapped in the face repeatedly as I sobbed and sobbed, begging to be left alone.

I've given up on keeping track of what those people's prison sentences are like. Just hearing their names or seeing photos of their tired faces is enough to send me spiraling into an emotional breakdown.

Glancing over to my phone, I see that it's just past two in the morning. I'm sure everyone in my house is asleep, and I'm praying that I don't wake them up because of how hard I'm crying.

I try to stifle my sobs by pressing my face into the palms of my hands, biting down hard on the inside of my cheek until it nearly draws blood, but none of this is stopping the emotional trauma.

The past week of my life has been filled with love and happiness and good memories in the making. Bryce and I have been practically inseparable, and we end up talking over the phone for hours everyday after school.

I'm sure my parents are beginning to catch on to there being a reason why their daughter locks herself in her room everyday for so long, but I doubt that they've figured it out yet.

My fingers are weak and shaking as I grab my phone, unlocking it to send a quick text message.

Lexi:
Are you awake?

I don't even get a text back before my phone starts vibrating, showing an incoming call. I pick up, and the moment I do, I hear a caring voice straight away.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really," I respond meekly, pulling my knees up to my chest.

I wrap my free arm around them, curling up into a ball against the headboard.

"I'm on my way."

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

I then hang up the call, falling backwards and burying my face into the pillow.

I lay there for awhile, the tears still pouring relentlessly as I wait for a text message saying that he's here. I have no clue how I'm going to get downstairs to let him in without waking someone up, but I guess I'll have to manage.

This nightmare was probably the worst yet. I could feel every touch to the point that it really did seem real. I could almost feel my skin burning, my vision getting cloudy as I began thinking what this could turn into.

I'm broken from these thoughts by a light tapping sound on my window.

At first I think that it must be a tree branch or something, but though there's a tree near the window, there's a large landing, almost a flat extension of roof, between it an the house. When I need to clear my mind I love to sometimes go out there to sit down and watch the stars, but I really don't know why it's even there.

The tapping sounds again, and so I climb out of bed, wiping furiously at the tears on my cheeks.

I crouch down on the floor to stare out the window, and I nearly jump when I see a face there.

I pull up both the glass pane and the screen before stepping out onto the landing.

I'm immediately pulled into a pair of strong arms, now seated in his lap as he lets me cry into his shoulder.