She'll Bring You Home

Chapter 4, "Stray"

TW// Flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, mentions of abuse. Please proceed with caution, my lovelies 💚

It had been maybe a day since I met Derek and Spencer, I didn't really know since I couldn't sleep last night and my phone was dead.

Go home. I can't leave now, I was being questioned.

They don't need you here. I am a witness, they need me to give them as much information as I can.

You need to leave before they find out. They couldn't possibly find out with the little information I gave them about the Thompsons.

You'll be moved again. They still need me here, just focus on now...

~flashback dream thingy starts~

I'm wandering around the forest, looking for something. I don't know what it is. Maybe Derek will know? I should look to see if he's near me.

There's no one.

There's only trees and bushes and other varieties of vegetation. I don't know who I am. I hear a voice calling my name. I don't think it's my name, but it seems familiar. Like it could've been mine a long time ago. It's faint, but clearly a man. I run. I run until I can't breathe. I run until my legs go numb. A hand lands on my shoulder. Why is there a hand on my shoulder? I can feel myself drifting. I don't want to go home. I won't go.

~flashback dream thingy over~

Derek's POV:

I wake up to someone yelling in another room. It sounds like they're having some kind of night terror or something.

I get up and walk to the door, and I see Oliver tossing around in her bed. We got connected motel rooms so I'd feel better about her being by herself. I rush over, making as little noise as possible. "Hey babygirl, it's me. Oliver, sweetie, can you hear me?" I ask gently. Oliver, the poor kid, starts silently crying. I gently place a hand on her shoulder. "Oliver, I need you to listen to me okay? I'm right here. It's me, Derek. I'm here babygirl. Don't you worry about a thing." Her body slowly relaxes and her eyes crack open. 

Oliver's POV

I woke up with Derek over me. What the hell? "What..?" I grumbled. I wasn't very awake, and I somehow knew that he wasn't completely awake either. "Hey babygirl, take it easy." He said as I shot upright.

Take it easy!? I was looking for you for hours! Damnit man you could've responded to me in the forest, so I knew you were real!

"Like hell I'm taking it easy.." I mumbled under my breath. I knew he heard me, so why didn't he scold me for talking to him like that? "Oliver, what was that?" I look at him for a second, and realize what he just asked.

My pulse quickened, the color drained from my face, and my breathing became shallow. "U-um it was just a-a bad dream..?" I didn't like to lie to him, but I needed to keep myself from seeming weak. One hell of a coincidence, keeping in mind I look like I'm dying in real-time, huh?

My pulse continued to get faster and faster until I could hear it in my eardrums. It was all I could hear. Of course, I could partially hear Derek trying to snap me out of whatever's happening, but I could still only focus on what was wrong at that moment.

You should be home. They're waiting for you. They only hit you because you need to learn. They know how stupid you are, and they're trying to help you. Just accept it. They know better than you. They don't care that you dislike their method of teaching. They will continue to hit you until you learn not to run away.

//638 words, thank you for reading lovelies!