Haunted Waters

SIX

The world was shaking around her, distorting her reality and feeding her panic with a sense of chaos and decontrol. A single thought repeated itself in her head like a broken cassette; a need to flee from the dangerous unknown which laughed at her demise from the creeping shadows. Anxiety and fright held hands in her heart, driving her body around with erratic turns of the wheel.

Lynn rushed out of the bathroom, tripping over the trouser leg and bumping into the wall in the process. But she didn't stop to finish putting clothes on; she was a bird trying to abandon her cage, not caring about dignity as she got rid of her falling trousers and frantically searched for the closest escape route.

Shouts echoed behind her as Dana called for her to stop, but they fell to deaf ears.

Because Lynn wasn't sure it was her friend calling her; because she couldn't trust her own mind. Because she was scared; not of the monsters born from her breaking reality, but of the ghosts in her past claiming her soul again.

What if Dana was right?

What if she was relapsing?

Lynn wasn't ready to face that possibility, not again.

Someone grabbed her just as she was reaching for the knob of the front door; bulky arms wrapped around her torso and pulled her back, securing her effortlessly.

"Oliver, let me go," she begged, yet her thrashing lacked power as part of her welcomed the comfort his friend provided. "I need to get out of here."

"And go where?" There was no anger or irritation in his voice, only sympathy. "Let us help."

Out of the corner of her eye, she met Nick's worried expression.

"Lynn?"

The confused glint in his eye reminded her of his lack of knowledge regarding her past. Something in the way he observed her -- the absence of a grin which seemed to be permanently-plastered on his usually-relaxed features -- made her pause on her frantic attempts to escape, and energy abandoned her as she collapsed against Oliver.

"Nick, take those to the living room," he instructed, referring to the mugs of hot chocolate he was holding, before looking over his shoulder at Mark and motioning for him to do the same, which he did after giving the exhausted woman a quick squeeze on her shoulder.

"Do you have them?" Dana queried as she reached them, panting ever so slightly after having rushed after her fast friend.

Oliver nodded. "They're in my bag. I'll get them."

Switching places with the tall man, Dana wrapped an arm around Lynn and shared a forced smile with her. "You'd better not fall over, or you'll drag me down too. You know I'm as weak as the coffee Mark used to make."

"I heard that!" yelled said man.

As the women walked into the living room, Dana smirked. "I'm fully aware."

Her attempts to distract Lynn from her own mind worked, if only for a moment. For some seconds, she relished in the presence of her friends as she sat down on one of the sofas. Accepting a mug from Nick, she let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes as the smell of hot chocolate silenced her anxiety.

"You stopped taking it, didn't you?"

Lifting her head to meet Dana's accusing gaze, she gave her a knowing look. "My doctor said I could if I didn't have more episodes after a month."

Dana frowned. "He also mentioned the possibility of a relapse."

Lynn ran a hand through her hair, fingers tangling with the wet locks, before taking a sip of the hot drink. Her head was swimming, burning with an incoming headache as the recent events came back to haunt her mind. And her moment of peace shattered, throwing her back into that whirlwind of anxious thoughts and deafening questions.